Tennessee Lady Vols basketball hosted the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders on Thursday night at Food City Center. The Lady Vols came in 3-0 on the young season and left 4-0 after a 110-64 win.

Kaylene Smikle scored the Lady Vols' first four points and gave a glimpse of what her night would be. Tennessee was aggressive on defense, as it always will be. MTSU turned the ball over 12 times in the first quarter. The Lady Vols also picked up six fouls, two of them on offense.

At the first media timeout, Tennessee led 16-8 and was 2-for-3 from 3-point range, with Smikle and Fats Janneh both connecting. The Blue Raiders answered with a 6-0 run to cut it to 16-14. Then Harissoum Coulibaly finished the first quarter strong. She scored five of her seven points late, including a 3-pointer, and joined Smikle and Janneh in giving Tennessee a 27-17 lead after one.

The Lady Vols scored 30 points in the second quarter. MTSU's Mya Kone opened the quarter with a three, and Smikle answered with a four-point play after Blair Baugus fouled her at the top of the key. Smikle scored 10 in the quarter and went into halftime with 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 7-of-7 at the line.

Tennessee's defense turned 10 second-quarter turnovers into 12 points. MTSU had 22 turnovers in the half, and Tennessee had 28 fastbreak points. Tennessee owned the paint 24-12 and went 11-for-11 from the free-throw line. The Lady Vols took a 57-34 lead into the locker room.

Janneh opened the second half with a steal and a fast-break layup. Kennedy Fauntleroy then scored off a Smikle steal to make it 61-34, and the Blue Raiders called timeout just 25 seconds into the quarter. Tennessee kept getting stops. Some of the fouls called looked ticky-tack, but the Lady Vols played through them and scored 15 points off 11 MTSU turnovers in the third quarter.

Rylie Theuerkauf hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter and got to the rim for a layup. She also played disciplined defense all night, with four steals and only one foul. Smikle had 28 points through three quarters, and Tennessee led 79-48.

Tennessee continued to run away with the game in the fourth quarter. The Lady Vols just became too much and scored 16 points off of 10 turnovers. Harper Peterson contributed a couple of 3-pointers in the quarter and Naomi White chipped in six points, all on the fastbreak. 

That helped Tennessee finish with 48 fastbreak points and a 58-26 advantage in the paint. MTSU turned the ball over 43 times to Tennessee’s 13. The Lady Vols' 30 steals were the second-most in a single game in program history.

Smikle finished with a game-high 30 points, adding five rebounds, five steals and four assists. Gabby Minus turned in 15 points with six rebounds, and Coulibaly was the third Lady Vol player in double figures with 13 points on 50% shooting.

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