No. 5 Tennessee rolls past No. 12 South Florida

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Talaysia Cooper had 20 points, six rebounds and four assists, Samara Spencer scored 15 points and fifth-seeded Tennessee routed 12th-seeded South Florida 101-66 on Friday night in a women’s NCAA Tournament first-round game.

Zee Spearman added 13 points and Jewel Spear had 11 for Tennessee (23-9), which advanced to play No. 4 seed Ohio State (26-6) on Sunday. The winner will move on to the Birmingham 3 Regional.

The Volunteers held a 26-25 lead after the first quarter, which included four ties and six lead changes. But Tennessee outscored South Florida 29-9 in the second quarter to grab control of the game. Spearman and Cooper each had 11 points, with Spearman going 3 for 3 on 3-pointers during the period.

The Vols eventually built their lead as high as 35 points in the fourth quarter. They shot 50% from the floor and 43% on 3s (16 of 37). Eight Tennessee players made at least one 3.

Sammie Puisis had 28 points and seven rebounds for South Florida (23-11). L’or Mputu scored 12 points.

Takeaways

South Florida: This was USF’s 10th NCAA berth and the program’s fourth in the last five years. The Bulls dropped to 5-10 all-time in NCAA action. They got into the field by winning the American Athletic Conference tournament championship. They had won 12 of their last 14 games.

Tennessee: The Vols, ranked 20th in the final AP poll, had lost three of their last four games coming into the NCAA Tournament. But their size, depth, athleticism and shot making were all too much for the Bulls.

Key stat

Tennessee forced 24 turnovers, while the Lady Vols committed just six turnovers themselves. Tennessee held a 36-10 edge in points off turnovers.

Caldwell's milestone

First-year Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell won the 2022 Division II national championship at West Virginia’s Glenville State. Caldwell spent last season as the head coach at Marshall, going 0-1 in the NCAA Tournament with a loss at Virginia Tech. This is her first NCAA win at the Division I level.

Tennessee, which has appeared in all 43 NCAA tournaments since the event’s inception in 1982, will be going for its 37th Sweet 16 berth and first since 2023 on Sunday.

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