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Lady Vols nearly flawless down the stretch in 80-76 upset of UConn

On3 imageby:Brent Hubbs•about 8 hours•

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Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

Finally, after knocking on the upset door for the last six weeks, Kim Caldwell and her Lady Vols kicked the door down in an 80-76 win over No. 5 Connecticut. 

“It was about time we won a close one,” Caldwell said post game on her radio show. 

The Lady Vols have been close a losing to four top 10 teams by a total of 14 points. They just have not been able to finish. 

Tennessee escaped with a win over Missouri on Sunday where they held on. 

“I think we had established a little bit of enough of a lead before we started to panic,” Caldwell said. 

Thursday night there was not only no panic. There was brilliant execution. 


“We had poise down the stretch,” Caldwell said. “We played with confidence. We played to win as opposed to afraid to lose. I think the crowd had a lot to do with it.”

The Lady Vols made 5 of their last 6 field goals. On their one miss, they got the offensive rebound. Every time, UConn closed the gap or tied the game, the Lady Vols answered. Jewell Spear had a three and a lay up. With the game tied, Zee Spearman, who led the team with 16 points, had a lay up. Up two with a minute to play, Taylasia Cooper, who had 11 points while battling flu symptoms, made two free throws to make it a two possession game. The up two in the last minutes, Tennessee maxed out the shot clock and got a lay up from Spearman with :12 seconds to play to put the game away.

For a team that hasn’t executed well enough and have had lapses, there was no lapse Thursday night especially down the stretch. Thursday night was the ceiling that Kim Caldwell has talked about for months. The ceiling she has craved for her team.

“It’s frustrating because you want to touch it (the ceiling) and you want to be there. Again, you want to raise your floor. You want to stop having these quarters where you don’t show up. You want to stop having these bad five minute lapses in games,” Caldwell said. 

Thursday night, the Lady Vols showed everyone what Caldwell has believed they could be all along. They also showed they are an evolving team. A team that doesn’t have to have an elite night from the perimeter to win. Tennessee won the boards with a margin of +12. They scored 42 of their 80 points in the pain. They were 17 of 25 on layups as they finished at the rim. 

The result another Caldwell February win. The first year head coach is now 60-3 in her career in February. And it was a statement with for her program just 22 games into her tenure. 

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