After a week-plus break from game action and their first home appearance in nearly three weeks, the Lady Vols came out firing-and never let up. Tennessee rolled past Winthrop with a commanding 112-40 win, improving to 7-2 on the season and sending a clear message: this team is finding its rhythm.
The win wasn’t just good for the record-it gave Tennessee a bump in the national conversation. The Lady Vols climbed to No. 17 in the latest AP Poll, leapfrogging North Carolina and USC. Louisville, however-Tennessee’s next opponent-also made a move and jumped ahead, setting up a compelling showdown between two rising programs.
Within the SEC, Tennessee still has some ground to cover. The conference is stacked at the top, with Texas (No.
2), South Carolina (No. 3), and LSU (No. 5) leading the charge. Oklahoma (No.
8), Kentucky (No. 12), Vanderbilt (No. 13), and Ole Miss (No. 14) round out the rest of the league’s top-ranked teams ahead of the Lady Vols.
That’s a deep group, and it underscores just how competitive the SEC is shaping up to be this season.
Nationally, UConn holds the top spot-and yes, Tennessee will see them later this season in what promises to be a marquee matchup. UCLA, which handed the Lady Vols one of their two losses earlier this year, sits at No. 4 and serves as a measuring stick for how far this Tennessee team has come since that early road test.
But against Winthrop, it was all about dominance-and a breakout performance from freshman point guard Mia Pauldo. She was electric, finishing with 18 points, 10 assists, four steals, three rebounds, and not a single turnover. That’s the kind of stat line that turns heads, and it’s the kind of poise you don’t always see from a first-year player.
“She’s just playing with more confidence,” head coach Kim Caldwell said postgame. “With freshmen, the more games they play, the more comfortable they get-and she’s a great player. When she’s on, our team looks better.”
Caldwell’s point is spot on. Pauldo’s control of the offense, her vision, and her ability to create without mistakes gave Tennessee a steady hand at the point. It wasn’t just her scoring-it was the way she orchestrated the game, setting the tempo and making everyone around her better.
The Lady Vols didn’t rely on one player, though. This was a true team effort, the kind of balanced, high-energy performance that coaches love to see coming out of a break. Tennessee was crisp, aggressive on defense, and unselfish with the ball-exactly what you want heading into a tougher stretch of the schedule.
Next up: a high-profile showdown in Brooklyn. Tennessee takes on Louisville at 11 a.m.
ET as part of the Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic, airing on FOX. It’s a return to the same event where the Lady Vols knocked off Iowa last year, and this year’s doubleheader is loaded.
After Tennessee’s game, Iowa and UConn will face off in the same arena.
Following the trip to Brooklyn, Tennessee returns home to close out its non-conference slate with a matchup against Southern Indiana on Dec. 22.
That game tips at 6:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed on SECN+.
With SEC play looming, these next two games offer Tennessee a chance to sharpen its edge-and if Mia Pauldo continues to play with this level of confidence, the Lady Vols could be peaking at just the right time.