MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- The calendar might say early November, but there was a feel of March stirring here Friday night at Murphy Center.
In the season opener for both teams, the fourth-ranked and eight-time national champion Tennessee Lady Vols came calling on Middle Tennessee State, a mid-major stalwart, NCAA Tournament regular and preseason favorite to win Conference USA in its first season in the league.
After beating the visiting Lady Raiders in overtime early last season, Tennessee trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and 34-22 at intermission this time around before going on a 14-0 run to open the second half and pull away down the stretch for a stirring 67-57 victory.
"For us, it was a tale of two halves," Lady Vols second-year coach Holly Warlick said. "It was a hard-fought game. I thought our defense in the first half was very average. I thought Middle did what they wanted to do and had a great game plan.
"I think at halftime we adjusted. And we got stops (defensively). And when you get stops, you get better looks. … It was a very good win for the Lady Vols."
A conventional 3-point play by UT junior point guard Ariel Massengale tied the game at 34-all early in the second half, and the Lady Vols finally re-took the lead when freshman center Mercedes Russell followed her own shot with a successful put back to cap the 14-0 run.
The Lady Raiders would lead only one more time after that following a lay-in by senior forward Ebony Rowe, who had game highs with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Tennessee took the lead for good at 43-42 on a bucket by center Isabelle Harrison. From there, the Lady Vols steadily pulled away before settling into the final 10-point margin of victory.
"A lot of teams are starting off with not very good opponents for the first game," said Lady Vols redshirt freshman guard Andraya Carter, who came off the bench to spark the second-half rally and finish with 10 points. "But we started out with a great opponent in MTSU. They just showed us how it is going to be all season."
The Lady Raiders struggled inside against the size of the Lady Vols, who started Harrison, a 6-foot-3 junior in the middle, and a pair of 6-2 forwards -- junior Cierra Burdick and sophomore Bashaara Graves. And Tennessee came off the bench with Russell, a 6-6 freshman center out of Springfield, Ore., who was the national high school player of the year last season.
Harrison led the Lady Vols with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Massengale added 12. Playing her first collegiate game, Russell had 11 points and seven rebounds.
MTSU made only 6-of-29 shots for 20.7 percent in the second half and finished at 17-for-59 for 28.8 percent for the game. Junior guard Shanice Cason and freshman forward Olivia Jones each had 10 points for the Lady Raiders, who play at Miami (Fla.) next Friday night.
"I am sad that we lost the ballgame," Insell said, "but on the other hand I think we have some young players who saw what we have got to do to become a better basketball team. We needed a game like this. I am proud of our effort."
A near sell-out crowd of 11,227 -- the second-largest to watch a women's game at Murphy Center -- made for a festive atmosphere, one that wasn't lost on either coach.
"I told (MTSU athletics director) Chris Massaro early on that this was going to be the biggest game across the country tonight -- opening night for women's basketball," said Insell, whose team won the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title and made the NCAA Tournament the last five years.
"Not only was it going to be a competitive game," he added, "but you were going to see the crowd there. And I think you saw both of them. You saw a competitive game. And you saw a fan base that is passionate about the game of women's basketball."
For Tennessee, the game was a challenging start to an always tough non-conference schedule that resumes Monday night at No. 12 North Carolina.
"Any road trip for us is difficult," said Warlick, who guided the Lady Vols to a 27-8 record and NCAA Elite Eight appearance last year in her first season replacing legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt.
" … You are a little concerned when you go in at halftime and you're down by 12 and it's a great crowd," she added. "That's the environment we're going to have to learn to play in. When we go to North Carolina, it will probably be the same way."
In a sloppily played first half, the teams committed a combined 25 personal fouls (Tennessee 15, Middle Tennessee 10) and turned the ball over a combined 18 times (Tennessee 10, Middle Tennessee eight).
After opening the game by exchanging baskets, the Lady Raiders went on a 9-0 run to open an 18-10 lead midway through the first half following a basket by Cason. From there, the Lady Raiders hit four-straight 3-pointers -- two by Jones and one each from Cason and senior guard Laken Leonard -- to stretch the lead to 32-20.
The lead grew to 34-20 on free throws by Cason and Jones in the final minute of the first half before the Lady Raiders settled into the 34-22 halftime bulge.
In the first half, Tennessee made only 9-of-33 shots for 27.3 percent, including connecting on only one 3-point shot in eight tries. The Lady Raiders weren't much better from the field, though, hitting 11-of-30 for 36.7 percent. Thing is, they made a respectable 38.5 percent of their 3-point shots, connecting on 5-of-13 tries beyond the arc.
"They did what they had to do," Insell said of Tennessee rallying for the victory in the second half. "They came back out and got up in is and got us a little bit rattled, got us out of our offense.
" … But it is not a 10-point game. It is more closer to a five-point game."
