Simmons led all scorers with 27 points.
Photo by Reed Carringer

GAINESVILLE—The Lady Vols simply weren’t going to lose to the Gators, even if it took five extra minutes to walk away with the victory. Florida led 70-69 with 25 seconds to play. Lady Vol freshman Bashaara Graves got fouled with 12.6 second left and split a pair of free throws to knot the score and force overtime. Florida marched to a 75-73 lead in overtime before a Simmons jumper tied it up. Three Tennessee free throws and some stout defense over the last 25 seconds gave the Lady Vols a 78-75 victory.

Florida shot 43% from the field for the game to Tennessee’s 39.4% and outrebounded the Lady Vols by seven. However, Tennessee outscored Florida by 10 at the charity stripe. Meighan Simmons led all scorers with 27 points on 11-23 shooting. Freshman standout

Bashaara Graves grabbed her seventh double-double of the year (17 points and 12 rebounds) while Isabelle Harrison, held scoreless in the first 20 minutes, finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Ariel Massengale added 12 points and four assists in the win. The Gators were led by Jaterra Bonds’ 18 points.

Lady Vol head coach Holly Warlick was pleased with her team’s resiliency.

“I thought it was a very hard fought game. We had to battle and they had to battle. We hit two big free throws and had two big stops at the end. I’m proud of our kids for finishing the game.”

With the win Tennessee moved to 45-3 all-time against the Gators.

Up Next: Tennessee (13-3) at Auburn (13-4). Thursday at 8 p.m. TV: CSS