KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jordan Horston scored 21 points and Rickea Jackson added 18 as fourth-seeded Tennessee Lady Vols stayed perfect on their home court in the opening NCAA tournament and outplayed Saint Louis 95-50 on Saturday No. 13 led .

The Lady Vols (24-11) improved to 25-0 in first-round games at their home court and advanced to the second round on Monday night, where they will play either No. 5 Iowa State or No. 12 Toledo . Tennessee improved as No. 4 to 6-2 all-time.

Jordan Walker added 11 points and Tess Darby had 10 for the Lady Vols. They will attempt to climb to a second consecutive Sweet 16 in the Seattle 3 area.

The first NCAA tournament appearance ended quickly for Saint Louis (17-18). The Billikens snagged the six-game winning streak that helped them win the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament after starting the season 6-16.

Brooke Flowers led Saint Louis with 17 points and Kyla McMakin, who followed Longwood coach Rebecca Tillett as a transfer, added 11. Camree Clegg added 12 from the bench.

The Billikens led twice in the first few minutes, most recently 4-3 on a McMakin knight. Walker equalized with a free throw at 4 and then ended a quick layup with a layup that put the Lady Vols ahead to stay with 6:51 to go. Darby added a 3 and Horston’s knight capped an eight-point sprint for Tennessee.

The Lady Vols led by as much as 10 points before McMakin banked with a stunning 3 that put Saint Louis up 20-15 by the end of the first quarter. Flowers hit two free throws to pull Saint Louis within 20-17 to start the second quarter.

Then Tennessee took control and scored the final 21 points for a 48-24 lead at halftime. The Lady Vols scored the first eight of the third and led 67-41 by the end of the quarter. They capped the big win by beating Saint Louis 28-9 in the fourth, with trainer Kellie Harper pulling their starters left at 6-24.

BIG PICTURE

Saint Louis: The future of the Billikens looks bright as Tillett picks up where she left off after leading Longwood from the Great South to the NCAA tournament a year ago. She joined Lisa Bluder (Drake and Iowa) as the only Division I coach to lead teams in multiple conferences to tournament titles in consecutive years. That loss was just the second in their last 13 games for a program that last won 11 of 12 in the 1978–79 season. Not bad for a program picked to finish 12th in the A-10.

Tennessee: The program, which has appeared in all 41 NCAA tournaments, improved to 32-2 in the first round. The Lady Vols used their height advantage for a 54-22 scoring advantage in the suit. With only 10 turnovers, they also took care of the ball and turned the Billikens’ 20 turnovers into 30 points.

NEXT

Tennessee played 15 teams in this NCAA tournament field. The Lady Vols played neither in Iowa State nor in Toledo. Iowa State, ranked 17th, had its own arguments for hosting opening games. The 24th Lady Vols had the advantage of playing the toughest schedule in the nation.

https://fox2now.com/sports/college/slu-women-fall-95-50-to-tennessee-in-march-madness-tourney-debut/ SLU women fall to Tennessee 95-50 in March Madness tournament debut