The answer to the future popular sports trivia question around Tennessee will be: Kim Caldwell. As for the question, it will be: Other than Pat Summitt, who is the only coach to beat UConn’s women’s basketball team?
No. 19 Tennessee outhustled and outworked No. 5 UConn in pulling the 80-76 upset on Thursday night in Knoxville. This was the Lady Vols’ first win over the Huskies since 2007, which was also a signature victory for first-year coach Kim Caldwell, who gave all the credit to her players.
“I didn’t do it, they did it, they just made up their minds on if they wanted to do it and they did it,” Caldwell said after the game. “They can be excited for me, but I’m more excited for them.”
Four Tennessee players reached double figures, with Samara Spencer and Zee Spearman leading the way with 16 and 14 points, respectively, and here are three reasons why UConn lost.
UConn’s offense was not productive enough
UConn shot at 40.3% from the field, which is more than 10% less than their season average.
Four UConn players registered double figures with freshman Sarah Strong leading the way with 18 points and nine rebounds. However, the Huskies weren’t as productive as they could have been, with two quarters in which they shot well under 40%.
Veteran star Paige Buecker has been averaging 18.7 points per game this season while shooting a productive 53.2% from the field, but she struggled against the Lady Vols. Bueckers went 5 of 16 while picking up 14 points. She did put up a team-high eight assists, but making a few more field goals clearly would have helped the Huskies in such a tight game.
The Huskies seemed to be taking control in the second quarter as they jumped out to a seven-point lead. However, Tennessee picked up some momentum and entered the break with only a two-point deficit. The Lady Vols found a nine-point advantage in the third quarter thanks to a stretch during which they held UConn scoreless for over four minutes.
Tennessee out-rebounded UConn
This one was not really a surprise. The Huskies are not known as a super strong rebounding team, while Tennessee is 17th in the nation. The Lady Vols showed off that strength on Sunday as they won the rebounding battle 46-34.
Talaysia Cooper got eight rebounds for Tennessee, seven of those on the defensive end which helped limit second-point chances for the Huskies. Meanwhile, Zee Spearman and Ruby Whitehorn registered seven rebounds each.
Tennessee’s record was deceiving
UConn entered this game as the higher ranked team while riding an 11-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Tennessee entered Sunday with five losses — all of them to SEC opponents.
The Lady Vols’ record was a bit deceiving because all of their losses were against currently ranked opponents — No. 15 Oklahoma, No. 6 LSU, No. 24 Vanderbilt, No. 4 Texas and most recently No. 2 South Carolina. There is also the fact that three of those losses were by only one or two points.
The loss to South Carolina, the most recent one, was only a seven-point defeat to a Gamecocks team that is averaging a 25.7 scoring margin, good enough for seventh in the nation.
Tennessee had been trending down in the rankings because of how tough the SEC competition is, but a win against Big East powerhouse UConn was a good reminder of how dangerous the Lady Vols can be.
Thursday’s result snapped UConn’s 11-game winning streak, and dropped them to 21-3 overall. Meanwhile, Tennessee improved to 17-5.
Up next, UConn will return to Big East conference play and take on Providence on the road on Sunday. That game will be available on CBS Sports Network. Tennessee has another tough challenge ahead against LSU in Baton Rouge that same day.
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