KNOXVILLE - Tennessee's 67-63 win over Vanderbilt never felt as close as the final score indicated.
The Lady Volunteers were ahead for 38 minutes and 36 seconds of their victory Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena, with their lead as big as 14 points as they dominated the matchup in seemingly every aspect.
For once, Tennessee wasn't the team turning the basketball over too much. For once, the Lady Vols grabbed offensive rebounds and converted them into points. But the Commodores continued to chip away and chip away and chip away, taking a one-point lead in the fourth quarter.
And with their postseason hopes likely on the line, the Lady Vols finally made the plays to put the game away.
With that, Tennessee (18-9, 8-6 Southeastern Conference) swept the regular-season series with the Commodores (13-14, 3-11), halted a five-game losing streak and remained in the discussion regarding at-large bids for the NCAA tournament. Only two regular-season games remain for Tennessee - Thursday's 7 p.m. game against Ole Miss (7-20, 0-14) for senior night and next Sunday's visit to Auburn - before the SEC tournament tips off March 4 in Greenville, South Carolina.
Rennia Davis paced the Lady Vols' scoring with 18 points and shared the team lead in rebounds with Lou Brown as each had 10. All but two of Jordan Horston's 16 points came in the first half, but most noteworthy for the freshman guard was that she cut down her turnovers, with just two (and a team-leading five assists) while playing nearly 30 minutes. Rae Burrell scored 12 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, and had nine rebounds and three assists.
Vanderbilt's Chelsie Hall scored a game-high 20 points, Mariella Fasoula added 18 with 13 rebounds and Jordyn Cambridge had 11 points.
"I knew this was going to be a tough game," Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said. "I'm obviously excited to get back in the win column. Vanderbilt withstood some of our runs and made their runs.
"It was a tough game, but I'm proud of my team."
SUNDAY'S STAR
Davis lands here because no player meant more to her team than the 6-foot-2 junior, who made only nine of 23 shots but was a team-best plus-17 as she played more than 34 minutes. Tennessee needed her on the court in part due to everything she does well, which isn't just scoring and rebounding.
STANDOUT STAT
The Lady Vols have rarely won the turnover battle this season, but they did Sunday, turning the ball over 14 times compared to Vanderbilt's 20. They also turned the Commodores' turnovers into 18 points, while Vandy got only 10 points from Tennessee's mistakes.
TURNING POINT
Kasiyahna Kushkituah knocked down a jumper from the foul line with 5:08 to play, shifting the lead back to Tennessee after the Commodores had taken a 56-55 advantage. After the game, Vanderbilt coach Stephanie White basically said her team was going to give Kushkituah that shot, one Harper said the 6-foot-4 junior center had worked on all morning.
WHAT IT MEANS
Tennessee had to have this win, but it won't move the needle much for the team's postseason aspirations, which have been in some trouble for some time now. What the Lady Vols can't do is lose either of their next two games, and even then they probably still need to win at least once in the SEC tournament to extend their streak of having never missed the NCAA tournament.
QUOTABLE
Horston on her playmaking ability: "Honestly, I just feel like I'm playing basketball. I do what the defense gives me, so it's not like there's anything set in my mind, it's just a feel for the game."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.