KNOXVILLE – Chattanooga native Jazmine Massengill had a career-high 12 assists, Rennia Davis posted her 25th double-double for Tennessee and the 22nd-ranked Lady Volunteers held off Missouri to win 77-66 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams Thursday evening at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Davis had a team-high 19 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the seventh double-double of her junior season, Tamari Key scored a season-high 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting with three blocks and fellow freshman Jordan Horston added 13 points as Tennessee (11-2) handed Missouri (3-11) its fifth consecutive loss.
Massengill, a sophomore who prepped at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy, also had seven points and six rebounds as she improved on her career high for assists by three – all without committing a turnover. She had nine assists in Tennessee’s 74-63 win at Notre Dame on Nov. 11.
“I think she has played really consistently,” Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said during her postgame news conference. “She’s played steady. She’s looked to distribute the ball, and she’s looked to really run the offense. She communicates really well with the bench in terms of what we’re trying to do and what we’re trying to look for.
“She’s playing with a lot of confidence right now, and I still want her to be even more aggressive offensively, maybe in some transition opportunities, but I’m very proud of her play and how she is running the team.”
Missouri’s Amber Smith led all scorers with 22 points, and Aijha Blackwell added 16 for the Tigers, who led 21-16 after the first quarter.
The Lady Vols scored the last eight points of the second quarter to lead 32-28 at halftime, then opened the third quarter with a 14-4 spurt to extend their advantage to 46-32. Missouri got the deficit down to four points twice early in the fourth quarter before Tennessee put the game away.
The lead changed hands nine times as many of the Lady Vols got their first taste of SEC basketball.
“Every night is going to be physical,” Davis said in the postgame news conference. “At any point in the game, you can come back. At any point in the game, you could be losing, so just playing the full 40 minutes is something we’ve been emphasizing.”
The Lady Vols dominated inside, outrebounding Missouri 43-22 – including 18 offensive rebounds for Tennessee – and outscoring the Tigers 44-22 in points in the paint and 19-4 in second-chance points. The Lady Vols entered the day with a plus-16.3 margin in rebounds that led all Division I teams.
Thursday’s attendance was listed as 7,814.
Tennessee returns to competition at 4 p.m. Sunday at No. 13 Kentucky.
Compiled by Marty Kirkland. Contact him at mkirkland@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6478.