KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee coach Pat Summitt was so impressed with her starters, she waited nearly 10 minutes into the game to make a substitution.

The Lady Vols (2-1) rebounded from a 76-55 loss to top-ranked Duke on Sunday with an 83-61 win over No. 21 George Washington (1-1) on Tuesday night.

Tennessee was already ahead by 21 points over the Colonials when Shyra Ely came into the game to replace Brittany Jackson with 9:52 left before halftime.

``They were playing super. I thought it was some of the best basketball we'd played since we opened up in exhibition,'' Summitt said. ``I didn't want to do anything to disrupt them.''

Gwen Jackson scored 20 of her 29 points in the first half and Kara Lawson added 16 for the Lady Vols, who turned the ball over 23 times and shot only 31 percent from the field against Duke.

Tennessee shot 54 percent and, despite 22 turnovers, had an easier time against George Washington.

``I coached a team on Sunday that I hadn't seen all fall. I think that as we look back, it's almost like a deer in the headlights,'' Summitt said. ``The challenge was to get back to playing with great intensity, bringing defensive heat, pursuing the basketball, getting loose balls and rebounds. We saw that from the beginning.''

Tennessee led from the tipoff as George Washington struggled to get good looks at the basket, shooting just 10-of-27 from the field in the first half.

Tennessee stretched a 21-point lead at halftime to 29 on Jackson's basket with 16:18 left, but George Washington started to carve into the lead.

Michaela Leary hit a 3, and Erica Lawrence made a basket and a 3-pointer to start a 16-2 run, capped by Liz Dancause's 3 that cut it to 63-48 with 12 minutes remaining. Summitt called two timeouts during the spurt.

After the second timeout, Jackson ended Tennessee's five-minute scoring drought with a three-point play. Lawson stole the ball from Cathy Joens, leading to another basket by Jackson, and Loree Moore hit a jumper to stretch the Lady Vols' lead back to 20 with 8:50 to go.

George Washington couldn't get any closer. Joens led the Colonials with 22 points, and Ugo Oha added 14.

Tennessee got 11 points and eight assists from Moore, and Jackson also had 11 rebounds.

Tennessee went ahead 9-0 and then had a quick 10-0 run two minutes later to stretch its lead to 26-7.

Jackson hit a jumper and a driving layup, followed by two straight 3-pointers by Brittany Jackson to give the Lady Vols a 19-point lead with 11:42 left before halftime.

Tennessee's defense kept the Colonials away from the basket.

The Lady Vols continued to battle after they led by 25. Moore turned away from the player she was defending to swipe the ball away from Anna Montanana. Moore passed to Tasha Butts, who found Gwen Jackson streaking to the basket for a 46-19 lead with three minutes remaining in the first half.

No. 9 Vanderbilt 73, Syracuse 65

JOHN KEKIS
AP Sports Writer

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- Jenni Benningfield had 19 points and eight rebounds and foul-plagued Chantelle Anderson added 11 points as No. 9 Vanderbilt survived a late Syracuse rally and held on to beat the Orangewomen 73-65 Tuesday night.

The 6-foot-6 Anderson, reigning SEC player of the year, was in foul trouble early, sat on the bench a lot, and her absence allowed the Orangewomen (0-3) to stay in the game against the bigger Commodores (2-0).

Anderson, who played just 16 minutes, was called for her first infraction just 22 seconds into the game, received her third with 6:11 left in the first half, and fouled out with 2:10 remaining in the game. If not for Benningfield, the outcome might have been different.

Ashley Earle also had 11 points and Hillary Hager had 10 points and five of Vandy's 14 steals.

Tierra Jackson led Syracuse with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Julie McBride finished with 15 points and Rochelle Coleman had 12 for the Orangewomen, who had 17 offensive rebounds to 13 for Vandy and forced 20 turnovers.

When Anderson was called for her fourth foul with 15:31 to go, Vandy led 48-34. Benningfield responded by hitting consecutive baskets in a 50-second span, and Abi Ramsey and Ashley McElhiney, who had 11 assists, each hit 3-pointers to keep the Commodores comfortably in front, 58-47 with 8:18 left.

A 3-pointer by McBride and two baskets from Shannon Perry moved Syracuse within 66-59 only seconds before Anderson fouled out.

When that fifth foul came, Anderson's frustration led to a technical, and McBride converted the two free throws. And when Perry hit a driving layup through the lane with 1:59 to go, the lead was down to 66-63.

But Earley converted a three-point play to halt the Syracuse rally and the Orangewomen ran out of time.

Alabama 75, Birmingham-Southern 58

TUSCALOOSA -- Senior Beth Vice keyed an early second half run by the University of Alabama women's basketball team helping lead the Crimson Tide (2-0) to a 75-58 win over the Birmingham-Southern Panthers (1-1) in Alabama's regular season home opener. The Tide has now won 10 straight home openers.

In a span of 1:40 of the second stanza, Vice scored 11 straight points, including three straight three-pointers, for Alabama during a 16-6 run to give the Tide a comfortable 11 point lead.

Vice's second half run was motivated by Alabama's first half performance.

