Georgia pulled off a 72-69 upset win over No. 11 Tennessee on Sunday in one of the largest upsets in women’s college basketball this season. The Bulldogs earned their first win over an AP Top 25 opponent this season while spoiling the Lady Vols’ senior night in Knoxville.
Kim Caldwell’s team was down by 23 points in the first half, but fought its way back and tied it up by the time the fourth quarter rolled around. Unfortunately for the crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena, the Lady Vols ran out of gas.
Had they managed to win, it would have tied the Lady Vols’ largest comeback in school history, which happened in 2009 against Rutgers.
Mia Woolfolk led Georgia’s efforts with 20 points on 7 of 9 shooting, while De’Mauri Flournoy added 18 points and a perfect 4 of 4 from 3-point range. Five Bulldogs scored in double digits overall in a full team effort.
Although Tennessee is one of the top 25 rebounding teams in the nation, the Bulldogs managed to win that battle Sunday. Georgia out-rebounded the Lady Vols 38-33, as Fatima Diakhate led the way with 11 boards.
Sunday was Georgia’s sixth ever win in Knoxville. The result helped the Bulldogs get their fourth conference win of the season and improve to 12-18. Tennessee dropped to 21-8 and 8-8 in the SEC.
Up next, both teams will compete in the SEC Tournament beginning Wednesday in Greenville, S.C. To make matters worse for Tennessee, star guard Talaysia Cooper’s status for the conference tournament is in question as she suffered an apparent ankle injury `13 minutes into the Georgia game and did not return. No significant updates have emerged regarding Cooper, who’s averaging a team-best 16.7 points per game.
Here is a closer look at Sunday’s massive upset:
Slow starts have plagued Tennessee
It took over six minutes for Tennessee to get a field goal, and by the end of the first quarter the Lady Vols had gone just 2 of 16 from the field and 1 of 10 from beyond the arc.
The Lady Vols’ aggressive style of play allows them to climb back from large deficits, which worked out after slows starts against Missouri and Florida. However, they ran out of gas against Georgia.
A similar thing happened against Kentucky. Tennessee was down by 35 points and was facing what would have been the largest loss in program history. The Lady Vols climbed back to “only” lose by a score of 82-58.
What the loss means for Tennessee
The Lady Vols have struggled in SEC play and could be in danger of losing a first-round bye in the converse tournament if Vanderbilt snags the No. 8 seed. The Commodores, 7-8 in conference play ahead of their game against Missouri, stunned Tennessee 71-70 in January.
Tennessee was also one of the teams in good position to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, but losing to Georgia might take the Lady Vols out of contention.
