University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols Top DePaul, 84-61
December 11, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 11, 2011
Box Score | Quotes | Notes
NEW YORK - Glory Johnson scored 16 points and Cierra Burdick added 15 to help No. 7 Tennessee beat No. 20 DePaul 84-61 on Sunday in the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Shekinna Stricklen added 12 points while Alicia Manning had season-highs of 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Lady Vols (5-2), who saw their 12-point halftime lead cut to 41-37 before using an 15-4 run to take control. Stricklen had six points during the burst.
Her layup made it 56-43 with 11:19 left and DePaul (8-2) couldn't get within single digits the rest of the way.
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt was honored during No. 1 Baylor's 73-59 victory over St. John's with the Maggie Dixon Courage award. Summitt announced in August that she had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. Both the Lady Bears and Red Storm came out of their timeouts to applaud the winningest coach in college basketball.
Jasmine Penny scored 16 points and Keisha Hampton added 14 for DePaul.
It was the second time Tennessee played in the Classic named for the former Army women's coach. The Lady Vols beat Rutgers two years ago. The Scarlet Knights had played in all four of the previous Garden events. Army hosted Ohio State at West Point the first year.
The 28-year-old Dixon died April 6, 2006, of arrhythmia, probably caused by an enlarged heart. Her death came three weeks after she finished her first season as Army coach. She won the admiration of the academy and all of college basketball for leading Army to its first NCAA berth, where the Cadets lost in the first round to Summitt's Lady Vols.
Tennessee was playing its first game without freshman point guard Ariel Massengale. She had started every game averaging 7.2 points and 5.8 assists.
She injured a finger on her left hand while diving for a loose ball at the end of practice on Thursday and will be sidelined for a few weeks.
The Lady Vols return to action on Tuesday night at No. 11 Rutgers for a 7 p.m. ET tip.
