The Lady Vols opened the NCAA Tournament by defeating Middle Tennessee State.
Tennessee used a big second half to rally past the Blue Raiders and nab an 87-62 victory at the Fred Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.
Middle Tennessee State, a No. 14 seed in the River Walk Region, proved to be pesky early and played the third-seeded Lady Vols evenly over the first 20 minutes as the game was tied 39-39 at halftime.
UT (17-7) pulled away, outscoring the Blue Raiders 23-10 in the third quarter.
Four Lady Vols posted double figures in the scoring column.
Rennia Davis recorded a double-double as she led Tennessee with 24 points. She also pulled down 14 rebounds.
Rae Burrell scored 22 points and totaled down seven rebounds for the Lady Vols. Tamari Key scored 13 points, while Kasi Kushkituah scored 10 and had eight rebounds for Tennessee, which plays No. 6 Michigan on Tuesday.
Jordan Walker had 14 rebounds and scored nine points for the Lady Vols.
Former Tennessee player Anastasia Hayes, the Conference USA Player of the Year, led the Blue Raiders (17-8) with 26 points.
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