KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Candace Parker scored 22 of her 31 points in the first half and third-ranked Tennessee cruised to an 84-62 win over Kentucky on Sunday.
The Lady Vols (23-2, 10-0 Southeastern Conference) honored members of its 1987 team that won the school’s first national championship and other former players at halftime. Many of them participated in similar easy home victories.
Kentucky coach Mickie DeMoss was an assistant to coach Pat Summitt in 1987, but her reunion was not as fun.
The Wildcats (16-10, 5-6) beat then-No. 1 Tennessee 66-63 last year in Lexington to end a 24-game losing streak in the series. The Lady Vols didn’t give Kentucky a chance to repeat, grabbing a lead from the beginning.
Sidney Spencer and Shannon Bobbitt each scored 12 points, and Alex Fuller had 11 for Tennessee.
Sarah Elliott led Kentucky with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Jennifer Humphrey added 15.
The Lady Vols went ahead 25-13 when a pass bounced off a Kentucky player near midcourt and Parker got it and scored with 9:08 left before halftime.
Tennessee increased its lead to 25 with a 12-0 run late in the first half. Parker scored six points during the spurt, and Cait McMahan’s driving layup with 49.6 seconds remaining put the Lady Vols up 46-21.
Tennessee expanded its lead to 30 early in the second half on Bobbitt’s 3 with 17:05 left.
Parker was 12-of-16 from the floor and 7-of-8 at the foul line. She also had nine rebounds. Her night appeared over early in the second half when she went to the bench and put on her warmups.
But Kentucky rallied to pull within 22 with 9:11 remaining and Summitt put Parker back in the game. Parker fouled Humphrey, who converted a three-point play that trimmed it to 68-49.
Parker tipped in a miss on Tennessee’s next possession to push the lead back over 20 and went back to the bench for good a few minutes later.
Tennessee pressed in the first half and Kentucky was harassed into 16 turnovers. The Wildcats finished with 25.
Despite the lopsided score, Kentucky outrebounded Tennessee 40-24.
Kentucky’s win over the Lady Vols last year helped the Wildcats have one of their best seasons. They finished with 22 wins, the most in 16 seasons, and went to the NCAA tournament for the first time in seven years as a No. 5 seed.
Tennessee has won at least 10 SEC games for the 10th straight season since going 8-4 in the league in 1996-97. The Lady Vols are the only undefeated team in SEC play.
