Lady Vols stall in fourth, fall to LSU women's basketball and Kim Mulkey at home

Tennessee came within one point of taking over against LSU, but the Tigers made the big shots in the crucial moments Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.

Lady Vols basketball recovered from a halftime deficit to steal back the momentum and set up an exciting fourth quarter against the defending national champions. But the final minutes of the game came down to guard play, and Hailey Van Lith's 12 fourth-quarter points propelled LSU to a 75-60 win.

Tennessee (16-10, 9-5 SEC) was able to limit LSU (24-4, 11-3) stars Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson to a combined 20 points, but it couldn't contain Van Lith or freshman guard Mikaylah Williams, who combined for 41 points. None of the Lady Vols guards scored in double figures, and they were led by 16 points from Rickea Jackson and 10 from Tamari Key.

LSU outscored Tennessee 27-15 in the final quarter, shooting 45.5% from the field.

Tennessee's offense hits wall in second quarter

The Lady Vols kept an early pace with LSU offensively, trailing only 19-16 after the first quarter. They shot better than the Tigers, hitting 33.3% of their first-quarter field goals. But LSU took six more shots in the first and went 3-for-7 from 3-point range, compared to Tennessee's 2-for-7.

The Lady Vols' offense hit a wall in the second quarter, going five minutes without scoring, and LSU outscored them 19-10 in the quarter to take a 38-26 lead at halftime.

The Tigers outshot the Lady Vols from deep in the first half, going 4-for-9 from 3-point range. Tennessee missed all four of its 3-pointers in the second quarter.

Lady Vols stay even with LSU on the boards

Tennessee opened the game rebounding like it did against South Carolina, grabbing offensive rebounds on several possessions. Six of its 14 rebounds in the first quarter were offensive.

But LSU started picking up the pace and ended the quarter with 16 rebounds, eight offensive. It outrebounded Tennessee 15-12 in the second, and Angel Reese had 11 rebounds by halftime.

The Lady Vols responded, though, outrebounding LSU 18-10 in the third quarter as they stormed back from the 12-point halftime deficit. LSU recovered in the fourth to outrebound Tennessee 56-53 in the game.

Tennessee comes back in third quarter

The Lady Vols turned the tide in the third quarter, outscoring LSU 19-10 to cut the deficit to 48-45 going into the fourth.

Both teams traded buckets and pushed the pace in the first five minutes of the quarter, and then LSU struggled to score, missing four layups in a five-minute stretch without hitting a shot.

Jackson led Tennessee with six points in the third, and Tess Darby brought the Lady Vols within three points with a layup and 3-pointer at the end of the quarter.

LSU shot just 22.2% in the third quarter, while Tennessee shot 31.6%.

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols basketball stalls in fourth, falls to LSU and Kim Mulkey