For the first time this season, Tennessee freshman point guard Mia Pauldo will miss back-to-back games - and her absence couldn’t come at a more pivotal moment. After sustaining a concussion during the Lady Vols’ tough loss to South Carolina last Sunday, Pauldo was sidelined for Thursday’s blowout win over Missouri.
Now, as No. 22 Tennessee gears up for a high-stakes showdown with No.
4 Texas, Pauldo remains unavailable - the only player listed on the team’s injury report.
Head coach Kim Caldwell kept things close to the vest following the Missouri win, offering no concrete timeline for Pauldo’s return. What she did confirm, however, is that the injury occurred during the South Carolina game, not in practice afterward.
That game - a 43-point loss that marked one of the toughest nights in recent program memory - was also Pauldo’s roughest outing of the year. The freshman, who’s been a steady force for Tennessee all season, went 0-for-10 from the field and missed all nine of her three-point attempts. Still, she managed to contribute with three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 24 minutes of action.
“I don’t think she made bad plays,” Caldwell said postgame. “I think she still played hard.
I just think her shot didn’t fall tonight. And we are better when she’s better.”
And that last part rings especially true. Pauldo has quickly become one of the Lady Vols’ most reliable weapons.
She’s averaging 11.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game on the season, and she’s only gotten stronger in SEC play. Against conference opponents, her scoring has jumped to 14.4 points per game - second on the team behind Talaysia Cooper’s 15.7 and good for 17th overall in the SEC.
Her ability to stretch the floor, push the tempo, and make plays on both ends has been a major part of Tennessee’s identity, particularly during their recent surge. Without her, the Lady Vols will need others to step up and fill that void - especially against a Texas team that’s hungry to bounce back from a loss to No. 5 Vanderbilt.
Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. ET on ABC, and all eyes will be on how Tennessee handles the absence of its dynamic freshman floor general. With Pauldo out, the Lady Vols’ depth and resilience are about to be tested in a big way.