KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After coming oh-so-close to netting victories over four top-10 teams this season, No. 19/17 Tennessee finally broke through in a big way on Thursday night, outlasting No. 5/5 UConn, 80-76, in an epic battle in front of a raucous crowd of 16,215 at Food City Center.
The Lady Vols (17-5, 4-5 SEC) snapped a four-game series skid to the Huskies and defeated the perennial power for the first time since 2007. The Big Orange also recorded their first triumph over a top-five team at home since toppling No. 2/3 South Carolina in 2021. UT head coach Kim Caldwell, meanwhile, emerged victorious in her debut game in the series and claimed a hard-earned signature win.
Caldwell and company had suffered a one-point loss to No. 9/10 Oklahoma (87-86), a two-point setback to No. 6/4 LSU (89-87), a four-point defeat to No. 7/7 Texas (80-76) and a seven-point loss to No. 2/2 South Carolina (70-63) before taking down the Huskies and improving to 17-5 this season.
Tennessee featured four players in double figures on the evening. Junior forward Zee Spearman tallied a team-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and hit a layup on a dish from Talaysia Cooper with 12 seconds left to all but clinch the win. Senior guard Samara Spencer tossed in 14 points, while fifth-year guard Jewel Spear added 12 points and Cooper contributed 11 points and team-best eight rebounds and four assists. Cooper helped the Lady Vols out-rebound their foes by 12, 46-34, including 17-13 on the offensive glass.
UConn fell to 21-3 with the loss, with UT joining No. 8/10 Notre Dame (79-68) and No. 7/7 USC (72-70) as the only teams to defeat the Huskies this season. Sarah Strong paced her team in scoring with 18 points, while Paige Bueckers chipped in 14 and KK Arnold and Azzi Fudd added 11 and 10, respectively.
Source: UT Sports
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