ATHENS — Gabby Connally scored 24 points, Jordan Isaacs blocked a last-second shot and No. 22 Georgia defeated No. 21 Tennessee 57-55 on Sunday for the Bulldogs’ first sweep of the Lady Vols in 36 years.
A missed free throw by Connally with 22.1 seconds to go and alternating turnovers gave Tennessee a last chance with 10.2 seconds left. Top scorer Rennia Davis got the ball in the backcourt, worked to the left wing and put up a 3-point attempt that Isaacs got her fingers on for the Bulldogs’ season-high 12th block.
With a come-from-17-behind 67-66 win on Jan. 14 — their first in Knoxville in 25 seasons — Georgia earned the season sweep for the first time since 1984-85.
Que Morrison added 11 points for Georgia (17-4, 9-4 Southeastern Conference), which moved into a tie for third in the loss column with Tennessee. Jenna Staiti had 12 rebounds and six blocks. Connally had five steals.
Davis scored 22 points for the Lady Vols (13-6, 7-4), who played their fourth straight against ranked teams. They lost three on the road but beat No. 2 South Carolina at home in their last game. All six losses have come against ranked teams (four) or teams that are now ranked. Rae Burrell added 10 points, Kasiyahna Kushkituah 13 rebounds and Tamari Key four blocks.
Tennessee shot 12.9% in the first half (4 of31) and trailed 27-19. Both teams scored 20 points in the third quarter.
Davis’ 3-pointer, the first for Tennessee, cut the deficit to 47-46 but Connally answered with a 3 and the game stayed close. The only lead for Tennessee was on the opening basket.
Tennessee finished at 28.8%, going 2 of 13 from 3-point range. Georgia only shot 33.3% and the top free-throw shooting team in the league was just 7 of 18 with seven different players missing at least one.
Tennessee plays at Missouri on Thursday when No. 17 Kentucky visits Georgia.
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