The Lady Vols have taken their share of hits this season - none more jarring than last Sunday’s 43-point loss to South Carolina, the largest margin of defeat in program history. It was the kind of game that could send a team spiraling. But instead of folding, Tennessee came back to practice with something else: resolve.
That blowout in Columbia could’ve cracked the foundation. Instead, it became a moment of reckoning.
The players and coaches didn’t sugarcoat the performance. They took accountability, revisited their preseason goals, and doubled down on belief - belief in each other, in their identity, and in Kim Caldwell’s high-octane system.
“We came together as a team and with our coaches, as well, and we made sure we circled back on what our goals were from the beginning of the season,” freshman Deniya Prawl said Thursday. “And we do all believe in our system, our program, that we can do it for sure. So just hearing it from everybody on our staff and on our team was really important for us and just be hungry again.”
That hunger showed up in a big way against Missouri. Tennessee came out swinging and never let up, cruising to a 45-point win - a cathartic response in front of a home crowd and a much-needed bounce-back in the wake of that South Carolina drubbing.
Now, let’s be clear: Missouri isn’t South Carolina. They’re not UConn, UCLA, or Louisville either - the other heavyweights who’ve handed Tennessee lopsided losses this season.
But the win wasn’t about the opponent. It was about the Lady Vols rediscovering their edge and executing the kind of basketball that Caldwell envisions: press-heavy, fast-paced, and relentless.
Caldwell’s system demands buy-in, belief, and energy. And despite the setbacks, she’s seen all three from her group.
“I think, again, as I told you guys last time we met, it was, do you think you can do this? ‘Absolutely.’
That’s not the question,” Caldwell said. “It’s the how, it’s the why.
It’s why do these things keep happening? Why do we keep having games like this?
And we’re still trying to get to the root of that.”
That’s where the Lady Vols are right now - somewhere between belief and breakthrough. The system is in place.
The talent is there. What’s missing is consistency.
That’s the next step.
And it’ll be tested again this Sunday when Texas rolls into Knoxville. The Longhorns, coming off a surprising loss to Vanderbilt, will be looking to get right.
Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. ET on ABC, and it’s shaping up to be a measuring-stick game for both programs.
For Tennessee, it’s another chance to prove that the South Carolina game was a low point - not a defining one. The Lady Vols have shown they can respond. Now it’s about sustaining that fire against a top-five opponent.