In one of the most anticipated games of January, the No. 17 Tennessee Lady Volunteers survived a nail-biting 60–58 win over the No. 11 Kentucky Wildcats. And while the final score should tell you about the tension on the court, it still doesn’t fully capture the emotional push and pull between head coach Kim Caldwell and one of her most “trusted” players.

For junior guard Talaysia Cooper, this night was far from smooth. Foul trouble caught up with her in the third quarter, forcing Caldwell to sit her as the game tightened. By the time the fourth quarter started, the Lady Vols clung to a one-point lead at 41–40, and Cooper found herself in and out of the lineup as Caldwell searched for the right combination to close the game.

That back-and-forth created visible frustration for the young guard – something which Caldwell didn’t shy away from addressing in the post-game interview.

“I was really proud of her. She was frustrated tonight. She was really frustrated, and I’ll take every single bit of her frustration. Probably overcoached her, probably put her in positions that made her not have a good night offensively, and yanked her out at the end of the game. She wasn’t happy about it. All of that was on me,” coach Kim Caldwell revealed.

However, the most tense moment came in the closing seconds of the game, when, with only 12 seconds left on the clock, three timeouts were called. So Caldwell pulled Cooper aside and delivered a simple message.

“And so I look at her and tell her, ‘Get a stop. Get a stop.’ And she goes out there, and she wins the game for us, and that’s the most Talaysia Cooper thing ever. That sums up our relationship. I’ll trust her. I’ll always trust her, and she’ll continue to get better.”

With Janiah Barker currently out, the Lady Vols needed multiple players to absorb the load. While Cooper doesn’t exactly fill the same role as Barker, her ability to impact the game as a scorer, rebounder, and defender was always going to matter against a team like Kentucky. However, for much of the night, though, Cooper simply struggled.

She entered the fourth quarter with just two points and never looked fully comfortable offensively. She finished with seven points on 3-of-15 shooting, including 1-of-5 from deep, while adding five rebounds, three assists, and five steals.

But with the game hanging in the balance, none of that mattered.

With just 0.1 seconds left on the clock, the ball possession was with the Wildcats, but Cooper jumped the passing lane for a game-winning steal, sealing the hard-fought win.

Kim Caldwell Lady Vols’ v/s Wildcats: Game Overview

Heading into this game, the Lady Vols leaned heavily on their freshmen, and they answered! With this win under their belt, Tennessee sits at 6–0 in SEC play of the 2025-26 NCAA season, the best start of the Kim Caldwell era.

While this was a team game, if any individual should be credited for this win, it will be freshman guard Mia Pauldo. The SEC Freshman of the Year candidate poured in a game-high 21 points on 9-of-22 shooting, playing 36 minutes and logging the entire fourth quarter. She also added four rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

Behind her, Deniya Prawl scored nine points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting while adding four rebounds, four steals, and a block.

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But more than offense, it was the defense that ultimately decided the night.

The Lady Vols forced 21 turnovers and held the Wildcats to 38.3% shooting from the field, as Clara Strack, one of the SEC’s most dangerous forwards, finished with just nine points on 2-of-7 shooting despite pulling down 15 rebounds.

For their next game, the Kim Caldwell-led Vols will lock horns with the No. 18 Ole Miss Rebels on January 26th. A game predicted to be in the favor of Lady Vols with 55.5% by ESPN.