Tennessee’s dream SEC run came to an unexpected halt on Thursday. The Lady Volunteers suffered a tough 62-77 loss to Mississippi State, shattering the team’s perfect 6-0 conference record. While the game was defined by a flurry of errors from the Lady Volunteers players, head coach Kim Caldwell believes the defeat falls on her shoulders.

The defeat to unranked Mississippi State is a huge blow to Tennessee, especially following two straight ranked wins over Alabama and Kentucky. It raises several concerns for head coach Caldwell, and she highlighted that the players’ off-court punctuality and professionalism are among them. “I think prep leading up, not wanting to play, not listening, having to go back to repeating ourselves. I mean, we were late to warm-ups, and things like that were just kind of a slap in the face,” Caldwell said in the post-match press conference.

The Thursday game was the Lady Volunteers’ second matchup against the Bulldogs this season. Caldwell’s team blew them off 90-80 on the road in the first game earlier this month. She believes that this win embedded a sense of overconfidence in her players, leading to a reluctant approach in the second game against the Bulldogs. “This was a game I knew we really needed to win. I think their heads got a little bit big. They thought they’d beat them once, and they would be able to walk in the gym and beat them again,” Caldwell added in her press conference.

The reluctant approach cost the Lady Volunteers big time in the game. The team struggled heaving on the boards, trailing 50-31 in the metric. Moreover, the team wasn’t precise in open play, and their 4 of 21 from the perimeter at 19% didn’t help either. While the defeat was a collective team failure, Caldwell didn’t hesitate to accept her flaw in managing the team.

“I hadn’t seen this version of them, and I told them this. And again, it’s my fault, I’m the coach. I can sit here and be frustrated all I want, but if I’m seeing it, that’s my job to fix it. And obviously, I didn’t fix it,” she boldly stated.

The Lady Volunteers never looked comfortable in the game, except for the first set, courtesy of Talaysia Cooper’s jump shot and two layups. And from then onwards, it was the Bulldogs who dictated the tempo. Mississippi State’s offense ensured pinpoint precision from open play, despite rolling over 24 times. Led by Kharyssa Richardson, the Bulldogs hit 8-18 in three-pointers for 44%. Madison Francis and Favour Nwaedozi anchored the Bulldogs with double-doubles in points and rebounds, while Trayanna Crisp made her presence felt with 15 points, five boards, and three steals.

Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports

Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports

For Tennessee, Cooper put up a tough fight with 19 points, but received very little support from her peers. Janiah Barker and Mia Pauldo did manage over 10 points in the game, but it was far too little. With this defeat,

Kim Caldwell’s Tennessee slipped to second in the SEC conference rankings. They are currently 14-4 and 6-1, and their upcoming challenges against ranked teams won’t help them improve their record.

What’s next for Kim Caldwell and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers?

As if a defeat against unranked Mississippi State wasn’t enough for Tennessee, they have three games against ranked teams lined up ahead of them. No.1 UConn Huskies are up next on Saturday, while No. 23 Georgia, No. 3 South Carolina, and No.4 Texas follow suit. It will be a couple of tough weeks for Kim Caldwell’s team, and in all probability dictate the terms of their 2025-26 season.

Caldwell isn’t new to pressure and has defeated Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies last season, too. However, the Huskies have been indispensable in the 2025-26 season, while their team looks complete from every direction. The only positive that Caldwell has going into the game is the uncertainty around Blanca Quinonez and Serah Williams. If somehow Caldwell can put early pressure on their talisman, Sarah Strong, right after tipoff, the Lady Volunteers can have a slim opportunity.

However, it would require immaculate defensive precision, which the Lady Volunteers haven’t demonstrated consistently this season. The Lady Volunteers would have put their faith in their two standout defensive players, Zee Spearman and Talaysia Cooper, to restrict the Huskies’ mayhem on Saturday.

For Kim Caldwell, the UConn game is a trial by fire right after the Mississippi State defeat. The tactics would be simple for her: play on defense, capitalize on UConn turnovers, and restrict Strong and Fudd’s movement in the court. However, in an away contest against the Huskies under mounting pressure, the Lady Volunteers go into the match as underdogs. But Caldwell’s side is favored to snap the Huskies’ winning streak, so the question is: can they repeat it one more time? We will have to wait till Saturday to figure it out.