Rough Patch: Lady Vols Week in Review 1/19/25-1/27/25

Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics

By Dawson Wise

The recaps are going to be a bit different going forward.

Now, instead of each individual game getting its own rundown, I will be looking back at each week of games and taking them 2-3 games at a time, while also providing a lookahead to what is to come the next few games for Tennessee.

With that being said, this past week proved to be a tough one for Kim Caldwell’s group.

Amidst the birth of her first son, Conor, Caldwell’s team seamlessly transitioned from Caldwell to assistant Jenna Burdette and back to Caldwell — a statement as to the ability of her staff to keep things afloat in her absence, albeit a short one.

Unfortunately, this did not translate into wins. The Lady Vols went 0-3 this week, including 2 more gut-wrenching losses to add to the growing total for this year already.

Tennessee had the lead at some point in all 3 games but was unable to finish, and now find themselves at 3-5 in SEC play as the schedule lightens up the slightest bit. The hope is that these games will not go down as costly missed opportunities, especially the loss in Nashville last Sunday.

There is still so much in front of this team. I do not want it to sound as if the season is over because of these three losses. In the end, though, they may be the difference between a pair of tournament games in Knoxville and a trip to a higher seed.

Let’s take a look back at this week for the Lady Vols, and also see what’s ahead as March looms.

Vanderbilt, 1/19

Tennessee erased yet another fourth-quarter deficit but ended up falling to in-state rival Vanderbilt, 71-70 at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville.

The game was a back and forth affair in the opening quarter. Vanderbilt opened with back-to-back threes before Tennessee stormed back into the game, closing the gap to 9-7, 11-9, and 13-11 at 3 different points. The Lady Vols then outscored the Commodores 10-8 the remainder of the quarter, capped off by Talaysia Cooper hitting two straight triples to end the first. Vandy tied the game at 21 in the closing moments.

After Tennessee gained its biggest lead of the day at 24-21, the story of the second quarter became long scoring droughts for Caldwell’s team and extended runs for Vanderbilt. The first was a 7 point run to put the Commodores up 28-24. The drought ended on a Zee Spearman driving layup to pull within 2, but another 10-0 Vandy run gave the home squad a 37-26 lead headed to the halftime break.

The Lady Vols got a great start to the second half. An 8-2 run fueled by Cooper and Ruby Whitehorn brought the gap back down to 39-34. From there, it was a game of runs. Tennessee cut the lead back to 6 shortly after a Vandy layup, then the Commodores pushed the lead back to double digits. Tess Darby made her presence felt with 5 straight points to bring it back to a 5 point game at 47-42. Cooper brought Tennessee within 4, 48-44, but Vandy found success at the charity stripe with 6 late free throws to take a 54-45 lead into the final 10 minutes.

The fourth quarter proved to be a barnburner. Whitehorn and Cooper cut the Vandy lead back to six early on. Commodores star Iyana Moore hit a layup, but was answered by back-to-back Jewel Spear threes that tied the game at 57 with just over 5 minutes to play. The Lady Vols would answer another Vanderbilt jumper with a layup, a three-point play by Samara Spencer, and a pair of free throws for Jewel Spear to build a 64-59 lead at the 2:55 mark. Vandy answered again, but Spearman drilled a pair of free throws to keep the lead at 5. The Commodores would get the next two buckets to make it 66-65 Tennessee. Talaysia Cooper hit a layup to push the lead back to 3, but Dores stars Khamil Pierre and Mikayla Blakes each hit a pair of free throws to take a 1 point lead with 31 seconds to play. Cooper then found a wide open Whitehorn for a layup to give Tennessee the lead. On the ensuing inbound play, the initial shot by Pierre bounced off the rim, but Blakes grabbed the rebound and tipped it in to win the game for Vandy.

Tennessee was led in scoring by Talaysia Cooper with 22, followed by Zee Spearman with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Jewel Spear and Samara Spencer contributed 10 a piece, with Spencer adding 6 assists, a game high. As a team, UT shot 26-68 (38%) from the field and 6-26 (23%) from three. Tennessee outrebounded Vanderbilt, 42-40, and held advantages in paint points (32-24) and bench points (9-6). The Lady Vols only forced 12 turnovers.

Vanderbilt was led by Mikayla Blakes who dropped in 23 points in a stellar effort. Khamil Pierre and Iyana Moore joined her in double figures with 21 and 17, respectively. The Commodores shot 23-62 (37%) overall and 6-19 (32%) from three, and held advantages in points off turnovers (13-10), second chance points (10-8), and fast break points (15-14). The Dores led for over 30 minutes on the way to the upset victory.

