Baker scores 20, No. 15 Lady Vols dominate first half and Middle Tennessee 85-41

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Murfreesboro, Tenn. (AP) — Janiah Barker scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and No. 15 Tennessee dominated the first half to roll to an 85-41 win over Middle Tennessee on Thursday night.

Barker scored the first five points of the game and the Lady Vols scored the first 15, including back-to-back 3-pointers from Talaysia Cooper. They added a 9-0 run and led 25-9 after one quarter.

Another 16-0 run in the second quarter, after Zee Spearman scored the first five points of the quarter, helped make it 48-16 at the half.

Deniya Prawl had 15 points off the bench for Tennessee (4-1), which had a 47-31 rebounding advantage. Cooper added 13 points and Mya Pauldo had 10.

Savannah Davis had 18 points for the Blue Raiders (2-2), who shot 26.5% and had 27 turnovers that were converted into 36 points for the Lady Vols. Kirston Verhulst added 10 points.

The lead remained above 30 points throughout the the second half.

Tennessee is home against Coppin State on Sunday.

Middle Tennessee plays Providence on Monday in the Emerald Coast Classic in Destin, Florida.

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