“We had a lot of quit in us tonight,” Kim Caldwell lashed out at her team following their 43-point blowout defeat to the South Carolina Gamecocks. While it raised several eyebrows about the coach’s outburst, it also led to a question: How would the Tennessee players react? They responded on the court with a 98-53 win over Missouri, before making a statement of their own during the press conference following the criticism.

Speaking after the Tigers’ game on Thursday, junior Alyssa Latham and freshman Deniya Prawl expressed their reactions to Caldwell’s statements, highlighting how this criticism affected them as a team.

“It definitely motivated us,” Latham said. “Sometimes you got to hear the truth, and sometimes the truth is hard to hear, and we understood that we all have to do our part. Not one person, not two people, but we all have to do what we can and give our 100% effort.”

“I think that was good to hear,” Prawl had the same mindset and added. “We wanted to prove her so wrong. So, we came out today and tried to do that.”

The Lady Vols’ improvement is reflected perfectly in the numbers. The team just gave away 10 turnovers in the entire game, in contrast to Missouri’s 21, which was an instant improvement following their South Carolina game. And Latham feels this performance is a massive stride towards building a perfect mindset to win on the court going forward this season.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

“It’s really important for us to stick together as a team and to have each other’s back and continue to grow,” Latham said. “And I think we took another step forward today in growing and having next-play mentality and not worrying about, I missed a shot, but I’m going to get back on defense, or I’ll turn the ball around. I’m going to have my teammates back. So, just continuing to stick together as a team.”

Following the Gamecocks’ game, Caldwell also demanded more responsibility and a sense of leadership on the court. And senior Janiah Barker showcased that perfectly on Thursday, scoring 22 points in just 17 minutes, along with 8 boards and 2 steals. Prawl complemented perfectly off the bench with a double-double on points and rebounds, while Talaysia Cooper, Latham, and Nya Robertson also scored 10+ points in the game.

Kim Caldwell’s team is 16-6 and 8-2 in the season, and still has a March Madness ceiling. But going forward in their upcoming stretch of games, the team doesn’t have much room for mistakes, given their tumble in the last few weeks. They currently hang in the AP 25 rankings by a thread (22nd position), and it might all come down to Sunday on whether the Lady Vols have truly turned around their season or the Missouri game was a one-off.

Kim Caldwell and Co. Face Yet Another Ranked Nemesis in Their Upcoming Weekend

Among the six defeats, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers have lost five to ranked teams, including the latest blowout losses to UConn and South Carolina. It definitely signals a concerning trend. And amid these precarious situations, Kim Caldwell’s Lady Vols will host No. 4 Texas Longhorns.

Vic Schaefer has lost just thrice this season. His side is equally good on either side of the ball, ranking seventh in the nation on defense and sixth on offense. With high-pressure play and formidable scorers like Madison Booker, Breya Cunningham, and Aaliyah Crump, the Longhorns make it very difficult for opponents to line up against them.

And Caldwell knows it pretty well. She hinted at the required adjustments her team will need to make in the Texas game during the Missouri post-game press conference. “It’s going to be very different,” she said. “We’ve got to be physical. We got to be really big inside, and we got to really work on box outs and get offensive rebounds, and take care of the ball. I’m worried about turning the ball versus them.”

The Vols’ weakness is the exact strength of the Longhorns. They thrived on forced turnovers this season, with 592 turnovers, averaging 23.68 per game, ranking 11th in the country. The offensive players like Janiah Barker, Zee Spearman, and Alyssa Latham should be preventing turnovers.

Mia Pauldo missed the Missouri game, adding to Caldwell’s concerns. Although Nya Robertson replaced her in the starting lineup, Pauldo’s offensive expertise can be a trump card come Sunday. The Lady Vols’ head coach didn’t provide a major update on the freshman, who has been crucial to Tennessee’s offense. With all these hurdles, can Kim Caldwell’s team finally get a win over a top-ranked team? Or will Vic Schaefer’s dominance prevail? Do let us know in the comments.