In terms of takeaways, Cooper again proved to be a fantastic player, especially in late game scenarios. She has a clutch gene that cannot be taught. Tennessee continues to have issues with transition defense and boxing out, however, and it burned the Lady Vols on the final possession, as Blakes soared to knock in the game winner practically uncontested. The Lady Vols also had another tough shooting night, something that has become more common in recent games. Overall, the fight is still there, and this team continues to battle back into games on a constant basis. The wins will come with time.

Texas, 1/23

Tennessee gave Texas everything it could handle on the road at the Moody Center, but the 7th-ranked Horns scored the game’s final 4 points and escaped with an 80-76 win over the #17 Lady Vols.

Tennessee was the better team in the first quarter, forcing five early turnovers and grabbing a 12-6 lead at the media timeout. Texas would cut the lead to 14-13 and 16-15, but Tennessee continued to be aggressive and got layups from Jewel Spear and Talaysia Cooper to keep the lead after one, 22-20. Ruby Whitehorn had 7 early points in the contest as well as the Lady Vols created some nerves for the electric home crowd in Austin.

An early 6-0 run by Texas gave the hosts a 4 point lead, but the Lady Vols rattled off a run of their own, outscoring Texas 18-6 over the next several minutes. Free throws from freshman phenom Kaniya Boyd, threes from Zee Spearman, Tess Darby, and Sara Puckett, and another jumper from Whitehorn highlighted the commanding stretch from the Big Orange. The Horns responded with an 8-0 run of their own to take back the lead, and despite Tennessee evening the score at 40 a piece, Texas scored 5 late points to take a 45-40 lead into the halftime break.

Out of the intermission, Tennessee went on another 10-2 run, with two jumpers from Whitehorn, a free throw from Cooper, a floater from Jewel Spear and a corner three from forward Alyssa Latham. The teams then traded buckets for most of the quarter. Texas grabbed a 55-54 lead at the media timeout, before Samara Spencer’s deep three gave the Lady Vols back the lead late in the frame. A putback bucket in the dying moments of the quarter by Texas star Taylor Jones would give the home team a slim 62-61 lead into the final 10 minutes.

Texas opened the fourth with a 4-0 run to make their lead 66-61. Tennessee then flipped the game back on its head with their own 7-0 run, including another Latham three and 4 points from Ruby Whitehorn. Thus began another back and forth final quarter for this battle-tested Lady Vols team. Texas tied the game at 68 via Jones, Tennessee grabbed the lead back via Cooper, Texas tied the game again, and forward Jillian Hollingshead broke the deadlock with a pair of free throws. After Texas grabbed a 74-72 lead, the Lady Vols would tie the game twice more on a pair of free throws and a runner by Ruby Whitehorn. Ultimately, it would not be enough. Longhorns star Madison Booker drained the game winner with 30 seconds to go, and guard Rori Harmon buried 2 free throws after a missed three by Zee Spearman that would have given Tennessee the lead, and the Horns hung on for an 80-76 victory.

Tennessee was led by a season-high 21 points from Ruby Whitehorn, followed by Zee Spearman with 14 points, the only other Lady Vol in double figures. With Head Coach Kim Caldwell giving birth to her son, Conor, the Lady Vols were coached by longtime Caldwell assistant Jenna Burdette in the contest. Tennessee shot 27-54 (50%) from the field and 9-17 (52%) from three, and held advantages in fast break points (19-8) and bench points (31-14). The Lady Vols were outrebounded 39-24 and only forced 10 turnovers.

Texas was led by stars Madison Booker and Taylor Jones with 26 and 21 points, respectively. Aaliyah Moore pitched in 11 and Jordan Lee had 10. The Longhorns shot 32-64 (50%) as a team, and 1-6 (17%) from three point range. They had advantages in paint points (44-36) and second chance points (25-5).

There were several bright spots for Tennessee in this game. The first is Ruby Whitehorn. On nights when Talaysia Cooper is not able to produce (and even some when she is), Whitehorn has started to develop into a dynamic scorer at all three levels and continues to be incredibly efficient in the paint. I thought the offense ran a much better system in this game, looking inside first before starting to open up the three-point game. The shooting was better as well, and if this team can shoot like this in the future, it will win a lot of ballgames. On the other hand, this team lacks size on the inside, and true post players continue to wreak havoc against the half-court defense. The transition defense was better, but Tennessee lost the battle on the boards and allowed too many second chance points. Still, they fought until the final buzzer, and that counts for something. They are right there. I know Kim Caldwell hates the term “moral victories,” but this team is absolutely grabbing some of those this season.

