Jackson Has 26 Points As Tennessee Rips Green Bay In The First Round Of Women’s NCAA Tournament

RALEIGH, N.C.: Rickea Jackson scored 26 points and Tennessee rolled past Green Bay 92-63 in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament Saturday.

Sarah Puckett added 14 points and Jewel Spear had 13 for the sixth-seeded Lady Vols, who are the only team to participate in all 42 women’s NCAA Tournaments. It was the first game in Raleigh for Tennessee coach Kellie Harper, who coached North Carolina State for four seasons from 2009-13.

Tennessee (20-12) will play either the third-seeded Wolfpack or No. 14 seed Chattanooga on Monday with a spot in the Sweet 16 in Portland, Oregon.

Maddy Schreiber led 11th-seeded Green Bay (27-7) with 13 points, but the Phoenix remained without an NCAA Tournament victory since 2012 by suffering their most-lopsided loss of the season. Veteran coach Kevin Borseth gave a salute to teary-eyed fans as he walked off the court.

Tennessee reached the 20-win mark for the 47th time, including the fourth in Harper’s five seasons. The Lady Vols have been seeded lower than sixth only twice.

This marked Tennessee’s first game since nearly knocking off previously undefeated and No. 1 overall seed South Carolina in the Southeast Conference tournament semifinals March 9.

The impact from Tennessee’s interior size advantage was too much for Green Bay. The Lady Vols shot 58.3% from the field.

Tennessee held a 44-28 halftime lead, holding the Phoenix without a point for the last 5:53 of the half while scoring the final 11 points. The Vols scored 18 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter, stretching their lead to 62-37.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)