Mia Pauldo scores career-high 26, No. 20 Lady Vols beat Mississippi State 90-80

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OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Freshman Mia Pauldo scored a season-high 26 points, Janiah Barker added 18, and No. 20 Tennessee beat Mississippi State 90-80 on Thursday night.

Tennessee (11-3, 3-0 SEC) has won four straight and six of seven. The Lady Vols are 42-8 in the series with Mississippi State that began in 1986.

Pauldo made 8 of 12 from the field and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line. Talaysia Cooper had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for Tennessee and Zee Spearman also scored 14 points.

Mississippi State (14-3, 1-2) had its 10-game win streak snapped last time out by a 95-47 loss to then No. 8 Oklahoma.

Pauldo hit a 3-pointer that gave Tennessee the lead for good with 2:29 left in the first quarter. Barker followed with another 3 before Pauldo converted a three-point play that made it 25-17 less than a minute later.

Spearman hit a 3-pointer that gave the Lady Vols an 18-point lead with 3:46 left in the third quarter. Mississippi State scored 17 of the next 21 to trim its deficit to 70-65 with 8:21 to play, but got no closer.

Madison Francis had 22 points and a career-high tying 13 rebounds for the Bulldogs and Kharyssa Richardson also scored 22 points, a career best, and grabbed nine rebounds. Destiney McPhaul had 14 points, five assists and three steals.

Richardson scored in the lane to cut the deficit to four with early in the second quarter, but Spearman and Jaida Civil made back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 10-0 spurt that made it 40-26 with 5:31 to go in the first half.

Tennessee: Hosts Arkansas on Sunday.

Mississippi State: Visits No. 18 Mississippi on Sunday.

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