Next Stop, 2025: Lady Vols Win Final Nonconference Game vs. Winthrop

Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics

By Dawson Wise

Nonconference play has come and gone, and first-year head coach Kim Caldwell is still flawless in her career on Rocky Top.

The 12th and final game outside of the SEC came back on Sunday against Winthrop. It served as an opportunity to shake off the rust of another extended break and begin to tune up as the Lady Vols look towards a daunting SEC slate.

Despite that break, the squad barely missed a step, picking up right where they left off in West Palm Beach. Tennessee cruised to a 114-50 victory in front of a crowd of well over 11,000, the largest of the season to this point at Food City Center.

It was another dominant performance on both ends of the court that saw 6 Lady Vols eclipse double figures, led by senior guard Sara Puckett with 17 points on the day. Ruby Whitehorn (16), Kaniya Boyd (15), Jewel Spear (15), Zee Spearman (14), and Tess Darby (10) were the others who had 10 or more. Winthrop was led by Amourie Porter off the bench with 14.

It was also a return to form defensively and on the glass. UT forced 32 turnovers and outrebounded Winthrop 49-35. Those numbers had dipped over the past couple of weeks, and the swing back to the norm is as timely as ever with the challenges of the SEC approaching.

The 12-0 start is the best for the Lady Vols since 2017-18 when they started 15-0. It’s only the seventh time in program history that the team has started the season 12-0. It’s the second best start for a Caldwell-led team, but there is a ways to go to match the 29-0 start for her 2021-22 Glenville State team that went on to finish 35-1 as D2 national champions. It is also the 6th time this year the Lady Vols have notched triple digits. The all time program record for 100-point games in a season is 7 in 1987-88.

Let’s take a look back at this dominant win to close out the nonconference schedule.

First Quarter

Score: Tennessee 35, Winthrop 13.

FG: Tennessee 12-26 (46%), Winthrop 5-16 (31%).

3P: Tennessee 7-13 (54%), Winthrop 3-7 (43%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 14, Winthrop 11.

Turnovers: Tennessee 1, Winthrop 8.

Highlight: The Lady Vols hit 7 threes, led by Samara Spencer with 2, as the offense ran wild in the opening 10 minutes.

Second Quarter

Score: Tennessee 61, Winthrop 32.

FG: Tennessee 22-42 (52%), Winthrop 12-36 (33%).

3P: Tennessee 7-17 (41%), Winthrop 3-10 (30%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 25, Winthrop 21.

Turnovers: Tennessee 7, Winthrop 15.

Highlight: Ruby Whitehorn hit several tough baskets during the second quarter as Tennessee pushed the lead to 30 for a time.

Third Quarter:

Score: Tennessee 83, Winthrop 46.

FG: Tennessee 31-64 (48%), Winthrop 18-49 (37%).

3P: Tennessee 8-26 (31%), Winthrop 4-13 (31%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 37, Winthrop 29.

Turnovers: Tennessee 8, Winthrop 22.

Highlight: Tennessee continued to cruise and spread the wealth offensively, as Jewel Spear, Sara Puckett, and Ruby Whitehorn all entered double figures.

Fourth Quarter/Final Stats

Score: Tennessee 114, Winthrop 50.

FG: Tennessee 44-83 (53%), Winthrop 18-62 (29%).

3P: Tennessee 10-31 (32%), Winthrop 4-19 (21%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 49, Winthrop 35.

Turnovers: Tennessee 11, Winthrop 30.

Points off Turnovers: 45-8 Tennessee.

Second Chance: 18-11 Tennessee.

Bench: 45-22 Tennessee.

Paint: 62-24 Tennessee.

Fast Break: 23-18 Winthrop.

Steals: 17-1 Tennessee.

Highlight: The Lady Vols held Winthrop to 4 total points in the final quarter, including a scoring drought of over 6 minutes, which allowed them to balloon the lead from 37 to the eventual 64.

Scoring:

Tennessee: Sara Puckett-17 (8 reb), Ruby Whitehorn-16, Kaniya Boyd/Jewel Spear-15, Zee Spearman-14, Tess Darby-10, Samara Spencer-7, Talaysia Cooper-6, Alyssa Latham-5 (7 reb), Destinee Wells/Jillian Hollingshead-3, Avery Strickland-2, Favor Ayodele-1.

Winthrop: Amourie Porter-14, Blessing Okoh-9, Marissa Gasaway-7 (9 reb), Ronaltha Marc-7, Konnor Gambrell-6, Leonor Paisana-3, Olivia Wagner/Mya Pierfax-2.

Takeaways

I feel like a broken record after these types of games continue to happen. This one felt a lot like the games against NC Central, Tulsa, UT Martin, and others. Despite moments of cold shooting, it never felt like Tennessee struggled. They were dominant at just about every juncture. They kept their foot on the pedal and played until the final buzzer even despite the growing lead.

That has to be something that fans can be pleased with. It is refreshing. This team simply does not change how they play even if things are going so right that they have a huge lead. They never stop fighting, grinding for additional points or hustling on defense to force turnovers. It is truly impressive to watch.

Offensively, this was another dominant performance. I know you didn’t hit 30 threes but a lot of things went right. The biggest takeaway to me is that you were able to win by 64 with Talaysia Cooper in foul trouble and just not having her best individual day. You spread the wealth. It was never reliant on one player. When it comes to SEC play, you need that kind of trust in your depth and that you have several scorers that can get the job done on any given night. The shot selection was better and this team continues to be so good inside the arc, both at the rim and in the mid range.

On the defensive end, this was a return to normalcy. Like I said earlier, over the past few weeks, the turnover numbers and rebounding numbers had taken a bit of a dive. Those shot right back up in this final nonconference game. That’s something you’re going to need in the SEC. The box outs still need some improvement, especially on the offensive end, but that will be something they work on, no doubt. To me, the most impressive improvement has been the decrease in foul numbers. Besides Cooper, there really wasn’t much foul trouble to be seen. It will be crucial to keep that up in conference.

Overall, fans can come away from these first 12 games confident in Coach Caldwell and this team. There is a lot of potential for this group to shock some people this year. They enter conference play as the 15th best team in America. The road gets tougher now, and inevitably, this team will drop some games. It happens. The SEC is the toughest conference in the country this year by far. That only means there are opportunities to be had and it all starts in Aggieland. Let’s enjoy the ride together.

Next Up

Tennessee heads to College Station for the SEC opener against Texas A&M on Thursday, January 2, at 8:00 PM EST (7:00 PM local). The game airs on SEC Network+.