COLLEGE PARK, Md. - While Tennessee is left to ponder a rare early exit from the NCAA women's basketball tournament and the future of its coach, UCLA remains in the hunt for another trip to the Sweet 16.
The Bruins put a rapid end to Tennessee's 38th consecutive appearance in the tournament, blunting a second-half comeback bid and using an impressive performance by Michaela Onyenwere to secure an 89-77 victory Saturday in the first round of the Albany Regional.
After squeezing into the tournament with an at-large bid, the 11th-seeded Lady Volunteers erased a 17-point deficit before losing in the first round for the second time in school history. The only other time it happened was in 2009, when 12th-seeded Ball State beat fifth-seeded Tennessee 71-55.
Tennessee is the lone program to compete in every NCAA women's basketball tournament since the event was first held in 1982. The Lady Vols finished 19-13, failing to reach 20 wins for the first time since the 1975-76 season.
"Losing doesn't feel real good," said coach Holly Warlick, who signed a three-year extension in August but could end up being forced to take a buyout worth approximately $690,000 if Tennessee chooses to move in another direction.
"It's out of my control. I love this program, I love what it stands for," added Warlick, a former Lady Vols player and longtime assistant who was named head coach in 2012. "Do I want to continue coaching? Absolutely. But if it needs to go in a different direction, that's not up to me."
Onyenwere had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Bruins (21-12), who advanced to face host Maryland (29-4) on Monday and would reach the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year with a victory. The third-seeded Terrapins won 73-51 against 14th-seeded Radford (26-7) in the site's first game Saturday.
After going up by 16 points early in the third quarter, UCLA fell behind 65-62 with five minutes left in the game and forged a tie at 70 with 3:34 remaining before rattling off 10 straight points. Onyenwere began the spree with a layup, and Kennedy Burke made successive layups before Japreece Dean sank two free throws. A layup by Onyenwere capped the run and made it 80-70 with 1:22 to go.
"I didn't think we executed our game plan to the level I (wanted)," UCLA coach Cori Close said. "We told them it was all going to be about defense. We scored 89, so it shows how much I know. The reality is, we're going to have to play a little more consistently."
That's particularly the case under their own basket.
"Defense is our anchor," Onyenwere said. "During the fourth quarter, we stayed poised. We realized that we weren't playing defense as hard as we could. Once we ramped that up, it kind of went in our favor."
The Lady Vols' poor free-throw shooting throughout the game - they went 13-for 25 - was also a factor.
Rennia Davis had 21 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal for Tennessee. Kasiyahna Kushkituah came off the bench to score 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting, Mimi Collins added 14 points and Evina Westbrook had nine assists but six turnovers.
Tennessee seniors Cheridene Green and Meme Jackson combined for 13 points and eight rebounds in their collegiate finale.
The Bruins raced to a 25-8 lead and shot 10-of-20 from the field during a 28-point first quarter. Tennessee went 10-for-30 from the field and had nine turnovers in a first half that ended with UCLA up 44-32.
"They could have thrown in the towel the first quarter, and they fought," Warlick said of her players. "We talk about the fight that we have; I was really proud of them to come back and compete and play as hard as they did throughout the game."
After Onyenwere scored the first two baskets of the third quarter, the Lady Vols went on a 20-4 run to pull even at 52. Collins and Kushkituah each scored six points in the surge, and Westbrook had five.
Tennessee found the lane open in the fourth quarter and exploited the weary UCLA defense for a variety of layups and short jumpers, but the Bruins made up the difference on the other end during the pivotal 10-0 run.