KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee's Kelley Cain scored 16 points and blocked a school-record 12 shots and the fourth-ranked Lady Vols withstood a late LSU rally to snap the 20th-ranked Lady Tigers' Southeastern Conference winning streak at three games by a score of 70-61 in front of 13,851 at Thompson-Boling Arena on Monday night.

Tennessee (25-2, 13-1 SEC) won its ninth consecutive game and claimed at least a share of the Southeastern Conference regular season championship for the 15th time. The Lady Vols close with home games against Kentucky and Ole Miss on Thursday and Sunday, respectively.

LSU (18-8, 7-7) lost for the fourth time in the past five meetings against Tennessee. The Lady Tigers had won two straight in Knoxville over the Lady Vols and four consecutive in Thompson-Boling Arena dating back to the 2005 NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds. LSU is tied for fifth place with Florida and Georgia with two games remaining.

"I thought the difference in the game was their size," LSU head coach Van Chancellor said. "They were just too strong for us. They are a team that just poses so many problems for us with their length. (Kelley) Cain blocks 12 shots. Our kids showed a lot of character tonight. I'm proud of them for that. We came back and fought. They played very well and didn't turn the ball over on us"

Both teams honored breast cancer awareness in the WBCA's "Pink Zone" game. Tennessee donned pink jerseys and LSU wore white jerseys with pink trim and pink shoelaces for the third straight game.

Allison Hightower led the Lady Tigers with 18 points -- her 11th consecutive double-figure game - while playing all 40 minutes. Katherine Graham scored all 13 of her points in the second half to give LSU a late spark, and LaSondra Barrett added 13 points and six boards.

Tennessee dominated points in the paint, 44-26, and it proved to be the difference Monday night. Five Lady Vols finished in double-figures, including a game-high 18 points off the bench from 6-foot-3 forward Alyssia Brewer. Cain's 12 blocks highlighted a 14-block night for Tennessee, who was just too much for LSU inside.

LSU claimed a four-point lead when Barrett made a baseline jumper with 11:28 remaining in the first half to make it 10-6. Tennessee, meanwhile, missed 12 of its first 15 shots. Swayze Black fell into foul trouble with three quick ones and was lifted by Jasmine Nelson, who responded with four points during the LSU lead.

The Lady Vols regained the lead on back-to-back buckets from Angie Bjorklund. Tennessee would outscore LSU 12-4 until the final seconds of the first half when Courtney Jones fired in a 3-pointer as time expired to cut the deficit to 32-24 into the locker room.

Graham and Hightower combined for LSU's first 16 points of the second half, but the Lady Tigers had no answer for Cain or Brewer. Brewer made a seven-footer to extend the advantage to 54-41, but Graham countered with a 3-point play when she drew a foul and made a free throw after a layup.

LSU cut it to nine on a Hightower free throw until the Lady Vols answered with a 10-0 run starting at the 9:09 point on a Brewer layup. Bjorklund added a fadeaway jumper with the shot clock winding down, and another Brewer layup gave Tennessee its largest lead, 64-45, with 6:36 on the clock.

LSU refused to go without a fight, coming to within nine points courtesy of a pair of 3-pointers from Adrienne Webb and another trey from Hightower from the right wing. The Lady Tigers trailed, 68-59, with 1:53 to go. Stricklen, however, converted two free throws on the other end and Tennessee ran out the clock.

LSU shot 39.3 percent for the game and was outrebounded 38-33. Tennessee finished at 46.0 percent from the floor.

LSU plays its final two regular season games at home, hosting Arkansas at 8 p.m. CT Thursday before closing with Mississippi State at 2 p.m. CT Sunday. Thursday's game will be televised on Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS) and Cox Sports Television (CST) affiliates.