#18 Tennessee (15-5 | 3-5 SEC) at Missouri (12-11 | 1-7 SEC)
Sunday, February 2nd, 2025 | 2:00pm CT / 3:00pm ET
Columbia, MO | Mizzou Arena | TV: SEC Network
Knoxville, TN – No. 18/19 Tennessee (15-5, 3-5 SEC) travels to Columbia, Mo., this weekend, where it will take on Missouri (12-11, 1-7 SEC) on Sunday at 2:00pm CT (3:00pm ET) at Mizzou Arena.
The Lady Vols and Tigers will meet in a contest streamed on SECN+ and carried on Lady Vol Network radio stations as well as audio-streamed on UTSports.com and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Ch. 119 & 191).
UT will be playing its only unranked foe during a gauntlet where it faces off against four top-10 teams in a five-game stretch. The Big Orange fell at No. 7/7 Texas on January 23rd, 80-76, and to No. 2/2 South Carolina on Monday, 70-63.
After the matchup with Mizzou, Tennessee will host No. 6/6 UConn on February 6th and play at No. 7/5 LSU on February 9th. Tennessee is coming off its fifth close loss of the season to a top-10 program, falling by seven to No. 2/2 South Carolina on Monday, 70-63, in a contest the Lady Vols led by nine during the first period.
The Lady Vols feature five players averaging double digits in scoring, led by redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper. She puts up 17.5 ppg., 5.9 rpg., 3.3 apg. and 3.2 spg. while shooting 47 percent from the field. Cooper has nine 20+ scoring efforts this season.
Also averaging double figures are junior guard Ruby Whitehorn (13.5 ppg.), fifth-year guard Jewel Spear (12.3 ppg.), senior point guard Samara Spencer (11.2 ppg., 5.6 apg.) and junior forward Zee Spearman (10.9 ppg., 6.1 rpg.).
Missouri has dropped seven of its last eight contests, but the Tigers have proven to be dangerous in their last two games, upsetting Mississippi State on Monday night, 78-77, and pushing No. 5/7 Texas before falling, 71-60, in Austin on Thursday night. Mizzou is paced by three players scoring in double figures, including Grace Slaughter (14.8 ppg.), Ashton Judd (11.7 ppg.) and Laniah Randle (11.4 ppg., 6.1 rpg.). Reserve Abbey Schreacke has hit 52 three-pointers.
Kim Caldwell‘s first Lady Vol team enters the match-up ranked No. 1 nationally in two statistical categories, as of January 25th, and is top 10 in six others. UT leads the NCAA three pointers per game (11.1) and three point attempts per game (33.6), and is second in in scoring offense (91.9), offensive rebounds per game (19.3), third in turnover margin (10.10), seventh in bench points per game (31.3), eighth in turnovers forced per game (24.20) and ninth in steals per game (13.0).
Broadcast Details
Ben Arnet (play-by-play) and Marke Freeman (analyst) will have the call for the SECN+ broadcast.
All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice providing play-by-play and Jay Lifford serving as studio host.
A link to the live audio stream can be found on the Hoops Central page or the schedule on UTSports.com.
Air-time generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
The Lady Vol Network broadcast also will be available via SiriusXM Satellite Radio channels 119 and 191.
Individually Speaking
COOP MAKING HER MARK: Guard Talaysia Cooper is having a break-out season, leading UT in scoring (17.5 ppg.) and steals (3.2 spg.), hitting double figures 17 times, carding nine efforts of 20+ points and notching eight quarters where she scored 10 or more points, including 12 and 10, respectively, in the fourth period vs. Florida State and Iowa.
“FEAR DA SPEAR”: Jewel Spear is enjoying her best stretch of the season, averaging 14.1 ppg. in SEC play, hitting 25 of 54 three-point tries in league action (46.3 pct.) to run her season total to 48 treys and average 2.67 treys per game to rank second.
SMOOTH SAMARA: Samara Spencer (11.2 ppg.) ranks No. 5 nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.17), is No. 23 in total assists (111), and is No. 17 in apg. (5.6) while ranking No. 44 in 3FG pct. (40.9) and No. 2 for Tennessee in 3FGs made (45).
DEPENDABLE RUBY: Ruby Whitehorn is UT’s second-leading scorer at 13.5 ppg., tallying 10+ points in 13 of her past 14 games, including a season-high 21 vs. Texas.
INSIDE/OUTSIDE FROM ZEE: Zee Spearman has scored 10+ 11 times, averages 10.9 ppg. and 6.1 rpg., and has hit 13 treys.
From A Team Perspective
PILING UP POINTS: The UT Lady Vols rank No. 2 nationally in scoring offense, generating 91.9 points per game. The lowest a Kim Caldwell team has ranked in ppg. is No. 4, where she was in 2023-24 (85.3) at Marshall.
MAKING THREES IN BUNCHES: UT ranks No. 1 in 3FGs made per game at 11.1 and has hit 10+ treys 13 times, eclipsing the old school best of six. It made nine of 17 vs. Texas for its highest pct. (52.9) of 2024-25.
