The No. 15 Tennessee Lady Vols welcomed the Troy Trojans to the Food City Center Sunday night with a 100-73 victory. Despite three players – Rickea Jackson, Jasmine Powell, and Avery Strickland – all benched on account of injury, Tennessee quickly found its groove as a newly reimagined unit.
Jackson, Powell, Strickland Benched For Injury
The Lady Vols welcomed fans to the Food City Center in Big Orange fashion Sunday afternoon, but not every player was sporting their Sunday best.
Rickea Jackson, Jasmine Powell, and Avery Strickland were each rocking charcoal sweats for pre-game warm-ups – an indication that they’d be sitting the game out.
Fifth-year senior Rickea Jackson’s right foot boot came as no real surprise after she sat out Tennessee’s previous game against Memphis. Fellow fifth-year guard Jasmine Powell’s right wrist brace, on the other hand, came as more of a shock to fans.
Powell showed her first signs of wrist pain after taking a late-game foul from Memphis on Monday. Whether she’s sitting out today as a precautionary measure or whether there are larger problems is still unknown.
Freshman Avery Strickland was also forced to sit out as precautionary concussion protocol.
Striplin, Hollingshead, Wells Names Players of the Game
With two starters on the bench, Coach Harper got creative with the starting lineup, featuring:
- Tess Darby
- Destinee Wells
- Jewel Spear
- Jillian Hollingshead
- Sara Puckett
Multiple Lady Vols rose to the occasion in the absence of Jackson and Powell, with Karoline Striplin, Jillian Hollingshead, and Destinee Wells all being named Players of the Game.
Striplin, who subbed in for Wells less than three minutes into the first quarter, was integral to Tennessee’s defensive success as well as offensively, scoring from behind the arc as well as under the basket. She celebrated the best performance of her college career with a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double.
Destinee Wells also played a monumental role in the team’s victory, logging 18 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds. Wells focused her efforts on scoring during the first half, sinking a total 14 points. In the second half, she pivoted to assisting teammates, adding 6 assists to her day.
Meanwhile, Jillian Hollingshead introduced the team to a more assertive version of herself with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Puckett, Darby Sisters Show Out
The Ladies found quick synergy between this new pack of players. What Tennessee initially struggled with in the way of passes they made up for behind the arc. By the end of the first half, three Lady Vols had already logged double points – 15 points for Striplin, 14 for Wells, and 10 for Puckett.
Following the game, Coach Harper revealed that Puckett hadn’t been feeling well and didn’t attend the previous day’s practice session. But that didn’t stop Puckett from logging 14 points and 8 rebounds, with 100% of free throws made and 50% three-point success.
Senior Tess Darby was a fellow force behind the arc, sinking three of her five attempts to add nine points to the scoreboard. Tess wasn’t the only Darby sister making her name known in the game, though. Darby’s sophomore sister, Edie Darby, entered the game early and made use of her entire 17 minutes on the court with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, & 2 steals.
The post-game press conference revealed no new updates on Rickea Jackson. Harper says Jackson continues to participate in team shootarounds, however, lending potential for her participation in Thursday’s matchup against Indiana.
