Lazaria Spearman stats tonight: How did Tennessee star fare vs UConn (Feb. 6)

Tennessee star Lazaria Spearman scored 16 points and added seven rebounds as the No. 19 Volunteers upset No. 5 UConn 80-76 on Thursday. Spearman, nicknamed ‘Zee,’ made a layup with 12 seconds left to thwart the Huskies' late comeback attempt.

In front of over 16,000 fans at Thompson–Boling Arena, UConn and Tennessee played a close game throughout, with the Volunteers building up a seven-point lead in the third quarter, which was eventually enough to hold off the Huskies.

The 6-foot-4 forward made 6-of-9 shots from the field, including 1-of-3 from 3-point range, and sank 3-of-4 free throws. She also chipped in one assist and one block in 25 minutes of action.

Lazaria Spearman began her scoring midway through the first quarter with a jumper — her only points in the first 10 minutes — as UConn took a 19-17 lead.

She scored five points in the second quarter as the Vols tied the period 20-20, and then added nine in the final 10 minutes — including the late-game clinching layup — to secure the marquee victory.

Here are the final stat lines for Lazaria Spearman:

Player	MP	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG	3-PT	FT	TO	PF
Zee Spearman	25	16	7	1	0	1	6-9	1-3	3-4	1	2

This was the Lady Vols' first win over rival UConn since 2007. They have lost all four previous encounters with Geno Auriemma's team. The series is now 17-10 in favor of the Huskies. Kim Caldwell became only the second Tennessee coach to beat UConn besides the legendary Pat Summitt.

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Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell reflects on Lazaria Spearman's performance against UConn

Lazaria Spearman's stretch in the fourth quarter — scoring over half her total points — was critical in leading Tennessee to the huge win.

"I think Zee (Spearman) — there was a different version of Zee coming into this game," Caldwell said postgame (5:51). "She was locked in, she was focused. I think this game really meant something to her, and she had two good days leading up to it."

With the score tied 74-74 in the final two minutes, Lazaria Spearman came up big with two layup baskets — the second of which came with just 12 seconds remaining to give Tennessee a 80-76 advantage.

"You've got to stay focused, Like, the clock went down, but the game ain't over. So you've got to wait for that buzzer to go off, or for it to go off and celebrate," Zee said of hitting that late bucket.

Spearman, who's averaging a little over 11 points and six rebounds per game, had one of her best games of the season against Paige Bueckers' UConn.