CRASHING O-BOARDS: UT is No. 2 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 19.3. It has twice reached 30+ this season.
TURNING OVER THE OPPOSITION: UT is No. 8 in turnovers forced per game (24.20) and No. 3 in T.O. margin (10.10). Miss. State had 20 miscues on Jan. 16 for the 13th 20+ T.O. game (7 were 30+) by a foe in 2024-25.
RACKING UP STEALS: UT is No. 9 nationally in steals per game (13.0). It now has 13 games of 10+ steals and 259 total in 20 games. It had 159 in 33 games a year ago.
THAT’S A 10-COUNT: Tennessee has prevented its foes from getting the ball over halfcourt in 10 seconds a total of 17 times in 20 games. UT forced only five violations the previous five years combined.
Inside The Numbers
UT NO. 11 IN NET: With five losses by a total of 15 points to NET No. 1 South Carolina, No. 3 Texas, No. 9 LSU, No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 18 Vanderbilt, and quality wins over No. 22 Florida State, No. 29 Richmond, No. 34 Mississippi State, No. 37 Iowa and No. 53 Middle Tennessee, Tennessee is No. 11 in the NCAA’s NET rankings (1/30).
TOUGH SCHEDULE: UT’s itinerary is No. 14 on the NCAA Toughest Schedule report.
100 DIMES x 3 FOR SAM: Samara Spencer has dished 100+ assists (111) for the third straight season after putting up 154 in 2022-23 and 115 in 2023-24 at Arkansas.
WHITEHORN NEARING 1K: Ruby Whitehorn has tallied 269 points in 2024-25 (13.5 ppg.) to hit 980 for her career, leaving her 20 away from reaching 1,000.
CHASING 2,000/500 STAT LINE: Jewel Spear now has 2,039 points and 494 rebounds, needing six rebounds to have a 2000/500+ stat line for her career.
UNCOMMON 1,500/500/500 IN SIGHT: Samara Spencer has 1,591 pts., 483 rebs. and 476 assts., nearing a 1,500/500/500 career stat line. Only five SEC women’s players have done that since 1991-92.
UT Eyeing A 40-Trey Trio
Tennessee is seeking to have its first trio of players to hit 40 or more three-pointers in a season since 2010-11.
Jewel Spear (48 / 37.5 pct.) and Samara Spencer (45 / 40.9 pct.) already have surpassed 40, and Tess Darby (39 / 34.8 pct.) stands one trey away.
The last time UT had three or more with 40+ deep balls, Angie Bjorklund (73), Meighan Simmons (63) and Shekinna Stricklen (42) accomplished that feat during the 2010-11 campaign en route to a 34-3 record.
Ruby Is Within Range Of 1,000 Points
Ruby Whitehorn enters the Missouri game with 980 points and needs just 20 to reach 1,000 for her career between her time at Clemson (2022-24) and Tennessee (2024-present).
Whitehorn has scored 269 points this season as a Lady Vol and is on track to have her highest scoring collegiate season.
Sam Hits 100, Chasing 1,500/500/500 Line
Samara Spencer dished out six assists vs. South Carolina on January 27th and now has 111 in 20 games in 2024-25.
It marks the third straight season she has produced 100 or more dimes.
Spencer had 154 and 115 in 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively, while she was at Arkansas and eclipsed 100 for the third time in her career in her first season as a Lady Vol.
Spencer also is closing in on a career stat line of at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists that only five SEC women’s players since 1991-92 have recorded.
She is trying to join Kelly Miller (Georgia, 2,177/711/639), Niesa Johnson (Alabama, 2,134/846/800), Khayla Pointer (LSU, 1,934/573/599), Jordan Lewis (Alabama, 1,581, 535, 510) and C’eira Ricketts (Arkansas, 1,537/664/516) in that limited club.
Looking Back At The Last Game
No. 18/17 Tennessee held No. 2/2 South Carolina to one of its lowest point totals of the season, but the Gamecocks held off a fourth-quarter Lady Vol charge to stay unbeaten in SEC play with a 70-63 victory in front of a season-high crowd of 12,033 Monday night at Food City Center.
UT (15-5, 3-5 SEC) outscored USC, 24-13, in the final quarter and trimmed a 22-point deficit to six but could not overcome the Gamecocks (20-1, 8-0 SEC), who won their 55th straight SEC regular season contest. The Lady Vols suffered through their toughest shooting night of the season at 30.7 percent but held a unit averaging 81.9 points per game to 70 on the evening for the fifth lowest sum of the campaign.
In Kim Caldwell‘s return to the sideline after missing the Texas game due to the birth of her first child, her squad also won the battle on the boards, 49-40, including an 18-7 margin on the offensive end.
For the second consecutive game, junior guard Ruby Whitehorn paced the Tennessee offensive attack, finishing with 12 points and adding five rebounds, three steals, two assists and a pair of blocks. Redshirt sophomore Talaysia Cooper also was in double figures with 11, pulling down eight boards as well.