South Carolina, 1/27

Tennessee held the 2nd-ranked Gamecocks to their lowest point total of the season, but couldn’t dig out of a big third-quarter hole and fell to South Carolina, 70-63 in front of a season-high 12,033 at Food City Center.

The first quarter was almost all Lady Vols. Tennessee forced several early SC turnovers and controlled the pace of the game, opening up an early 14-5 lead with the help of Talaysia Cooper, Ruby Whitehorn, and Samara Spencer. The Gamecocks would answer with an 8-0 run of their own to bring the score to 14-13 after one quarter.

Tennessee again pushed the lead to 3 on three different occasions, with leads of 16-13, 18-15, and 20-17 early in the second. After this, Dawn Staley’s team seemed to settle in. A 7-0 run into the media timeout was just the start as South Carolina gained a 24-20 lead. The run continued after the timeout, with 7 more points to make it a 31-20 Gamecock lead late in the second frame. The run was highlighted by veteran guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, who started to heat up from the three point line and found success inside as well. Tennessee cut the lead to 35-26 in the dying seconds after the lead got all the way to 14, 35-21.

South Carolina took full control out of the break. Another 10-0 run pushed the lead to 19, and Tennessee failed to respond into the media timeout, down 48-32. The Lady Vols found some late success, but the lead remained 19 after three, 57-39 in favor of the visitors.

Then Tennessee woke up. A pair of free throws for Spencer and layups by Latham, Darby, and Boyd cut the Carolina lead to 63-49 with 5:48 to play. Whitehorn added back to back layups in the closing moments and Jewel Spear dropped in a 3, but in the end, Tennessee ran out of time and fell to South Carolina, 70-63.

The Lady Vols were led by Ruby Whitehorn once again, who pitched in 12 points to go along with 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and 2 assists. Talaysia Cooper, who was playing in her first game against the Gamecocks since leaving Columbia after the 2022-23 season, added in 11 points and 8 rebounds, but had her worst shooting night of the season to this point. As a team, Tennessee shot 23-75 (31%) from the field and 3-26 (11%) from three, one of its worst overall performances of the year. The Lady Vols outrebounded South Carolina, 49-40, including pulling down 18 offensive boards, and held the advantage in second chance points, 12-11.

South Carolina had 5 players in double figures. Joyce Edwards led the team with 18 points, followed by Fulwiley with 11, and Chloe Kitts, Te-Hina Paopao, and Raven Johnson each added 10 of their own. As a team, they shot 29-63 (46%) overall and 6-21 (29%) from beyond the arc. The Gamecocks held advantages in fast break points (23-17) and bench points (38-22).

This one was about as I expected it to be, though with a few surprising bright spots. Tennessee was much better on the glass in this game, and if they continue to rebound like they did, they will be more competitive against the better SEC teams. The overall defense had a pretty good night as well. The Lady Vols did not allow many easy baskets, forced several key turnovers, and provided Staley’s team with issues breaking the press, all good signs moving forward. The fight back into the game must also be acknowledged again. This team will be such a tough out in March. Transition defense and shooting continue to be an issue that just may not get fixed this year. It will be an achilles heel for this team in future games. Talaysia Cooper had a rough night which held back the offense. The offense also stagnated again in this game. There was not enough movement and too much solo play that does not lead to success for this team. Often times, it felt like players had to try to play hero ball to make anything happen and that’s not going to cut it. Overall, considering the talent gap, Tennessee hung in there, and with a few additional minutes, could have found a much different result. Make a mental note of that 4th quarter if the Lady Vols and Gamecocks meet again.

The Week Ahead

Tennessee is idle on Thursday this week before traveling to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Tigers on Sunday afternoon.

Mizzou only averages 70 points per game, a much more manageable offensive matchup for Tennessee. The Tigers also do not have a wide rebounding margin, only grabbing 36 per game and turning it over 15 times a contest.

Missouri is led in scoring by Grace Slaughter, who averages 14.7 points per game, followed by returning player Ashton Judd with 11.6 per game, Laniah Randle with 11 points per game, and Abbey Schreacke with 9.1 points per game. Slaughter, Judd, and Schreacke all shoot 37% or better from three point range. Randle averages 6 boards per game and center Angelique Ngalakolundi is going for a block per night so far this season.

The schedule begins to lighten up for Tennessee a little compared to the gauntlet they just went through. Rust will be a factor after nearly a week off and the hope is that Tennessee will not overlook this game seeing as a home date with Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies looms on Thursday.

The game will air on SEC Network+ at 3:00 PM EST (2:00 PM local) on Sunday.