@corahall.bsky.social
women's basketball writer for knox news. michigander. lover of all women's sports and the detroit lions. she/her
Hello from PeoplesBank Arena, which is not only the dumbest sponsor name ever, but also the coldest arena I've ever set foot in
01.02.2026 16:02 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0A lack of focus in practice, a bad shootaround and players late for warmups were signs to Kim Caldwell things would go south for Tennessee tonight.
"Things like that just were kind of a slap in the face of, this was a game I knew we really needed to win." www.knoxnews.com/story/sports...
Kim Caldwell just called a timeout, if that tells you how bad things are.
MSU on a 6-0 run to make the lead 44-30 with 6:27 left in the third quarter
This has been an ugly first half for Tennessee. Lady Vols have given up 26 points in the second quarter and trail MSU 35-26
30.01.2026 00:16 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Tennessee leads MSU 12-9 after the 1Q, led by six points on 3-5 FG from Talaysia Cooper. She looks good after a frustrating night against UK
Lady Vols forced 11 TO for 10 points, but had unforced errors, got outrebounded 11-9, went 0-5 on 3PT β can definitely clean things up
Tennessee starting Nya Robertson over Mia Pauldo tonight vs Mississippi State is... a very interesting move.
Pauldo has been the Lady Vols' leading scorer in SEC play. Had 21 points last time out against Kentucky and 26 against MSU on the road a few weeks ago
it was actually a bit warm! but agree with you on the defense
23.01.2026 04:17 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Tennessee battled its way to a gutsy win over Kentucky tonight behind Mia Pauldo's 21 points. The freshman was clutch again, scoring nine in the fourth.
Lady Vols stay undefeated in SEC play and add another ranked win to the resume
www.knoxnews.com/story/sports...
Halftime thoughts:
-Tennessee's halfcourt defense looks a lot better βΒ LV have done a good job limiting Morgan & Strack
-Offense does not flow as easily without Janiah Barker
-Freshmen are stepping up, playing really well
-Lady Vols need to make Kentucky work more on defense in the halfcourt
Back at Thompson-Boling Arena for a top-25 matchup
No. 17 Tennessee vs. No. 12 Kentucky at 6:30. Let's get it
Kim Caldwell told her "young ones" they needed a little bit more from all of them without Talaysia Cooper. All five stepped up their game, no one more than Jaida Civil.
"Nothingβs ever going to be too fast for her when she can learn to slow herself down." www.knoxnews.com/story/sports...
Tennessee cruises to a 4-0 start in SEC play after an 85-50 win over Arkansas.
Zee Spearman had a great day with 20 points/8 rebounds/3 assists/3 steals/2 blocks. Mia Pauldo adds 18 points/4 assists/4 rebounds www.knoxnews.com/story/sports...
Tennessee leads Arkansas 65-41 at the end of the third quarter. Much, much better third quarter than the second, although getting outrebounded 15-11 is not ideal.
But the Lady Vols outscored Arkansas 22-11 and forced seven turnovers β Razorbacks up to 22 TO on the day
Jaida Civil drains a three after drawing a foul at the end of the shot clock last possession and hitting both free throws. She's got 10 points on 3-4 FG with 3 rebounds and two steals.
Feel like I've seen something good from all the freshmen today. Good signs for Tennessee
Deniya Prawl drives into the lane and draws the foul on her layup attempt. Definitely feel like we have seen a lot more confidence from Prawl today with the ball in her hands, and Tennessee definitely needs it.
She hits both and the Lady Vols lead 48-32
Mia Pauldo drains a midrange pull-up jumper at the end of the second quarter to give Tennessee a 43-30 lead at halftime.
Definitely a lot of stuff to clean up from the second quarter. There's no reason the Lady Vols can't get to the paint every possession the rest of the game
Tennessee leads Arkansas 33-26 at the media timeout with 4:54 left in the second quarter.
Lady Vols have been outscored 8-4 this quarter. Arkansas shooting 3-7 on 3PT β Tennessee shooting 3-18.
Tennessee leads Arkansas 29-18 after the first quarter. Both teams are shooting 50% from the field, but Arkansas has 16 fewer shot attempts due to its 7 turnovers and no offensive boards.
Lady Vols have 11 points off 7 TO and 7 second-chance points off 6 offensive rebounds
Mia Pauldo forced to launch a deep three at the end of the shot clock, but Lauren Hurst is there for the offensive rebound and putback.
Then Hurst and Jaida Civil force a turnover in the back court. Really like what we have seen from those two today
Tennessee goes on a 9-2 run to extend its lead to 20-9 at the first media timeout with 4:16 left in the first quarter.
Janiah Barker has been aggressive getting to the rim early and leads all scorers with 6 points, Zee Spearman added 5 on 2-2 FG. UT has 9 points off of 4 TO
Tennessee is without two guards today, Kaniya Boyd and Talaysia Cooper, its two best on-ball defenders who are playing in their second season in Kim Caldwell's system.
Cannot overstate how bad a loss to Arkansas today would be for Tennessee's resume.
One win doesn't mean Tennessee has completely turned a corner after a lackluster start to the season.
But in the win over Florida, the Lady Vols showed for the first time they're moving in the right direction β and they have the fight to keep that going.
www.knoxnews.com/story/sports...
The Lady Vols start 2026 with a gritty win over the Gators to open SEC play with a victory.
Not the prettiest win, but a lot of resilience from Tennessee. Talaysia Cooper led UT with 17 points and Zee Spearman logs a double-double (16 pts, 10 reb)
www.knoxnews.com/story/sports...
Florida has outscored Tennessee 10-5 to open the third and now the Lady Vols only lead 42-40. They once led by 17 points.
Tennessee's strong start has completely fizzled out
Tennessee leads Florida 37-30 at halftime. Gators outscored UT 18-15 in the second quarter.
Lady Vols weren't able to score as much in transition 2Q and had some breakdowns defensively. Felt like the ball movement wasn't as strong in the halfcourt, either
Cooper hits a 3-pointer off an offensive board and Janiah Barker hits a layup in transition to make it a 7-0 run to open the second quarter.
Florida wants timeout. Tennessee leads 29-12 with 8:19 left in the second quarter
Tennessee ends the first quarter on a 6-0 run to extend the lead to 22-12.
Pretty even scoring for the Lady Vols β Robertson has 6 points, Latham and Cooper both have 5, and Spearman, Hurst and Civil all have 2
Tennessee leads Florida 12-7 at the media timeout with 4:47 left in the first quarter. This is by far the best the Lady Vols have looked all season.
Alyssa Latham has looked really good in particular; being assertive on offense, active on defense and boxing out. Good stuff
Tennessee beats Southern Indiana 89-44 in its final game before SEC play begins.
It was large margin of victory for the Lady Vols, but it wasn't a resounding bounce-back win after the worst loss of the season www.knoxnews.com/story/sports...
That was a truly uninspiring half of basketball from Tennessee coming off the worst loss of the season. The Lady Vols lead Southern Indiana 37-23 at halftime.
Tennessee has forced 17 turnovers and only scored 20 points off them while shooting 29% from the field
