Tennessee hammers No. 3 Mississippi State; Ole Miss knocks off Texas A&M

Jaime Nared scored a career-high 30 points, Diamond DeShields added 20 and Tennessee earned a surprisingly easy 82-64 victory over No. 3 Mississippi State on Sunday.

Tennessee (19-10, 10-6 SEC) led for nearly the entire game, jumping out to an 18-8 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Lady Volunteers shot 29 of 53 (54.7 percent) from the field, routinely getting open looks near the basket.

Tennessee won a road game against a team ranked in the top three for the first time since 2004.

Mississippi State (27-3, 13-3) has lost two straight games to end the regular season. The Bulldogs were led by Victoria Vivians, who scored 18 points. Roshunda Johnson added 16.

It was emotional afternoon for Mississippi State, which honored four seniors – Chinwe Okorie, Dominique Dillingham, Breanna Richardson and Ketara Chapel – who all played huge roles in the Bulldogs’ push into the SEC’s elite.

But the Bulldogs struggled from the outset on Saturday, shooting just 8 of 34 (23.5 percent) in the first half to fall into a 36-20 hole by halftime.

The Bulldogs lost their chance at winning an SEC team title in a women’s sport for the first time in school history. But Mississippi State has more to worry about than that after losing two straight for the first time all season.

Ole Miss women 63, Texas A&M 49: Ole Miss used a combined 32 points from its four seniors on senior day to take down Texas A&M at The Pavilion.

Shandricka Sessom scored 13 points to become the 28th player in the 1,000-point club. Shequila Joseph and Taylor Manuel added 11 and 10, respectively.

Joseph sparked a strong start for Ole Miss, knocking down two of her three 3-pointers in the first quarter to help her squad out to a 19-9 lead. The Aggies battled back in the second, making it 23-20 game at the half.

Texas A&M briefly pulled ahead early in the third quarter, but the Rebels responded, pushing back ahead late in the third and into the fourth period. Manuel took over late, scoring all 10 of her points in the final frame to give Ole Miss its sixth SEC win this season.

This story was originally published February 26, 2017 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Tennessee hammers No. 3 Mississippi State; Ole Miss knocks off Texas A&M."