Third Quarter Excellence, Tamari Key Lead the Lady Vols Past Mississippi State

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. On Thursday night, the No. 16 Tennessee Lady Vols got back on track with a 22-point win over the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs.

Led by a brilliant 30-point third-quarter performance, Tennessee achieved their 11th conference win.

Mississippi State made it interesting heading into halftime as the Lady Bulldogs put together a 14-6/11-4 run before the break, featuring three three-pointers.

However, Tennessee asserted their dominance early in the second half, with Tamari Key, Tess Darby, Jordan Walker and Alexus Dye putting together some of their best performances. In addition, Tennessee nearly doubled their first-half score in the second half, posting 56 points in the second 20 minutes and 30 in the first 20.

Tennessee nearly doubled their first-half score in the second half, posting 56 points in the second 20 minutes and 30 in the first 20. The Lady Vols' second-half total is the most points they have scored in a half in conference play, and it is the second-most this season (61 against ETSU). The Lady Vols' 86 points are also the most they have scored in regulation in conference play, as their 86 point total against Arkansas came in overtime.

The Lady Vols improve to 22-6 with an incredible 14-1 record at home after the victory. And with the win, Tennessee wraps up a double-bye in the SEC Tournament, clinching at least a four seed as they hold a tie-breaker over Ole Miss if the Lady Rebels were to win out.

Below are four storylines from Tennessee's win, featuring the quartet of players who helped lead Tennessee to one of their best 30 minutes of basketball this season.

Tamari Key ties a career-high, erupts for her 10th double-double of the season

Tamari Key put together one of the best performances of her collegiate career with a career-high-tying 23 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks. Key is now 12 blocks away from the all-time program lead, as Candace Parker holds the record with 275.

"It's surreal when I see everyone talking about it on social media. I'm not the type to congratulate myself, but Candace Parker, she's amazing. So to be close to her is really special."

"She was very motivated going into this game to get touches," head coach Kellie Harper said of Key. She battled in our last game against South Carolina. She put a couple together in a row where she's really wanted the ball, and her teammates did a great job looking for her. Our offensive execution was great tonight considering what we were wanting to accomplish. Ball movement was where we wanted it."

Key has been a dominant presence in the post all year, as her 99 blocked shots ranked second in the NCAA and first in the SEC. But in a performance like she had against the Lady Bulldogs, Tennessee is a hard team to beat when she combines efficient offense with her stellar defense. The junior was 11-14 from the field, marking a career-high in field goals made.

In the absence of Jordan Horston, it puts more pressure on Key to deliver like she has all season. And against Mississippi State, the junior did just that with the help of her teammates.

"My teammates were getting me the ball in great positions for me to be able to finish today."

Tess Darby lights it up from three, SETS career-high

Looking at the Lady Vols' win over Mississippi State, it is hard to overlook Tess Darby's excellent stat line from three-point range.

The Greenfield, Tennessee native racked up five triples on six attempts to help her set a career-high point total with 17.

"The confidence my teammates have in me has rubbed off on me," Darby said looking back on her career night. "And I just have to continue to shoot the ball that way it will open up more opportunities for others.

"And it's fun, "Darby added. "When you are having other teammates having huge nights, it makes it even more fun. This team is just really fun to play with."

Darby is the Lady Vols sharpshooter, no doubt about it, as the sophomore has now had three games with four or more three-pointers, with Thursday night's game being her first with five made triples.

Darby's ability to spread out the defense in being nearly automatic from deep helped Tennessee significantly in their win, especially in their 56-point second half.

"Tess was fantastic, and I thought that was on both ends of the court. She didn't have an awful lot of mistakes on defense. She had a couple boards and obviously was shooting the ball well. Even when she's just taking shots, it spreads the defense out and allows us to attack the paint. So I'm really proud of how she played."

And Harper's statement showed in the final stats, as the Lady Vols had 50 points in the paint to Mississippi State's 28, with Tamari Key being a huge factor in that area.

Jordan Walker, Alexus Dye emerge in many facets

Like Tamari Key and Tess Darby, college basketball veterans in Jordan Walker and Alexus Dye stepped up for Tennessee. Walker nearly had a triple-double with nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Alexus Dye continued her streak of good games as of late with 13 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes.

"Snoop [Alexus Dye] has been really active recently," Harper said of the Troy transfer. "Both offensively and on the boards. She's moving around looking for teammates and is attacking the dribble. She's settling in for where she needs to be right now. And she's so much fun to coach."

Dye logged her 1,000th career point as a college athlete against Mississippi State, as the graduate senior had 757 points as a Trojan and eclipsed the four-digit milestone. Against South Carolina, Dye recorded double-digit rebounds, and following it up with a near double-double is exactly what Tennessee needs to further recoup after losing Jordan Horston.

As for Walker, in her second season on Rocky Top, the redshirt senior looked comfortable leading the offense and had a complete performance. Earlier this week, Harper said Walker has been emerging as a vocal leader, and Walker discussed how that reflected in her play against the Lady Bulldogs.

"I think for me tonight was to push the pace," Walker said. "In the second half, it was much better and that turned it around for our team."

Confidence building as LSU nears

Most importantly for Tennessee, who come into Thursday night on a two-game losing streak, their win over Mississippi State builds confidence for a Sunday afternoon showdown with No. 8 LSU.

"In terms of what the team needed, they were in a really good space after South Carolina," Harper said. "That game was positive for us. They felt good about their effort in that game and it carried over. They've been pretty locked in, and it's great to get the win. It builds confidence, for sure."

"This win is really good for us," Key added. "We had great effort against South Carolina and have gotten back to ourselves and had fun. We carried that into today."

In the dominant win over Mississippi State, the Lady Vols showed that they still have plenty of poise and explosiveness with their second-half performance. And with another home game on the slate, Tennessee will look to improve to 15-1 in TBA with a victory over LSU.

Tennessee is currently one game behind LSU for second in the SEC. Tip-off between the two Top-16 teams is set for 2:00 p.m. ET in Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday afternoon.

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