KNOXVILLE — Karoline Striplin and Jillian Hollingshead had double-doubles to lead five scorers in double figures as 15th-ranked Tennessee shook off being short-handed to win big, with the Lady Volunteers beating Troy 100-73 on Sunday.
Striplin had 19 points and 14 rebounds — both career highs for the 6-foot-3 junior — and two blocks to lead the way for the Lady Vols, who have scored at least 84 points in each game this season but hit triple digits for the first time in their 3-1 start.
Striplin wasn't in the starting lineup, but she played 26 minutes and already had the first double-double of her Lady Vols career by halftime with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
"I felt like this could be a really good game for her," Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper said in postgame quotes provided by Tennessee's athletic department. "She's a very physical player in the paint, and that was good for us. We knew we wanted to get the ball inside.
"She gave us some touches. She did a good job going to get offensive boards and had some putbacks. She had a few turnovers, but we'll continue to work on that. I'm really proud of her and her game, her positivity, her communication — all of that was really good as well."
Hollingshead and Destinee Wells scored 18 points each, with Hollingshead grabbing 10 rebounds and Wells handing out eight assists. Sara Puckett added 14 points with eight rebounds, and Kaiya Wynn scored 10.
Injuries meant the Lady Vols were without Rickea Jackson (leg), Jasmine Powell (wrist) and Avery Strickland (concussion protocol), and Puckett played 19 minutes despite not being able to practice Saturday due to illness.
"Coming into shootaround today, we didn't even know what her status was," Harper said, "so a gutsy performance by Sara to be out on the court and playing."
Tennessee turned a 21-all tie after the first quarter into a 46-30 halftime lead after shooting a hot 56% in the second quarter.
Hollingshead had seven points and four rebounds in Tennessee's 31-point third quarter, and the Lady Vols led 77-52 heading to the fourth. Tennessee's lead reached 30 once, when Wynn buried a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left.
Troy, which entered with the No. 294 scoring defense in the nation, fell to 0-3 despite having four scorers in double figures: Nia Daniel (19 points), Tai'Sheka Porchia (18), Ja'Mia Hollings (16) and Shaulana Wagner (10). Porchia led her team with eight rebounds, and Wagner's seven assists were also a pace-setter for the visitors.
Tennessee finished with a whopping 63-35 advantage in rebounds and outscored Troy 28-28 in the paint.
The Lady Vols return to competition Thursday in Florida, when they face No. 18 Indiana (3-1) at the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Thanksgiving night. They'll face No. 25 Oklahoma (3-0) on Saturday afternoon in the same event.