The Lady Vols did exactly what they needed to do by sweeping the three-game homestand and staying in position to host early round games in Knoxville.

The third win in a row came on a frigid Thursday night that still brought 10,684 people to Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center to watch an 88-80 win over Alabama.

Coach Kim Caldwell is still looking for a complete game – Tennessee led by 16 points in the third quarter – but Alabama pulled within four points, 79-75, forcing a Tennessee timeout with 3:11 left in the game. Freshman Kaniya Boyd responded for Tennessee with a steal on Alabama’s end and basket on Tennessee’s end.

“That play was huge, and it was all effort,” Caldwell said.

Senior Jewel Spear cleaned up a teammate’s miss, forcing an Alabama timeout with 1:32 left to play and the Lady Vols ahead 84-75. Tennessee was back in control at that point.

Spear led No. 15/13 Tennessee (20-6, 7-6) with 20 points and was perfect at the line at 11-11, Talaysia Cooper notched 16 points, Zee Spearman tallied 11 points, and Samara Spencer and Tess Darby added nine each.

Sarah Ashlee Barker led No. 18/19 Alabama (21-6, 8-5) with 22 points, while Zaay Green, a former Lady Vol, notched 16 points, Essence Cody and Aaliyah Nye both tallied 13 points, and Karly Weathers added 11 points.

For Spear and Darby, who both are fifth-year seniors, the regular season is winding down quickly. The Lady Vols will get on the road again for games at Florida this Sunday, Feb. 23, and at Kentucky on Thursday, Feb. 27, before finishing at home for Senior Day against Georgia on Sunday, March 2.

“Tess has been a great leader, a vocal leader and with both of us being seniors and knowing the urgency there is with not letting games slip by or having regrets and taking game by game,” Spear said.

“We’re both been here, we know what it’s like to compete in the SEC but really just enjoying every moment,” Darby said. “I love being around this group of players and coaches, so just really taking it all in.”

Tennessee’s press conference can be watched HERE.

The Lady Vols got in gear against Crimson Tide with 38 fast break points, the highest total of the season in Caldwell’s fast-paced system. It broke the previous high against Samford of 36 points in transition in the season opener.

Sophomore Alyssa Latham also made some key plays for Tennessee with a three-pointer in the first quarter and a knack for getting on the offensive glass. Latham also can be disruptive on defense in a good way.

“She’s one of the most athletic people on the floor, and she can find buckets that other people can’t,” Caldwell said. “She can go get offensive rebounds. She can get steals. She’s a really good and smart slasher cutting, so she just needs to continue to do what she’s doing.”

Caldwell left the same five players on the court for the final two minutes in Spear, Boyd, Spencer, Spearman and Cooper. In close SEC games that the Lady Vols lost this season, the team struggled to score at the end.

“I think that group was scoring better, and they were guarding better, and they did what they needed to do,” Caldwell said.

The outcome gave Tennessee its 20th overall win of the season and put the Lady Vols at 7-6 in the SEC.

“Alabama is a really good team,” Caldwell said. “I wished we could have finished it a little bit better, but anytime you can win in this league against a top-ranked opponent, you’ll take it.”

Maria M. Cornelius, a senior writer/editor at MoxCar Marketing + Communications since 2013, started her journalism career at the Knoxville News Sentinel and began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press.