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KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- It must be the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee recorded another rout against a helpless team. Top-seeded Tennessee built a 27-point cushion midway through the first half and never was threatened as it bombed 16th-seeded Furman, 90-38, in a Mideast Region contest. Tamika Catchings scored seven points with Kristen Clement and freshman Kara Lawson adding five each as the Lady Vols built a 29-2 lead 9:47 into the contest. Semeka Randall finished the half with 11 as Tennessee led, 50-14, and was on its way to a second-round date with Arizona on Monday. The Lady Vols shot 54 percent (20-of-37) in the first half while holding the Lady Paladins to 16 percent (5-of-32), including 1-of-10 from 3-point range. Tennessee, which has won 16 straight games overall, improved to 35-0 at home in the NCAA Tournament and 43-1 at Knoxville in postseason play. Since the tournament was expanded to 64 teams in 1994, Tennessee has won its seven first-round games by an average of 49.1 points. Its last two contests in this round were decided by an average of 53.3 points. Randall scored 17 points and Catchings and freshman Gwen Jackson added 10 each for Tennessee, which shot 53 percent (32-of-60) and held a 46-22 advantage on points in the paint. Catchings grabbed 14 rebounds for the Lady Vols, who held a 48-38 cushion. Torrie Scott scored 10 points and Orion Wake added seven off the bench for Furman (20-11), which was making its second trip to the NCAA Tournament and first since 1995. The Lady Paladins shot 20 percent (13-of-64) and missed 17 3-pointers.
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