KNOXVILLE – Alexus Dye scored 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds, and Tamari Key added 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks as the 11th-ranked Tennessee women’s basketball team beat Tennessee Tech 76-48 on Wednesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tess Darby gave the Lady Volunteers (7-0) their only double-digit lead of the first half on a 3-pointer that made it 30-19, and Dye scored the team’s final eight points of the period for a 38-30 advantage at intermission.
Tennessee outscored the Golden Eagles 18-5 in the third quarter to pull away. Tech (2-5) opened the scoring after halftime with a basket at the 9:36 mark of the third but didn’t make another field goal the rest of the quarter. The Lady Vols scored the opening eight points of the fourth for a 29-point lead before Tech made a basket with 7:41 left.
Darby finished with 12 points, all on 3-pointers, for Tennessee, which returns to competition at 2 p.m. Sunday at Virginia Tech. Jordan Horston added nine points and five rebounds for the Lady Vols.
Anna Jones scored 12 points and Jada Guinn had four of the 11 steals for the Golden Eagles, who were outrebounded 53-27. Anna Walker, a former Bradley Central High School standout who began her collegiate career at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, scored nine points in 21 minutes off the bench for Tech.