KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee forward Bashaara Graves is playing some of her best basketball and the Lady Vols need her to continue as they try to reach the Final Four without injured center Isabelle Harrison.

Graves scored a career-high 24 points Saturday as Tennessee outlasted Boise State 72-61 in its NCAA Tournament opener. The 6-foot-2 junior faces a tougher challenge against a Pittsburgh frontcourt featuring freshman Stasha Carey, who is coming off a big performance of her own.

The winner of Monday’s game between the second-seeded Lady Vols (28-5) and 10th-seeded Panthers (20-11) advances to the Sweet 16 in the Spokane Region.

In the first NCAA Tournament game of her career, Carey had 16 points and 13 rebounds as Pittsburgh beat Chattanooga 51-40. Carey, one of three freshman starters for Pittsburgh, has averaged 9.4 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game.

“I’m just going to come out and play with all I have,” Carey said. “We’ve got nothing to lose.”

Pittsburgh needs the 6-2 freshman to deliver on the boards to have a shot at the upset. Tennessee outrebounded Boise State 46-28, while Pittsburgh has a negative rebound margin.

“We know we’re not a very physical team,” Pittsburgh coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said. “Sometimes we get taken advantage of on the boards, there’s no doubt. ... (The Lady Vols) make a living on the offensive glass. We didn’t do a great job yesterday giving up second chances, especially late in the game, against Chattanooga. That is something that definitely needs to improve for us to even compete in this game.”

Pittsburgh had endured four straight losing seasons before turning things around. Senior guard Brianna Kiesel, who averages a team-high 18 points per game, pondered transferring before deciding to stay. “Luckily for coach, she talked me out of it, and she made me believe in her system,” Kiesel said.

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