KNOXVILLE - The No. 13 Lady Vols gained a measure of revenge on Monday night as they handed No. 7 Kentucky their largest defeat of the season as Tennessee routed the Wildcats 91-54 in front of 14,807 at Thompson-Boling Arena. The game served as the focal point for Live Pink, Bleed Orange an initiative as part of the "Play 4 Kay" raising awareness for breast cancer in honor of the late Kay Yow.

The win moved the Lady Vols record to 18-7 overall and 9-3 in the SEC. Kentucky dropped its second game in a row after losing to LSU last Sunday and stands at 21-4 overall and 10-2 in the league.

Meighan Simmons tallied a season-high 25 points. Shekinna Stricklen scored 18. Glory Johnson added 10 and grabbed seven rebounds.

The Lady Vols shot a sensational 59.0 from the floor and held Kentucky to just 33.3 from the floor. Tennessee outrebouned UK, 45-27.

Back on Jan. 12, Kentucky edged the Lady Vols, 61-60 in Lexington to take the lead in the SEC. Tennessee inched back to within a game of the league lead with Monday's victory.

Kentucky's leading scorer A'dia Mathies tallied 12. Back in January, she netted a career-high 34. The Cats' top scorer on Monday was Bria Goss, who had 15.

The Lady Vols' lead expanded to 28 on a putback layup by Johnson with 11:51 left in the game as the onslaught continued. The lead ballooned to 40 on a Kamiko Williams jumper with 4:32 left in the game.

Tennessee dominated the first half, leading 46-28 at intermission behind 12 points apiece from Simmons and Stricklen. The Lady Vols shot 60 percent from the floor while holding the Wildcats to 30.3 from the floor and 1-10 from 3-point range.

The Lady Vols went on a 14-0 run over 2:12 late in the first half to build a 39-18 advantage with 4:39 left in the first half. Vicki Baugh, Simmons and Williams each had four points in the spurt.

After being down by 12, Kentucky cut the deficit to five at 21-16 on a give-and-go lay-up from Bernisha Pinkett with 9:20 left. But the Lady Vols responded.

Tennessee came out strong building an 18-6 lead after an Ariel Massengale lay-up with 13:36 left in the first half. The Lady Vols made eight of their first 10 shots including Stricklen starting 3-of-3. Kentucky began the game just 2-of-16 from the floor.

The Lady Vols return to action on Thursday night as Tennessee plays at Mississippi State at 9 p.m. The game will air on CSS and can be heard on the Lady Vol Network.

The Vols gave it their all and freshman Jarnell Stokes impressed in his debut, but it wasn't enough as No. 2 Kentucky outlasted Tennessee, 65-62 before a sell-out of 21,678 at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Wildcats withstood the Vols' intensity and used an 8-0 run over 4:50 late in the game to pull off the victory and moved to 17-1 overall, 3-0 in the SEC. Tennessee dropped to 8-9 overall and 1-2 in the league finishing a stretch of three conference games against Top 20 foes in the last eight days. The run started a week ago with a stunning victory over No. 13 Florida in Knoxville.

Cameron Tatum tallied 16 points to lead UT. Jeronne Maymon had his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. In his debut, Stokes played 17 minutes and made a major impact with nine points, making his first four shots along with four rebounds.

Anthony Davis led all scorers with 18, while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist netted 17 and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Two Tennessee 3-pointers in the final 37 seconds brought the Vols within two, but Kentucky closed out the game as Darius Miller made two free throws with 19.4 seconds left and Kidd-Gilchrist added one more with 10 seconds left before Tatum dunked one home for the final of 65-62.

Marquis Teague gave the Cats a the lead for good, 55-54, on a free throw with 5:29 left. After Trae Golden missed a 3-pointer, Kidd-Gilchrist responded with his own made 3-pointer, giving Kentucky a 58-54 lead with 4:55 left in regulation. Some sloppy play on both ends kept the score at 58-54 before Doron Lamb converted two free throws with 2:18 left for a six-point UK lead. An Anthony Davis jumper finished the game off with 53 seconds left and a 62-54 lead.

Skylar McBee's 3-pointer with 37 seconds left ended a scoring drought of 6:21 and brining the Vols within five at 62-57. Cameron Tatum then bombed one home with 27.8 left to cut it to 62-60.

Down by eight on several occasions, Kentucky took its first lead since 28-25 on a pair of free throws by Kidd-Gilchrist with 8:55 left, giving UK a 52-50 advantage. That was short-lived as Kenny Hall dunked one home to tie the game at 52 all. The teams traded baskets by bigmen Hall and Davis tallied making it 54 all with seven minutes left.

Kentucky cut the deficit to just one, 48-47, as Jones converted a 3-point play with 10:55 left in the second half. Hall stemmed the UK run with a lay-in at 9:47. Kidd-Gilchrist also made a 3-point play to tie the game at 50 all with 9:29 left.

After a sluggish start to the second half, a Tatum and Stokes lay-up gave the Vols their largest lead to that points at eight, 42-34, five minutes into the half.

Tennessee led 34-28 at halftime thanks to a huge infusion from Stokes. Maymon topped all scorers in the first half with 10. The Vols kept UK's top scorer Doron Lamb (14.6 ppg entering the game) without a point in the first 20 minutes.The six-point deficit at halftime was the largest for the season for the Wildcats.

The Vols closed the half on a 9-0 run as Stokes finished the spurt with a lay-up with 1:30 left on the clock. Kentucky was held off the board for the final 3:36 after Darius Miller had given UK its largest lead of the half at 28-25. A 3-point play by Maymon tied the game at 28 with 3:09 left before a parade of free throws for the Vols.

Stokes made his Vols debut with 11:18 left in the first half and scored his first college points with a hook shot in the paint with 10:48 left in the first half. He followed that with a face-up 17-foot jumper wth 9:12 left in the first half and then drew a foul on Kentucky's Jones with 8:53 left before checking out at 8:28.

Stokes' debut trended both Worldwide and in the United States on Twitter during the first half of the game. "Jarnell Stokes" and "Size 20" were trending. Size 20, can be attributed to Stokes' massize size 20 foot.

Tennessee busted out to a 16-10 lead in the first six minutes. After a Kidd-Gilchrist jumper 22 seconds into the game, the Vols canned back-to-back 3-pointers by Josh Richardson and Tatum to take a 6-2 lead and set the tone in an electric Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Vols return to action on Wednesday at Georgia in an 8 p.m., tip on the SEC Network. That game can be heard statewide on the Vol Network.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A'dia Mathies drove the lane and scored in traffic with 4.2 seconds left to finish with a career-high 34 points and No. 9 Kentucky beat No. 6 Tennessee 61-60 Thursday night to snap the Lady Volunteers' 36-game Southeastern Conference winning streak.

With Kentucky trailing 60-57, Mathies followed her own shot to cut it to one with 46 seconds left.

After Tennessee (12-4, 3-1) was called for a charge and Kentucky (15-2, 4-0) used a timeout, Mathies took the ball at halfcourt, dribbled into the lane and hit a 7-foot floater off the glass in the paint.

Kamiko Williams drove the length of the floor, but missed an off-balance 16-footer as time expired.

Tennessee rallied from 12 points down with 7:46 left to take a lead, but lost for the first time in the SEC since falling 53-50 at Georgia on Jan. 21, 2010.

Keyla Snowden added 11 points to help Kentucky win its first four games in conference play for the first time in history to go with 15 straight at home.

Glory Johnson scored 17 points, Vicki Baugh 16 and Shekinna Stricklen 11 for Tennessee.

Kentucky led 50-38 off two free throws by Mathies with 7:46 left when Tennessee used a 14-2 rally to tie it. Meighan Simmons and Stricklen hit 3s, while Ariel Massengale's three-point play made it 54-all.

Then, after Mathies made two more free throws, Stricklen hit a layup, Kentucky's Amber Smith threw a pass away that led to a free throw by Johnson and Mathies fell and lost the ball that started Tennessee's 3-on-0 break that ended with a layup by Baugh to give the Lady Vols a 59-56 with 2:06 left.

Bria Goss made one of two free throws for the Wildcats and Johnson hit the second of two attempts to put Tennessee back ahead 60-57. Goss then missed a 3 that would've tied it, but grabbed her own rebound and Kentucky got another possession. Mathies scored on a putback to cut it to 60-59 and Stricklen was whistled for a charge with 28 seconds to play, setting up the final possession.

The last time these two teams played in the SEC Tournament, the Lady Vols routed the Wildcats by 25. This one looked to be different from the start between the two schools that have many ties on the coaching staff on both sides.

Tennessee used a 10-2 run midway through the first half to take a 20-18 lead before both teams went cold for the next five minutes, combining to miss 25 consecutive shots and commit 12 turnovers before Mathies grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a putback to end the cold snap.

The Lady Vols' struggles continued. Alicia Manning hit the second of two free throws, but a bucket by Snowden gave Kentucky a 25-21 halftime lead as Tennessee finished the half with 16 straight misses and eight turnovers.

Johnson's 8-footer in the lane on the team's first shot of the second half ended the span of nearly 11 minutes without a field goal, but Kentucky would still build a 50-38 lead behind Mathies and Snowden before Tennessee's furious rally.

