Tennessee lost three of its last five games, but head coach Kim Caldwell already noticed some key improvements after the team’s 93-50 loss to South Carolina.
After a 65-63 loss to Texas, Caldwell said, “We had that one little meltdown there, and we called a timeout, and we had some leadership, and they didn’t hang their heads, they moved on from it, and, I think, that’s a giant step forward.”
Caldwell hasn’t always been happy with her team’s leadership and response to adversity. After the historically bad loss to South Carolina, Caldwell said that she had “a team that’ll just quit on you” and that Tennessee didn’t have the necessary leadership “player-wise.” It was a brutal call-out in front of the media that earned her some criticism, but the players are responding.
The game against Texas was a battle
The Texas Longhorns also found themselves on the wrong side of a coach’s outburst not too long ago. Vic Schaefer called his team soft after it lost to Vanderbilt. Both teams were looking for redemption when they faced each other.
Texas isn’t an easy team to beat, but Tennessee came close, losing by only two points after battling back from a 14-point deficit. The Lady Vols went 8-21 from three while the Longhorns missed all six of their attempts. Tennessee also scored more points off turnovers and recorded one block and one assist more than their opponents. Texas won the battle in the paint and the fast-break points, and the two teams tied in rebounds.
Talaysia Cooper finished the game as Tennessee’s leading scorer with a season-high 29 points. She also recorded 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Her nine turnovers also stand out, though. Turnovers were a big problem for Tennessee overall. The Lady Vols committed 23 turnovers and allowed Texas to score 17 points off those turnovers. Any of those lost possessions could have changed the outcome of the game.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier
Tennessee has had to go through a brutal stretch lately, facing Alabama, Kentucky, UConn, South Carolina, and Texas. The rest of the regular season won’t be any kinder. Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, LSU, and Vanderbilt are still waiting for Tennessee.
Oklahoma, LSu, and Vanderbilt are all top-ten teams in the country. Beating any of them would be a statement win to potentially end the season on a high note. Tennessee hasn’t beaten a team ranked that high this season.