By Abraham Bates
Texas A&M built an early cushion and held off a late Tennessee rally to defeat the Tennessee Lady Vols 82-74 on Wednesday night inside Food City Center.
The Aggies raced to a 10-0 lead to open the game and never looked back, despite the Lady Vols cutting the deficit to as close as four points in the final three minutes.
“We didn’t have it tonight,” Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell said. “When we don’t get stops, everything else suffers.”
Tennessee struggled with turnovers and defensive breakdowns throughout the night, finishing with 16 giveaways that led to repeated scoring runs by the Texas A&M Aggies. The Aggies capitalized with a decisive 22-9 run in the third quarter, pushing their lead to as many as 19.
Janiah Barker led Tennessee with a standout performance, recording 29 points and 10 rebounds. Barker shot 9-of-13 from the floor, made all five of her 3-point attempts, and went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. She was the only Lady Vol to record an offensive rebound in the first half.
Despite Barker’s efficiency, Tennessee shot just 40% overall and 34% from beyond the arc.
Tennessee trailed 47-42 at halftime after committing nine first-half turnovers. The Lady Vols briefly found momentum late in the fourth quarter when Zee Spearman scored six straight points to trim the margin to 76-72 with 2:52 remaining, igniting the home crowd.
But Texas A&M answered with a quick 6-0 run, sealing the outcome with a late 3-pointer as Tennessee went scoreless over the final 2:07.
Spearman finished with 14 points, while Talaysia Cooper added 11 points and four assists. Cooper, coming off consecutive 29 and 30-point performances, was held to 4-of-13 shooting and made three of 10 attempts from long range.
“I think our energy just wasn’t there tonight,” Pauldo said. “We just want to keep growing and be more consistent.”
The loss drops Tennessee to 16-9 overall and 8-5 in SEC play. With three very tough regular-season games remaining, Caldwell emphasized refocusing on defense.
“There was a stretch this season where defense was what we hung our hat on,” Caldwell said. “We have to get back to that.”
Texas A&M controlled the tempo early, shot 80% in the opening quarter, and never relinquished control, improving its momentum as they move deeper into conference play.