The Lady Vols return to action Sunday when they host Vanderbilt at Thompson-Boling Arena at 2 p.m.

BY DREW EDWARDS
UTsports.com

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- After 26 years, the nation's longest winning streak finally came to an end.

Tennessee fell 10-7 to Kentucky on Saturday in Commonwealth Stadium, ending its streak of 26 consecutive victories.

Not only did Tennessee's winning streak -- so much a part of this series that it became known simply as "The Streak" -- come to an end, but the Vols failed to become bowl eligible.

This marks the first time since 1976-77 that the Vols failed to have back-to-back non-winning seasons.

"We had to hit our low point. It's inevitable you're going to hit bottom," UT coach Derek Dooley said. "We're going to begin our climb right now."

Tennessee (5-7, 1-7 in SEC play) had one last chance to climb out of the hole on Saturday. Trailing 10-7 with 2:35 remaining, it moved to its 41-yard line but a sack and two incompletions left the Vols facing fourth and 17 from their 34-yard line.

Bray's final pass of the game was intercepted by Taiedo Smith, and the Wildcats ran the remaining 1:27 off the clock to claim their first victory in the series since 1984.

Kentucky's senior quarterback Morgan Newton knelt three times to finish the game, and fans streamed onto the field to celebrate. But it was an unlikely quarterback who led the Wildcats to the win.

Matt Roark, a reserve receiver who last played quarterback at North Cobb High School in Georgia, started for the Wildcats and rushed for 124 yards. He completed four of his 6 passes for 15 yards.

Tennessee held the Wildcats (5-7, 2-6) to 217 yards of total offense (and just 29 in the fourth quarter), but Kentucky made the most of its opportunities to score.

Trailing 3-0, the Vols moved the ball inside the Kentucky 10-yard line after Tyler Bray found Rajion Neal on a 44-yard pass. Two plays later with Neal at quarterback in the Wildcat formation, the snap sailed over his head and Kentucky recovered.

That turnover set up Co'Shik Williams' 6-yard touchdown run with 14:12 remaining. That touchdown came two plays after Roark appeared to fumble at the end of a 26 yard run to the UT 7 on third and 12.

Dooley challenged the play, and officials upheld the ruling on the field that Roark was down before the ball came loose.

Rajion Neal scored Tennessee's lone touchdown on a 53-yard pass from Tyler Bray early in the fourth quarter. That play closed the gap to three points, but the Vols offense couldn't find another big play in the remaining 12:52.

"Kentucky came out with a little more fire than we did and made the plays they needed to make," junior defensive back Prentiss Waggner said.

Tennessee's offense struggled in the first half, picking up just 129 yards. Bray, playing his second game back after missing the previous five with a broken thumb, completed nine of his 19 passes in the opening half for 79 yards.

He finished 15-of-38 for 215 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. Bray was under the weather this week as well, although he said his illness didn't play a part in his performance Saturday.

"It shouldn't affect me at all," he said. "I played horrible."

The Vols reached Kentucky territory twice in the first half, but missed a 47-yard field goal try and turned the ball over on downs at the Kentucky 31.

Kentucky made the most of its lone drive deep into Tennessee territory. Playing with wide receiver Matt Roark running the option at quarterback, Kentucky moved the ball 62 yards to the UT 7 on its opening possession.

That drive stalled when Malik Jackson and Willie Bohanan stopped Roark for a loss of 2 yards on third down at the UT 5. Craig McIntosh connected on a 24-yard field goal to give Kentucky a 3-0 lead with 4:46 left in the first quarter.

Kentucky held Tennessee scoreless in the first half for the first time since the Vols' 2008 loss to Wyoming.

That loss hit many in the program hard, but Saturday's defeat at Kentucky cut deep.

"It's tough," said Johnson, fighting back tears. "I don't want to go out like this."

For Tennessee's returning players, it will be a long offseason and the first without a bowl game since 2008.

"We've got to go to work to build a new football team," Dooley said. "We've got to go to work. That's all we can do."

Tennessee might be winding down its final week of regular-season practice, but the mentality has remained on winning Saturday to keep the season alive.

"We better be," head coach Derek Dooley said of whether or not his Vols are ready for Saturday's game at Kentucky. "We certainly have a lot at stake. We're kind of in the playoffs. We play and if we win, we keep going. If we lose, we pack it up and go home. A lot to play for and I hope we can come out and play our best."

Although the Vols hold the momentum in the series, winning 26 consecutive games, the only numbers that matter are the ones that fall under the scope of the 2011 season.

"They're not much different from our team," Dooley said after Wednesday's practice at Neyland Stadium. "They really aren't. Our records are similar. It's a one game difference, but it's the same in the SEC. They've had their struggles. They've had some injuries. We're in a very similar situation. We couldn't be complacent on anybody because we've shown no ability to go out there and dominate."

