Freshman guard Mia Pauldo scored a career-high 26 points to lead four players in double figures, as hot-shooting No. 20 Tennessee prevailed over Mississippi State, 90-80, Thursday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
Pauldo finished 8 of 12 from the field and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line to tie for the eighth-best scoring effort by a freshman in UT history.
Also in double figures for the Lady Vols (11-3, 3-0) were senior forward Janiah Barker with 18 and senior forward Zee Spearman and redshirt junior Talaysia Cooper with 14 each, as UT shot 50.7 percent vs. the Bulldogs and carded its second-straight game making over 50 percent of its shots.
MSU (14-3 ,1-2 SEC) was paced by Kharyssa Richardson and Madison Francis, who each finished with 22 points, with Francis adding a game-high 13 rebounds. Destiney McPhaul also scored in double figures, tossing in 14.