Head Coach Kim Caldwell is not happy with her team! The Tennessee Lady Volunteers battled their third game of the 2025-26 NCAA season against the UT Martin Skyhawks. But while the Lady Vols emerged victorious with the final score of 72-61, the team struggled early in the game, and Caldwell has something to say about it.

During the post-game interview, when asked about the slow start in the game, Caldwell said, “We just have to piggyback off of what Nya (Robertson) said – they just have to do it. We play an effort-based system. If you go out there and don’t give effort, you’re going to look silly, and that’s what happened for the first two quarters. You can’t do this if you’re not going to play hard. It’s really all dedicated to playing hard, flying around, playing together, and we don’t have that right now.”

And her frustrations were valid. The Lady Vols were behind for most of the first half, and even in the early part of the second quarter, UT Martin went on a scoring run of 11 points while Tennessee scored only 2, putting UT Martin ahead by 8 points (28–20).

The Lady Vols were seen struggling to hit shots from deep, making just 9 of 29 three-pointers, and turning the ball over 22 times. UT Martin, even though not a powerhouse, was able to capitalize on Tennessee’s slow start and inconsistent effort, forcing Caldwell to call out the team’s lack of intensity.

While in the third quarter of the game, the renewed energy in the team could be felt in the arena as they came back from the locker room and took the lead. On whether the team showed better effort in the second half, Kim Caldwell further added:

“I do (think so). I think there was some moments where we had two or three girls on the floor for a loose ball. There were at least two or three possessions where we got multiple offensive rebounds and ended up scoring. We played the way we needed to play in the second half. It still wasn’t great. I think there was a lot of walking around on defense, way too many turnovers on our end, not seeing the right gaps, not communicating with each other.”

Despite the shaky start, the team managed to pull through and secure the win, showing glimpses of the effort and energy Caldwell expects from them. But if Tennessee wants to maintain consistency and compete at the highest level, it must bring that same intensity from the beginning as the season moves forward.

What’s next for Kim Caldwell-led Lady Vols?

The Tennessee Lady Volunteers have played 3 matches so far, out of which they have already lost one and won two. The only loss they have recorded so far was their season opener against the NC State Wolfpack, a nail-biter decided by just three points. But for Coach Caldwell, that first game was just about assessing where the team stood early in the season. And it clearly worked, as Tennessee responded in their next outing by dominating their opponent with a 50-point win.

With 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, junior guard Talaysia Cooper is currently leading the Lady Vols roster with the most points and the most assists, and moving forward, the team will be depending on her guidance. With Kim Caldwell and the team gearing up for their next game with the Belmont Bruins on November 13th, fans will be keeping their eyes on this empire to see how they will find their path out of these shortcomings.

However, the real test of the Lady Vols team chemistry and their ability to work on their flaws will be on November 30th, when they will lock horns with No.3-ranked UCLA Bruins.