The Vols are facing a similar situation as they did heading into last week's game against Vanderbilt, having to win to keep their chances of playing in a bowl alive.

After conquering that test, 27-21, in overtime, Tennessee is preparing the same way.

"They've been the same," Dooley said. "I don't think it's been a bad week. I don't think it's been much different on their approach and I think in some ways, that's a good thing. You don't want to have too much anxiety over one game. We had a lot at stake last week too and we had a good workmanlike approach and we had the same approach this week."

TWO-QB CHALLENGE
Defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox is focused on defending the Kentucky offense this week and that begins with the Wildcats' double-barrel action at signal caller in recent starter Maxwell Smith and Morgan Newton, who started the first eight games of season before suffering an injury against Mississippi State on Oct. 29. Smith was banged up in the Cats' loss to Georgia on Saturday, but is expected to play.

"We have to have a plan for both," Wilcox said. "That is how we have approached it. To this point we have played both types of quarterbacks so it is not anything new, it is taking some of the things we have done in each of those games and kind of piece together what we would do for each guy."

Since entering the line-up as the Wildcats primary quarterback early in the Mississippi State game, Smith has performed well, completing 57 percent of his passes along with four touchdowns. The true freshman's 283 passing yards vs. Ole Miss in his career-start on Nov. 5 earned him SEC Freshman of the Week honors as he broke UK's single-game freshman passing mark.

Newton had been sidelined with ankle and should injuries, but returned to play against Georgia last week after missing the previous two games. A junior, Newton is a dual threat as he has 272 rushing yards in his nine games this season along with 1,764 passing yards.

"They are very good schematically. They give you a lot of different issues," said Wilcox. "They have a couple of quarterbacks they play, one is more of a thrower and then other guy is more of a run pass threat."

The Wildcats have an experienced offensive line that includes three seniors and two juniors, all weighing more than 295 pounds. On the outside, they are also experienced, as they start a senior and two juniors at receiver while the starting tight end Nick Melillo is also a senior.

"The O-line is veteran, they are big physical guys," said Wilcox. "They have size at wide-out and we haven't always matched up versus bigger guys that well. So that is a concern for us. They do a very good job schematically too; they are going to get in good plays. They are going to get their guys in good positions. We have to be on point and play well or else they could score the ball."

With the Tennessee secondary banged up, Wilcox is very aware of the challenge that a veteran receiver corps can present for the Vols on Saturday.

"The next guy has to step up and carry the flag," said Wilcox. "At this point in the season that will happen. A couple guys are getting more reps than they had prior, but that is what we need to do and we expect those guys to go out and play well."

PULLING OUT THE PISTOL
By this point in the season, a team's offensive system is usually pretty well established with just minor tweaks being made during the week. Not so for the Vols, albeit by necessity more than anything.

With quarterback Tyler Bray working his way back from a fractured thumb and struggling to take snaps under center, Tennessee added the pistol formation to its repertoire last week against Vanderbilt with somewhat surprisingly positive results.

After entering the contest against the Commodores averaging just 91.9 yards per game and 2.7 yards per carry on the ground, the pistol formation seemed to give the Big Orange a boost, especially in the ground game where senior Tauren Poole and sophomore Rajion Neal combined for 136 yards on just 25 carries for an average of 5.44 per rush.

UT offensive coordinator Jim Chaney devised the game plan and noted a number of advantages it provided, but also wasn't quite ready to give the new formation all the credit.

"I think the disguise of where the ball is going sometimes is better," UT offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said. "It's new, so they didn't get a lot of reps working against us and (our) play action passes off of it tended to be a little bit better it looked to me like during the ball game. Obviously it frees up Tyler from being under center with a damaged thumb. It benefited us. I think it was a little change-up.

"I thought we blocked for (Tauren) a little bit better and when you block better, the run game tends to work a little bit better. Obviously the production was a little bit better than it has been. You can't say (the pistol formation) was all of it, but you can't say it wasn't the reason either. I'm comfortable with it and it seemed like it worked so we'll continue down that path."

Having never coached the pistol formation before, Chaney went to the original source for a quick tutorial.

"We looked at some of the Nevada stuff," Chaney said. "We looked at it, not so much schematically in the blocking assignments because we kept the same assignments, but the mechanics in the backfield more than anything. I haven't been too familiar with it. It was kind of a week where Tyler might be able to play and he can't hardly take a snap, so `duh,' let's put him in the gun and see what we can get done. And it is tied in to what we are trying to get done."

The new tactic will remain part of UT's arsenal for now, but an ultimate determination on its continued existence in the Volunteer playbook will require more data and study once the year is done.