PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — After a Saturday cruise, the Tennessee women’s basketball team encountered some trouble in paradise.
Charisma Osborne scored 23 points and hit five 3-pointers as UCLA remained undefeated by beating No. 11 Tennessee 80-63 in Sunday’s semifinals at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
First-year guard Kiki Rice added 15 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Bruins (5-0), who started hot from outside and kept knocking down 3-pointers to stretch their lead on the Lady Volunteers (2-3), who are off to their worst start since opening 2-4 in the 1981-82 season.
That sent UCLA into Monday’s title game to face Marquette (5-0) at noon Eastern, which will be followed by Tennessee taking on Gonzaga (4-1) for third place in the eight-team event. Marquette beat Gonzaga 70-66 in Sunday’s second semifinal.
The Lady Vols flew past Rutgers 94-54 in the tournament opener a day before, but the Bruins raced to a 26-18 lead that forced Tennessee to chase them the rest of the way. The Lady Vols outscored UCLA in just one quarter, the fourth, and by only one point at 16-15.