Tennessee uses late run to beat No. 17 Iowa 78-68 in inaugural Women’s Champions Classic

NEW YORK — Talaysia Cooper scored 19 of her 23 points in the second half to help Tennessee beat No. 17 Iowa 78-68 on Saturday night in the inaugural Women’s Champions Classic.

Her jumper with 3:04 left in the fourth gave the Lady Vols (7-0) a 68-67 lead and sparked a 12-1 run to close the game away. Cooper scored four straight in the spurt including one off a steal on the inbounds with 1:23 left to seal the victory.

Lucy Olsen scored 23 points for Iowa (8-1), which committed a season-high 30 turnovers.

No. 2 UConn routed 22nd-ranked Louisville 85-52 in the second game of the doubleheader.

It was a matchup of two first-year head coaches at their schools. Jan Jensen took over for Lisa Bluder, who retired in the offseason after leading Iowa to two straight national championship games. Jensen, who was an assistant at Iowa for the previous 24 years, was the first coach in school history to begin her career 8-0.

Kim Caldwell came to Tennessee after a successful stint at Marshall and before that at Division II Glenville State. She brought her fast-paced pressing style to Tennessee as well as her hockey line changes. The Lady Vols constantly sub players in and out every minute or two to keep them fresh.

Iowa struggled against the frantic pace and committed 18 of its turnovers in the first half as the game was tied at 35 at the break.

Neither team could build much of a lead in the second half until Cooper sparked the game-changing run in the final few minutes.

Chamique Holdsclaw, Diamond DeShields, Rickea Jackson, Andraya Carter and Sue Bird were all in attendance at Barclays Center, sitting courtside along with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

This was the first meeting between the storied programs since 1993 when Pat Summitt and C. Vivian Stringer were coaching the schools.