By Sawyer Hunley
The end of the Lady Vols season last year was less than desirable: they dropped their last eight contests and lost every player on their roster to either graduation or the transfer portal.
Head coach Kim Caldwell and her staff had to build a completely new roster that consisted of 13 transfers and two high school recruits.
On Tuesday night, that brand new squad finally took the court as they battled the Rattlers of Florida A&M in their first and only exhibition game of the year.
The Lady Vols dominated the game in every phase, winning 132-63.
One of the main things that stood out for the Lady Vols was how tenaciously they attacked the offensive glass.
Tennessee grabbed 30 offensive rebounds and scored 42 second-chance points off them.
“That’s a big part of our offense is to try to go get those extra points, those extra possessions,” Caldwell said.
This is a category last year’s team struggled with, as they grabbed only 39 rebounds per game; therefore, it was big to see improvement in that area on Tuesday.
Another key part of the Kim Caldwell system is getting points off turnovers, and on Tuesday night her team did just that.
The Lady Vols scored 45 points off turnovers, which sends a clear message to the press that Caldwell has and will always run.
Overall, though, the most impressive part of the night was the team’s scoring balance.
Eight different players scored in double digits, led by Maryland transfer Kaylene Smikle with 19 points.
The New York product played only seven games for the Terrapins, but in 2024-25 she was a dominant force, averaging almost 18 points per game.
The other standout was Northern Arizona transfer Naomi White, who scored 16 points and added seven assists.
White averaged less than two assists last season and, as the stat sheet shows, is already making that a focal point of her game this season.
“She is such a great player and she is a little bit of a gamer too. I was proud of her assist numbers and I think she was proud of her assist numbers,” said Caldwell.
The Lady Vols will need balanced scoring to return to prominence in women’s college basketball as they look to make that leap this season.
This feat will not be easy, as the Lady Vols face ten games against preseason AP top-25 teams.
UP NEXT: It all officially begins next Monday, when they take on Duquesne in the season opener. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. EST in the Food City Center.