t on that side of the ball, the Saints will be

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee is turning one of its biggest weaknesses from last season into a strength.Alexa Middleton scored a career-high 21 points as No. 13 Tennessee capitalized on sizzling 3-point shooting Sunday to beat Navy 85-55 and win a home opener for the 17th consecutive season. Tennessee (2-0) hasnt lost a home opener since a 69-64 decision against Louisiana Tech in 1999.The Lady Volunteers shot 12 of 14 from 3-point range, with Middleton going 6 of 7. After making just 25.4 percent of its 3-pointers last season to rank last in the Southeastern Conference, Tennessee has shot 56.4 percent (22 of 39) from 3-point range this season.I know a lot of people last year said we couldnt shoot the ball, Middleton said. Were trying to make sure we can hit those open shots because people are sagging in on (center Mercedes Russell), and shes going to kick the ball out. Weve got to be able to hit those shots if we want to do well.This marks the first time Tennessee has made at least 10 3-point baskets in consecutive games since November 2011. Tennessee shot 10 of 25 from 3-point range Friday in a season-opening victory at James Madison.Russell had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Tennessee. Jordan Reynolds had 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Diamond DeShields added 14 points.Ashanti Kennedy scored 16 points and Taylor Dunham added 14 for Navy (0-2).This game was a mismatch in terms of height.Navys tallest player was 6-foot freshman forward Laurel Jaunich, and its other four starters were 5-8 or shorter. Tennessees starting lineup included four players taller than 6 feet, including the 6-6 Russell.Navy still briefly led in the second quarter and only trailed 43-35 at the half, which caused the Lady Vols to receive a stern halftime lecture from coach Holly Warlick.My expectations for them are high, and these kids understand it, Warlick said. I saw things I havent seen in practice for whatever reason. Im just not going to tolerate no effort.Tennessee gradually put the game out of reach as Navy cooled off. After shooting 5 of 11 from 3-point range in the first half, Navy was 1 of 9 the rest of the way.Playing against Tennessee, everyone was really excited, Dunham said. We had a lot of energy and we were hitting shots. Everyone was making big plays. I wouldnt say our energy was that much different in the second half, but Tennessee definitely picked theirs up.THE TAKEAWAYNavy: A lack of height will force Navy to rely on its outside shooting this season. Tennessee outrebounded Navy 47-29. Through its first two games, Navy has been outrebounded 94-51 and has shot 19 of 46 from 3-point range.Tennessee: Middleton has shown remarkable scoring punch in the first two games of the season after averaging just 3 points per game last season and 3.8 points per game in 2014-15. The 5-9 junior had 18 points off the bench against James Madison and was even more productive Sunday. Middleton is 10 of 11 from 3-point range thus far.PAYING TRIBUTETennessee went through its pregame shooting drills wearing special Veterans Day T-shirts. The back of the shirts said Thank You and mentioned the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.Navy wore purple T-shirts with the message We Back Pat to honor former Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt, who died June 28 after battling early-onset dementia, Alzheimers type.The Lady Vols gave Navys players miniature basketballs with messages thanking them for their serviceThere are so many crazy things going on right now, Warlick said. Weve all got to pull together. ... Our military is there to help us and to make sure I can be a female coaching womens basketball, and these young ladies -- black or white -- can go out and perform, and they have that opportunity and we pay for their education. That comes from people fighting for our freedom.UP NEXTNavy hosts Hofstra on Friday.Tennessee is at East Tennessee State on Tuesday.---Follow Steve Megargee at www.twitter.com/stevemegargeeJakob Chychrun Jersey . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Fake Coyotes Jerseys . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. https://www.cheapcoyotes.com/ . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Shane Doan Jersey . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native was stellar in making 39 saves in his home province and Lars Eller got credit for a bizarre short-handed winner as the Canadiens defeated the Canucks 4-1. Carl Soderberg Jersey . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5.METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro witnessed something at team headquarters on Monday that he could not recall seeing before in his three-plus NFL seasons.Every player on defense voluntarily showed up to review game video during what coaches had designated as a day off in the wake of New Orleans victory over Carolina on Sunday.It was good for everybody to kind of see their mistakes, Vaccaro said. There were just a lot of plays that (Carolina) made that were directly related with us playing the wrong technique. It had nothing to do with talent.Its just not acceptable and if we keep seeing that in the future its going to cost us some games, Vaccaro added. We have to get that fixed now.Vaccaro said he senses the Saints overall psyche improving after two straight victories, even though both triumphs came by the narrowest of margins.New Orleans needed a dramatic comeback to win by a point at San Diego on Oct. 2. The Saints then returned from a their bye to pull out a victory with a field goal in the final seconds over the Panthers, who were less rested coming off a loss the previous Monday night.Everybodys positive. Everybody understands how hard it is to win in this league, Vaccaro said.That was a good football team we played, regardless of what their record is, Vaccaro said the Panthers, who are the defending NFC champions and have dropped three of their five losses by a field goal or less.Vaccaro then added, The San Diego Charges just went and beat the Denver Broncos, the Super Bowl winner. We beat (the Chargers), so, I mean, everybody feels good.Even when they were 0-3, the Saints were already pleased by the performance of their offense, which has ranked among the best in the league since Week 1. Against Carolina, Drew Brees passed for 465 yards and four touchdowns while completing 34 passes to 10 players. The Saints finished with 523 total yards of offense while scoring 41 points.For us to be able to do something like that, its great for everyone because it opens up the offense so the defense cant key on one guy, said receiver Brandin Cooks, who had 173 yards receiving, including an 87-yard TD, against Carolina.dddddddddddd When you have success like that with everyone on the field and not just a couple people, you definitely have to say the passing game is improving.While the Saints would like such production to result in more comfortable victory margins, Cooks said during a conference call Monday that any kind of win improves the Saints confidence right now.It seems like were turning things around, Cooks said. Now we just have to come together as one team with our offense putting up a lot of points and our defense holding opposing teams to fewer points.But after the Panthers piled up 406 yards and 38 points, the Saints are now allowing 33.6 points per game, which ranks last in the NFL, and 419.4 yards per game, which ranks second-to-last.Without improvement on that side of the ball, the Saints will be hard pressed to keep winning. Their next two games are at Kansas City (3-2) this Sunday and at home against Seattle (4-1) on Oct. 30.When Cooks heard defensive players were gathering to review video on a day off, he sounded pleased by the units determination to improve, but didnt want to be too critical of the defenses play.We got each others back because there will be games where it seems like offense cant put up the point we usually do, Cooks said. Obviously, were all going to hold each other accountable to be able to work harder, to be able to fix things and figure out things. ... We cant be blind to the situation.Coach Sean Payton, meanwhile, wasnt ready to read too much into the direction of his team, which has seen four of its five games come down to the last possession.There are times in a season where you gain momentum and generally I think its a little further out than where were at right now, Payton said.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '