Lady Vols slip past Missouri 62-60,

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Rennia Davis made two free throws to break a tie with 52.6 seconds left as the Tennessee women’s basketball team edged Missouri 62-60 Sunday, winning for the fifth time in its past six games.

The Southeastern Conference matchup was tied at 60 when Davis pulled down an offensive rebound and got fouled.

Missouri’s Akira Levy missed a 3-point attempt for the win with two seconds left. The Tigers (19-8, 8-5) got one last chance when Davis committed an offensive foul with 0.3 second left, but the buzzer sounded before a desperation

3-point attempt.

“Hey, great win for us,”

Lady Vols coach

Holly Warlick told reporters after the game. “I loved our effort, our energy. We needed to get stops, and we did.”

Davis, a sophomore forward, grabbed a gamehigh 11 rebounds to notch her 17th double-double as a Lady Vol.

Evina Westbrook had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Tennessee (17-8, 6-6). Mimi Collins added 11 points and six rebounds to help the Lady Vols win the battle on the glass, 41-30.

Amber Smith scored 14 points for Missouri, which was unable to sweep the season series after beating the Vols 66-64 on Jan. 6 in Knoxville. Sophie Cunningham — who was 1-for-8 from 3-point range as the Tigers finished 6-for-19 from behind the arc — and Cierra Porter added 13 points apiece for the Tigers on Sunday.

There were nine ties and 17 lead changes in the game, and neither team ever led by more than seven. Tennessee was up 22-21 after the first quarter but down 31-30 at halftime and 49-48 entering the final period.

The Lady Vols’ recent run of success comes after six straight losses.

“These kids have been tested,” Warlick said. “They’ve been called out. They’ve been put through the grind and they’ve made a better commitment. Our defense is so much better.”

The Lady Vols return to competition Thursday night at No. 22 Texas A&M (19-6, 8-4), with the tipoff in College Station set for 9 EST.