The non-conference stretch of the 2025–26 season had been anything but steady for the No. 23 Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Head coach Kim Caldwell voiced concern more than once as her team kept falling into the same trap: strong starts followed by mental lapses that let opponents creep back into games. And just when it seemed like those issues were behind them, the Lady Vols have given reason for worry all over again.

In their latest and also the first game of the SEC conference against the Florida Gators, the Lady Vols saw an early 17-point lead in the second quarter (29–12). However, after this run, the team went silent for over five minutes, allowing the Gators to erase the deficit and even take a 50–46 lead in the third.

Tennessee eventually settled things with a decisive 9–0 run, but the bigger issue still lingered. It’s a problem Kim Caldwell has been trying to fix for a while now, which is why she didn’t sugarcoat anything when asked about the team’s breakdown during her postgame comments.

“I have to be completely honest with you, I do think we still had a meltdown. I just think we recovered,” Kim Caldwell said. “We didn’t let the meltdown become a 22-point loss, which is what we have been doing. So that, again, we have talked a lot, we have worked a lot, we have called out behaviors, we have showed behaviors, we have taped behaviors. And they knew coming in they had to play as a team.”

Coach’s reference to the troubling trend stems from a December matchup against Louisville, where the Lady Vols squandered a large lead and suffered a 22-point loss. So, during the Christmas break, Caldwell responded by taking a more hands-on approach to fixing the team’s mindset. She showed players film of their body language and effort lapses from the Louisville loss, emphasizing that meltdowns weren’t just about missing shots, but about mentally giving up when the game got tough.

While the Florida game was a step in the right direction, as the Lady Vols were able to recover from a deep hole and secure a 76-65 win, the fact that they allowed a 17-point lead to evaporate remained a point of concern, something which coach Kim Caldwell will look to lessen in the upcoming matchups.

“The goal is to now start to lessen the meltdowns and then eliminate the meltdowns,” Caldwell said. “It does take mental toughness to not give up, but let’s not blow the 17-point lead.”

As Tennessee moves forward to face a tougher stretch, the Lady Vols would need to ensure that leads are maintained and meltdowns become a thing of the past, or the higher-ranked team will make sure to take advantage of their shortcomings.

What’s next for the Kim Caldwell-led Lady Volunteers?

With this win under their belt, the Lady Vols currently sit at 9-3. Their three losses so far came against the NC State Wolfpack, the UCLA Bruins, and the Louisville Cardinals. In each of these games, Tennessee built a lead but ultimately couldn’t hold on.

And while they have shown improvements several times, this issue just keeps on lingering, something they’d better work on before their upcoming games, and the coach knows that too.

The Lady Vols will play their next game against the Auburn Tigers on January 4th, a game predicted to be in their favor with 93.2% by ESPN. But if their pattern for giving up when in the lead shows up again, the Tigers can easily take this win home, especially since this game will be played in their territory.

“We have to play well on the road. I think it’s a tough place to play. I’ve never been there, so again, we’re all still kind of learning, but from what we’ve talked about as a staff going into that game, it’s a game where they get somebody every year. Again, they’re a new team, they’re learning. It’s going to be a similar game like tonight, where we have to be consistent, and we have to play well, and we have to show that we can play well on the road,” Kim Caldwell added.

Following their game against the Tigers, they will lock horns with:

• The Mississippi State Bulldogs on January 7th.
• The Arkansas Razorbacks on January 11th.
• The Alabama Crimson Tide on January 18th.

Do you think the Lady Vols can put an end to this pattern as SEC play ramps up? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!