Joyce Edwards fired in 18 points to lead five South Carolina players in double digits. MiLaysia Fulwiley contributed 11 points, while Chloe Kitts, Te-Hina Paopao and Raven Johnson chipped in 10 each.
Postgame Notes vs. South Carolina
FOOD CITY CENTER WAS ROCKIN’: A season-high crowd of 12,033 fans were in attendance at Food City Center during the matchup against the Gamecocks, and they certainly brought the energy. It was the largest Lady Vol crowd in the venue since the LSU matchup on Feb. 25, 2024, when 15,281 on hand. It also marked the fourth 10,000-plus crowd of the 2024-25 season. The other 10,000-plus crowds were against LSU (10,220), Oklahoma (11,321) and Winthrop (11,152).
PLAYING TAKEAWAY: The Lady Vols tallied 10 steals against the Gamecocks, marking the 13th time this season that Tennessee has racked up double-digit takeaways and the first time vs. a top-10 team in three tries. The Big Orange notched their highest total of steals with 27 against Samford on Nov. 5, 2024. Ruby Whitehorn led the team with three steals vs. South Carolina, tying her season-high and SEC-high amount.
UT/MU Series Notes
The Tennessee Lady Vols hold a 15-3 all-time record vs. Missouri, standing 7-1 in games played in Knoxville, 6-2 in Columbia and 2-0 at neutral sites.
The Big Orange carry a series-best seven-game winning streak into Sunday’s match-up.
UT has won in its last three trips to Columbia, but all of those triumphs were by five points or fewer.
The 80 points UT scored last season vs. Mizzou in Knoxville were the most tallied by the Lady Vols in the series since winning 84-39 on Jan. 10, 2013.
Tennessee has held Missouri to 69 points or fewer in seven of the last eight meetings and 11 of the past 13.
Sara Puckett averaged 16.5 ppg. and 5.0 rpg. vs. the Tigers the past two seasons.
A Look At Missouri
Missouri is led by the quartet of Grace Slaughter (14.8 ppg.), Ashton Judd (11.7), Laniah Randle (11.4) and Abbey Schreacke (8.8 ppg.)
Schreake (52), Slaughter (39) and Judd (38) supply the Tigers with capable shooters from beyond the arc.
Mizzou only scores only 62.75 points per contest in SEC play while surrendering 77.50.
The Tigers are outscored 170-130 in the fourth period during SEC play and 162-128 in the first.
Missouri has lost seven of its past eight games after entering SEC play 11-4.
About Missouri Tigers’ Head Coach Robin Pingeton
Robin Pingeton is 248-211 in 15 seasons at Missouri and is 583-368 overall in 30 years, including previous stops at St. Ambrose and Illinois State.
Pingeton has guided the Tigers to 19 postseason appearances, including four NCAA Tournament berths.
The Missouri Tigers’ Last Game
Missouri held a 20-13 lead after one and a 35-33 edge at the intermission but could not hold on, as No. 5/7 Texas used a 19-10 third-quarter margin to claim a 70-61 homecourt victory on Thursday night in Austin.
Laniah Randle (22), Grace Slaughter (16) and Ashton Judd (13) combined for 51 of Mizzou’s 61 points, but it wasn’t enough to hold off a Longhorn squad missing multiple players due to the flu.
The Tigers limited Texas to 38.5-percent shooting in the first frame while scorching the nets with 64.3-percent accuracy to build a seven-point lead.
The Longhorns, though, hit for 50 percent or better over the next three quarters to stave off the upset bid.
Mizzou, which averages seven made threes per game, hit only four for the game but managed to outscore Texas in the paint, 36-28.
Last Time Tennessee Faced Missouri
Jewel Spear scored 22 points and Rickea Jackson added 19, as UT defeated Missouri in Knoxville on February 4th, 2024, 80-69, the last time these teams met.
Spear added a career-high-tying six assists, and Jackson surpassed 2,000 career points in the game, while Sara Puckett added 15 points for the Big Orange.
Missouri was led by Mama Dembele, who tallied 18 points and eight rebounds. Grace Slaughter, Ashton Judd and Hilke Feldrappe were also in double figures with 14, 12 and 11, respectively.
Last Time Tennessee Played Missouri In Columbia
Sara Puckett hit a game-tying three with 40 seconds left, and Rickea Jackson converted a three-point play with a second remaining to deliver UT a thrilling 68-65 win the last time these teams met at Mizzou Arena on Jan. 22, 2023.
Missouri was led by Hayley Frank, with a game-high 26 points, and Jayla Kelly, who finished with 14.
Next Up For UT Women’s Basketball
The Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team returns home and welcomes No. 6/6 UConn to Food City Center for a nationally-televised game on Thursday night.
The Lady Vols and Huskies will meet at 5:30pm CT (6:30pm ET) in a contest carried by ESPN.
The game also will be available on Lady Vol Network radio stations statewide and via audio stream on UTSports.com.
