Lady Vols Hit the Road to Face Ole Miss in Grit-Tested SEC Clash
The Lady Vols don’t have much time to dwell on their narrow loss to Texas. Less than 48 hours after that hard-fought battle, Tennessee is back on the road for a makeup game against No.
17 Ole Miss - a contest originally postponed due to January’s ice storm. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
ET Tuesday night at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion in Oxford, airing on ESPNU.
This is the kind of stretch that tests a team’s mettle. No.
21 Tennessee (16-7, 8-3 SEC) is in the middle of a grueling four-games-in-eight-days run, and Ole Miss (20-6, 7-4 SEC) is feeling the same strain after a Sunday loss at Kentucky. Fatigue isn’t just a factor - it’s a reality.
But as head coach Kim Caldwell put it, this is what life in the SEC is all about.
“It’s a really tough situation to have this game right now,” Caldwell said. “But that’s what this league is about. We’re trying to build toughness right now, so we’ve got to go play it and hopefully bounce back on the road.”
That bounce-back effort will require every ounce of grit the Lady Vols can muster. After a sluggish stretch that included a blowout loss to South Carolina, Tennessee responded with renewed intensity - dominating Missouri and going toe-to-toe with Texas in a two-point loss that came down to the wire.
“I feel like we played with just a different effort, a different level of energy, competitiveness,” Caldwell said after the 65-63 loss to the Longhorns. “We didn’t put our heads down.
We just tried to keep next play, next play. We’ve just got to keep competing.”
That mindset will be crucial in Oxford, especially with the roster still banged up. Freshman point guard Mia Pauldo remains sidelined for the third straight game after taking a series of hits in recent matchups against Georgia and South Carolina. Nya Robertson, who has stepped into the starting role in Pauldo’s absence, was listed as questionable on Monday night’s SEC availability report.
That leaves Tennessee potentially thin at the guard spot, and it puts even more pressure on the team’s depth - particularly a group of freshmen who are now entering uncharted territory. February is the wall for many college newcomers, and the combination of travel, physicality, and limited recovery time can be overwhelming. But the Lady Vols are counting on Jaida Civil, Laura Hurst, Deniya Prawl, and Mya Pauldo to stay ready.
The Rebels, meanwhile, bring a deep and experienced frontcourt that’s been the backbone of their success this season. Senior forward Cotie McMahon - a 6-foot transfer from Ohio State - leads the team in scoring at 19.8 points per game and adds 5.7 boards, 71 assists, 30 steals and 13 blocks. She’s the engine of this Ole Miss squad, and her versatility makes her a matchup problem.
Alongside her is Christeen Iwuala, a 6-3 senior forward who transferred from UCLA. She’s averaging 13.3 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds, shooting an efficient 60.9% from the field. She brings a strong interior presence and has chipped in with 34 steals and 19 blocks.
Latasha Lattimore adds even more size and shot-blocking - the 6-4 senior forward has played at Texas, Miami, and Virginia before landing at Ole Miss, and she’s now averaging 10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and leads the team with 56 blocks.
Sira Thienou, a 6-1 sophomore from Mali, brings energy on both ends - averaging 9.3 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting over 80% from the free-throw line. Her 44 steals lead the team, showing just how disruptive she can be on defense. And rounding out the rotation is Debreasha Powe, a Mississippi native and Mississippi State transfer, who contributes 6.4 points per game and is shooting a blistering 95.8% from the stripe.
Ole Miss is also in the middle of a brutal stretch. After falling to Kentucky 74-57 on Sunday, the Rebels now host Tennessee on Tuesday, welcome No.
7 LSU on Thursday, and then travel to play No. 3 South Carolina on Sunday.
That’s three top-25 matchups in six days - a gauntlet by any standard.
“We are known as a defensive team, and we let Kentucky score 74 points,” Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “They got on a roll, and everything went in.
We had uncharacteristic defensive lapses. We started trying to do stuff we don’t normally do.”
For both teams, this game is less about who’s fresher and more about who’s tougher. It’s February in the SEC - bodies are sore, legs are heavy, and every possession matters. The Lady Vols are embracing that grind, even if it means scaling back practices and leaning on their depth.
“We’re not going to be able to do much tomorrow,” Caldwell said after the Texas game. “They played hard today.
We had people play a lot of minutes, especially for how we play. So, they’re going to be sore.”
But soreness doesn’t stop the schedule, and in this league, there’s no such thing as an easy night. Tennessee’s path to March continues through Oxford - and it’s going to take every ounce of energy, execution, and resilience they’ve got.