Even without top scorers Talaysia Cooper and Kaniya Boyd, Tennessee did not miss a step against Arkansas. Kim Caldwell employed a “next-player-up” mentality to take care of Arkansas 85-50. They continued their unbeaten streak in SEC play in front of a season-best crowd of 11,335 at Food City Center. In the blowout win, the Lady Vols also shot an SEC-best (so far) 41 threes at 26.8%, something Caldwell wasn’t too happy about.

“Your team took 41 threes, which is the most in SEC play. Were you happy with that number? Was that something you talked about?” Asked a reporter at the press conference. After this game, Caldwell’s side leads the SEC in three points attempted per game (32.9) and now stands second in the country. You would think it’s a deliberate attempt to stretch defenses and a focused outside shooting spree (while it did not work on the day). Caldwell’s response was exactly opposing such a display.

“No, we told them multiple times, get to the rim. That’s how we’re scoring. Get to the rim. That’s how we’re scoring. Caldwell said. “And we will just keep launching those things. It’s not the end of the world when we’re going to get 50% of our offensive rebounds. I think at one point in the game, we were at 60%, and then it dropped.”

It is surprising that Caldwell wants to limit her three-point shooting at first glance. In her first season for the Vols last year, the team attempted 31.0 3-pointers per game (3rd) at 32.5%. The relationship between Caldwell and threes is conditional, and it has always been to offensive rebounds.

The team has more or less been similar to last season in terms of outside shooting accuracy. (30.4%) Last year, they averaged 16.9 offensive rebounds per game, ranking 3rd in the country with an elite offensive rebound percentage of 39%. This year, they have been even better, averaging 17.2 offensive rebounds at 40.2%. So, in the macro sense, there is no problem in continuing with a healthy three-point volume while maintaining the offensive rebounds. But in the context of the game, they gave away 1o free possessions in which there was no need to.

“I think that they could be a little bit more patient and work the ball around and get to the rim. If you can’t get to the rim, play inside out,” She further said.

The accuracy of 11/41 is already bad, but this is a stylistic conversation. Caldwell has already emphasised that three-pointers are not necessarily a bad thing. Her statement after the Belmont win a month ago perfectly summarizes her view. “We are going to take a lot of threes. I mean, that is that’s what we practice. I’m going to give them that freedom. Our percentage will get better. But we can’t be a team that lives and dies by it,” She had said.

Currently, 47% of their field goal attempts are 3-pointers, up from 41.7% last year. They are trending towards a dependency on their 3-point accuracy, something Caldwell doesn’t want. As the team continues to sharpen their tactics and improve, they still need another factor to go their way: the fitness of their best players.

Kim Caldwell Provides Details On Talaysia Cooper and Kanika Boyd’s Injuries

Talaysia Cooper has continued being the star Caldwell wants her to be. She has top scorer and leader in assists and steals. She is averaging 14.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 3.4 steals, and shooting 44.4% from the field. Losing such a key piece would have been bad enough, but Kanika Boyd has now been out for two straight games.

The situation looked grim for Boyd as she was seen with a boot on her left foot during the Mississippi State game. This time around, Cooper was deemed a game-time decision but eventually wasn’t seen at the arena, increasing the suspense regarding both absences. However, Caldwell provided some details regarding their injuries but had no estimates on when they would be back.

“We really don’t know the status of when they’ll return,” Kim Caldwell said. “KB had a high ankle sprain the day before. I think we played Auburn, and then Coop got hit in the head today with a ball in the shoot-around.”

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Caldwell needs all the depth she can get, especially because of the high intensity high press style of basketball she plays. That really takes a toll on the players. It could cause a domino effect and cause one injury after another. With Cooper and Boyd being out, Caldwell might temporarily adjust her pacy style and slow things down a little.