Lady Vols basketball took down Kentucky in nail-biter fashion, winning 60-58 at the Food City Center on Thursday night. The No. 17 Lady Vols (14-3, 6-0 SEC) missed three late free throws that would’ve put the game out of reach, but ultimately, a late defensive play kept Tennessee’s win streak alive.
Freshman Mia Pauldo came alive late in the game, scoring nine of her 21 points in the final seven minutes to keep the Lady Vols atop the SEC Standings. She shot 9-for-22 and 2-for-11 from the 3-point line, both leading the team.
“Coach Kim told me to take shots,” Pauldo said. “Knowing that JB (Janiah Barker) wasn’t going to be in today, she told me in shootaround that, ‘I need you to take more shots, how many shots you think can take?’ And I gave her a number, and she said double that. I think I did that, probably not as efficient as I wanted to be, but I’m going to fix that next game.”
Despite the ending, out of the gate, neither team could buy a score.
The first five minutes of the first quarter were rough for both teams. They combined to shoot 2-for-13 from the field and 0-for-5 from the 3-point line heading into the first media timeout. Tennessee took the slight edge after senior Zee Spearman connected on both of her free throws to give the Lady Vols a 4-3 lead.
Both teams continued their defensive stalemate in the back half of the first quarter. Tennessee led 11-7 heading into the second frame, shooting a slightly better 3-for-9 from the field to end the quarter. Both teams struggled to find open looks and took bad shots as the Wildcats (17-4, 4-3) shot just 21.4% in the first quarter.
Freshman Mia Pauldo and junior Talaysia Cooper struggled offensively in the first quarter as well. Tennessee’s first and fourth leading scorers shot a combined 0-for-9 and 0-for-5 from the 3-point line.
“My teammates telling me to continue to shoot and coach Kim telling me to shoot,” Pauldo said. “I was a little frustrated, but that didn’t stop me from shooting.”
The Wildcats quickly jumped out to a 15-13 lead to begin the second quarter, outscoring the Lady Vols 8-2 in the first three minutes. Still struggling to score, Cooper pulled down a defensive rebound and fired a long pass down the court, finding Kaniya Boyd streaking down the court for an easy layup to tie the game.
Tennessee’s offense began to find offensive opportunities, outscoring Kentucky 16-7 in the last six minutes of the quarter to take a 29-22 lead at halftime.
Despite a poor first quarter from Pauldo, the second quarter was an entirely different game. The freshman guard recorded eight of Tennessee’s 18 points in the frame, shooting 3-for-5 and 2-for-4 from the 3-point line.
Tennessee held a seven-point lead heading into the second half, but the Wildcats quickly chipped away at it. Kentucky was shaky from the line, making just four of its nine attempts to start the quarter, but still managed to cut Tennessee’s lead to three.
Tennessee responded with a 7-0 run over the next 1:30. Pauldo and freshman Deniya Prawl both connected inside the arc, and Spearman knocked down her first 3-pointer of the game to extend Tennessee’s lead to 36-26.
As soon as the Lady Vols got out to a double-digit lead, it was gone.
Kentucky converted its next two shots and a free throw, cutting Tennessee’s lead to four. While the Lady Vols struggled offensively in the final five minutes of the third quarter, consistent fouling continued to hurt them.
The Wildcats were awarded 17 free throws in the third quarter but only converted 10. In comparison, Tennessee had shot just 12 free throws through the first three quarters. Kentucky outscored the Lady Vols 18-12 in the third quarter, but Tennessee still clung to a 41-40 lead heading into the final quarter.
The final 10 minutes of the game were nothing short of electric.
After shooting 1-for-11 through the first three quarters, Cooper came alive to start the fourth quarter. She grabbed two quick steals and made both shots for five points to begin the quarter. The Wildcats found their footing shortly after, scoring eight of the next 10 points to take a 49-48 lead.
Both offenses went back and forth, trading score for score. Spearman drilled her second 3-pointer of the night, and Pauldo added another jump shot on the next possession to give Tennessee a five-point lead with under three minutes left in the game.
Two quick layups by the Wildcats cut the lead to one with two minutes left, but Tennessee’s newfound resiliency was the difference in closing out the win.
After Spearman missed two late free throws and Pauldo missed one, Kentucky had a chance to tie or win the game, trailing 60-58. However, Cooper slammed the door on that chance, notching her fifth steal of the outing with just two seconds left.
“She was frustrated tonight,” head coach Kim Caldwell said. “She was really frustrated and I’ll take every single bit of her frustration. I probably overcoached her and probably put her in positions that made her not have a good night offensively. I yanked her out at the end of the game and she wasn’t happy about it. All of that was on me. I look at her and tell her to get a stop. She goes out there and she wins the game for us and that’s the most Talaysia Cooper thing ever.”
With the win, Tennessee remains atop the SEC standings, tied with Vanderbilt after South Carolina lost to Oklahoma on Thursday night. The Lady Vols will travel to Oxford, Mississippi, to square off against No. 18 Ole Miss on Monday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. ET.
