KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 15th-ranked Lady Vols played their Sunday matinee game versus the Ole Miss Rebels and won 80-71. While this season has been very successful for Coach Kim Caldwell in her first year, Tennessee still had a losing record in conference play. This win got them up to .500 in the SEC.
This is now the Lady Vols’ third straight win at home, which started in their upset over their arch-rival Uconn Huskies. You could tell this game there was a buzz at the Food City Center today, as it was their first weekend game after they beat UConn, and the fans showed out. This game’s attendance was 12,402, and they opened up the upper deck. This game was one of the loudest of the season.
This was a wire-to-wire victory where the Lady Vols did not trail once. Scoring was led by Jewel Spear with 28 which tied her season high. Three other Lady Vols were in double figures including Zee Spearman, Talaysia Cooper, and Samara Spencer. Spencer also led the team in rebounds and assists with 10 rebounds and six assists, which gave her her first double-double of the season.
When asked about Spear’s leadership, Coach Caldwell said, “I will always love and appreciate a player that can be level-headed and steady. It helps calm everyone around them. When you’re a leader on the floor and you can just talk to people calmly no matter what, whether it’s up ten, down ten, that’s a breath of fresh air for a coach.”
This game was very chippy, as there were 37 total fouls this game, as well as three technical fouls. A fight almost broke out in the third quarter but tensions cooled after Kim Caldwell got everyone back on the bench.
The next game for the Lady Vols is this Thursday, February 20, at the Food City Center versus the 21st-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, as the Lady Vols look to get a winning record in SEC play.