The Lady Vols went to battle Thursday without head coach Kim Caldwell, who was absent from the game due to giving birth to their son.
Without Caldwell, the Lady Vols dropped the top-20 matchup to Texas, losing, 80-76. The loss marked the second straight loss for the No. 17 Lady Vols (15-4, 3-4 SEC) and the third straight victory for the No. 7 Longhorns (19-2, 5-1).
Here are three takeaways from the tough road loss to Texas.
Jenna Burdette fills in for Kim Caldwell
Jenna Burdette served as Kim Caldwell’s assistant coach at Marshall during her first and only year with the Thundering Herd, where Caldwell broke the school record for most wins by a first-year coach and reached the NCAA Tournament.
Burdette joined Caldwell at the Tennessee for the 2024-25 season after four seasons at Marshall. While it might not be the most formal debut, Burdette kept the team in striking distance all night against a top-10 team.
“We had a plan set in place,” Burdette said. “So whenever baby Caldwell decided to arrive we knew what was going to happen, so we were prepared for it. And you know, our team played really hard today. We played tough, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t good enough.”
Burdette served as head coach for the first time on the road at a top-10 team. It was a harder first game than the vast majority of coaches get, but she kept the Lady Vols in the game.
“I mean I think we got decent shots,” Burdette said. “They just didn’t just go in at the end when we were a little tired, we didn’t crash the glass well enough to get those second possessions that we normally do.”
Losing in the paint
Winning the paint, in most cases, means winning or losing the game. In this instance, the Lady Vols were completely outworked on the boards Thursday.
The Longhorns led in total rebounds with a 15-rebound advantage over the Lady Vols. The Longhorns finished with 39 while the Lady Vols pulled down just 24.
Burdette expected Tennessee to bring more fight into the battle into the frontcourt. That didn’t happen in the loss.
“We were expecting offensive rebounds, not expecting nine of them though,” Burdette said. “You know, we definitely need to do a better job on the glass.”
Taylor Jones led the game with 14 rebounds for the Longhorns. She also scored 21 points while only missing three shots.
Ruby Whitehorn shines in loss
Ruby Whitehorn posted a career-high in points on Thursday against the Longhorns. She finished with 21 points in 29 minutes of play, shooting 8-for-12 including 4-for-44 at the line and 1-for-2 from 3-point range.
Whitehorn spent her first two seasons at Clemson where she started in 62 out of 66 games for the Tigers. After two solid seasons, Whitehorn transferred to Tennessee and has seen an uptick in her numbers in Caldwell’s system. She is averaging 13.1 points per game on 44.9 shooting, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists through 18 games.
Whitehorn will look to carry over her strong play into Monday’s matchup with No. 2 South Carolina.