"I was mad at myself at halftime," Vice said. "I felt that I didn't do the things I was supposed to in the first half. So I came out and just executed better. We all came out and did what we had to do."

Alabama head coach Rick Moody credited Vice with helping to jumpstart Alabama's offense in the second half.

"Beth Vice made some shots in the second half that opened up the lead for us," Moody said. "When you make shots it gives your team some enthusiasm."

For the game, Vice finished with 17 points on six of nine shooting, including hitting of seven from three point range, and also grabbed seven rebounds. The Florence, Ky. native moved into third place on Alabama's all-time three point shots made list, surpassing current Alabama assistant Brittney Ezell (201). Vice now trails former Tide All-American Niesa Johnson (265) and former Bama star Betsy Harris (273).

Senior Jamilah Johns continued her strong play in the paint for the Tide picking up her second straight double-double. Johns finished the game with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Also contributing in the Alabama victory were sophomore forward Natasha Gamble and junior guard Manisha Redus. Gamble scored a career high 10 points while Redus dished out a career best six assists.

On defense, the Tide forced 18 turnovers and picked up 11 steals.

Moody also credited the Tide's defense with helping to spark the Alabama offense.

"I thought our full court pressure got us flowing in the game," Moody said. "I don't know how many turnovers it created, but it got us going."

Birmingham-Southern had four players in double figure points, led by Lindsay Boyett with 13 points. Stacey Anthony chipped in 11 followed by April Brown (12) and Anna Morton (10).

The Crimson Tide will spend the Thanksgiving Holiday in San Antonio, Texas, playing in the Hampton Inn Six Flags/UTSA Classic. Alabama will play UTSA on Friday night at 7 p.m. and then meet Stephen F. Austin at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Both Bama games can be heard on WACT 1230 AM in Tuscaloosa.

Florida 80, Florida State 69

Gainesville, Fla. -- All-American center Vanessa Hayden (Orlando, Fla.) and freshman Bernice Mosby (Brooksville, Fla.) each tallied a double-double, combining for 37 points and 23 rebounds, to lift the Florida women's basketball team (3-0) to a 80-69 victory over the Florida State Seminoles (2-1) in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

Florida fought back a Seminole surge midway through the second half with the clutch shooting of Mosby and Danielle Santos (Marietta, Ga.), while also connecting on several key free throws during that stretch to post their third consecutive victory of the season. The victory was UF's 15th consecutive win over the Seminoles and its 41st straight over instate teams.

"I am extremely proud, I think that the young Gators showed they have a lot of heart and it doesn't matter how old you are or how many years of experience (you have)," UF head coach Carolyn Peck said. "This team is exactly that - a team. And when they step out on to that floor they're not categorized by what class they're in. They're categorized by how much class they have and I think our whole team has a lot of class."

Florida led for the first 32 minutes of the game, stretching its largest lead to 15 points in the first half, taking a 33-22 halftime advantage. But Florida State stormed out of the lockerroom using a 13-2 run to test the young Florida team and close to within two (37-35) with 14:56 remaining in the game.

Mosby hit a jumper to slow the Seminole run, keeping UF's in the lead 39-35. Both teams traded baskets until the 10-minute mark, but the Gators still maintained the lead. Freshman guard Sarah Lowe (Wynnewood, Pa.) hit a jump shot before Hayden blocked a LaQuinta Neely shot, as the Gators held on to a 54-51 lead. Forward Dalila Eshe (Tallahassee, Fla.), Hayden and Kelly Stevenson (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) fouled back-to-back as the Seminoles clinched their only lead of the game, connecting on 4-of-5 shots from the line to take their first lead, 55-54, with 7:51 remaining.

However, freshman forward Brittany Davis (Gainesville, Fla.) came right back and made two free throws, after being fouled by FSU's Lauren Bradley, to steal the lead back for the Gators who intensified their defensive effort to inch back the lead in the final seven minutes of the game.

Mosbey scored 19 points with 13 rebounds for her first career double-double. Hayden finished the night flirting with the triple-double, contributing a season-high 18 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking nine shots. Santos tallied 19 points, while Lowe tallied 11 points.

Hayden scored 10 of Florida's first 14 points of the game to give the Gators a 14-7 edge. Hayden dominated in the middle, scoring 16 of her points in the first half while commanding the defensive tone with six blocks.

Florida scored 15 of its 33 points off FSU's turnovers to build a 11-point halftime cushion, 33-22. Neither team was unable to convert on anything from the arc but Florida made up for it on the defensive end.

"I think you get the most out of our players when you find out what drives them," said Peck. "We talked about a focus defensively and it started with Bernice Mosby. I put her in charge of the defense out there and the rest of the team fed off of it."

"Danielle has a great quickness on defense, but she's got one of the quickest releases I've ever seen," Peck said of Santos. "I've compared it to that of Sheryl Swoops. Danielle can see it and get it off. She is a phenomenal offensive threat on the floor."

The Gators will make a cross-country trip to face UC-Santa Barbara and Long Beach State. Florida faces UC-Santa Barbara on Friday, November 29th at 4 p.m. ET and Long Beach State on Sunday, December 1st at 4 p.m. ET.