Senior forward Rickea Jackson posted 24 points and 11 rebounds to fuel No. 5/4 Tennessee to a 74-65 victory against reigning A-10 champion UMass at Thompson-Boling Arena on Thursday night.
The Detroit, Michigan, native went off in the second half, scoring 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds. Jackson also added a pair of assists and two steals to round out her impressive performance. It was the seventh double-double of her career and marked the 20th time she's eclipsed the 20-point margin.
Other than a late rally by UMass, the Tennessee (1-1) defense was stout all night long. The Big Orange held the Minutewomen to 31-percent shooting from the field and just 8-of-30 from beyond the arc. UT forced 17 turnovers thanks to 10 steals and three blocks.
Offensively, the Lady Vols found success attacking the paint, scoring 40 points down low. Tennessee also spread the ball effectively, assisting on 18 of its 26 baskets in the game. UT shot 42 percent from the field and 74 percent from the charity stripe.
Senior center Tamari Key narrowly missed a double-double, tallying 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, nine rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals in the all-around effort. Jasmine Powell and Jordan Walker facilitated the offense, combining for 11 assists. Powell finished with seven assists, four points, four rebounds and a steal, while Walker chipped in six points, four assists and two steals.
Tess Darby led the way from beyond the arc, knocking down a trio of 3-pointers to end the night with nine points and four boards. Jasmine Franklin added eight points, three rebounds and two steals.
The Minutewomen (1-1) finished with four double-digit scorers, paced by Sam Breen, who recorded 18 points and 12 boards in the contest.
After a quick start by UMass, Tennessee ended the first quarter on a 12-6 run to take an early 17-15 lead. Jackson led the way on both ends of the floor, totaling four points, two rebounds and two steals in the period. Jordan Horston chipped in five points to spark the offense.
The Lady Vols extended their advantage to 34-29 going into halftime thanks to a trio of 3-pointers and a strong defensive effort that held UMass to just 29 percent shooting in the second stanza. The Big Orange defense finished the half by allowing the Minutewomen to connect on just one of their final eight shots. Darby, Jackson and Key each scored six points during the opening 20 minutes to fuel UT's offense.
Tennessee's defense continued its impressive effort in the third quarter, as UMass was just 5-of-23 shooting from the field in the period and missed 10 of its final 11 shots in the stanza. The Lady Vol offense, which was led by seven points from Jackson, had assists on five of their six baskets in the quarter. UT held a 54-44 edge going into the final frame.
The Big Orange began the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run, but the Minutewomen wouldn't go away quietly, using a 12-0 swing of their own to cut UT's lead to single digits. UMass fought until the end, but Jackson's 11 points in the stanza lifted the Lady Vols to the victory.
Up next, Tennessee hosts No. 11 Indiana for a big-time matchup in Thompson-Boling Arena at 6 p.m. The contest will be televised on ESPN2 and will be streamed on the Lady Vol Network.
STARTING OFF STRONG AT HOME: With its win against UMass, Tennessee improved to 46-3 all time in home openers. The Lady Vols have won 23 consecutive games in their first appearance inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
ROCKIN' RICKEA: Senior Rickea Jackson recorded the seventh double-double of her career as she fueled Tennessee in her Lady Vol debut at Thompson-Boling Arena with 24 points and 11 rebounds. It was the 20th time in her career that she eclipsed the 20-point margin. The Cheryl Miller Award candidate and preseason All-SEC First-Teamer averaged an SEC-leading 20.3 points per game last year before transferring from Mississippi State.
LADY VOLS HANGING 20: Dating back to last year, a Lady Vol has scored at least 20 points in four straight games. During that stretch, each occasion was achieved by a different Lady Vol. Alexus Dye had 20 points against Belmont in the NCAA Tournament, and Rae Burrell finished with 22 points against Louisville in the Sweet 16. Jordan Horston scored 20 in the season opener at Ohio State, and then Rickea Jackson went for 24 against UMass. In three of those performances, the player also finished with a double-double (Dye, Horston, Jackson).
With back-to-back 20-point efforts to start the season, this was the first time since the 2017-18 campaign Tennessee accomplished that feat. Mercedes Russell opened the season with 20 points against ETSU before Jaime Nared dropped 25 against James Madison.