Kim Caldwell and the Tennessee Volunteers aim to surpass their Sweet Sixteen finish from last season with a talented and experienced team ranked No. 8 in the AP preseason poll. They arranged a challenging but winnable non-conference schedule that included the likes of NC State, UCLA, Louisville, and Stanford among its rivals.
The Lady Volunteers played their first assignment on Tuesday and lost 80-77 to No. 9 NC State Wolfpack at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Caldwell discussed the team’s performance after the game and admitted the fouls assessed against them proved costly down the stretch.
Kim Caldwell Talks About Tennessee’s Season-Opening Loss to NC State
Caldwell spoke about the game, and the number of fouls committed by her players was the primary reason for their loss to NC State, saying they had been aware of this issue before the game started.
“I think I’ve said it publicly that fouls were going to cost us and they absolutely did,” said the second-year Tennessee coach. “I think they had 32 points from their second chance points and their foul shot made foul shots combined. And you got to you got to try to get some of those points back.”
Tennessee was called for 23 fouls, including the technical foul slapped on forward Janiah Barker for taunting late in the second quarter.
Janiah Barker was assessed a technical foul for taunting after this three.
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The Wolfpack, who were whistled for only 10 fouls in the whole duration of the game, were awarded 21 free throws from these fouls and made 15 of them. The Lady Volunteers, meanwhile, were given 14 chances at the 15-foot line and buried 8 of them.
“We scheduled this game to see where we were. We wanted to see where we were early, so we had time to fix it,” she said. “I think that’s exactly what we got out of it. We have a lot of things we can fix. We can get a lot better and we know where we’re at.”
Talaysia Cooper led Tennessee with 23 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and one block, while Barker added 15 points, including three 3-pointers, two rebounds, and one steal. Jada Civil and Mia Pauldo also finished in double figures, with Civil producing 13 points and four rebounds. Pauldo contributed 10 points, six rebounds, and one assist.
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Vanderbilt transfer Khamil Pierre had an excellent debut for her new team, producing a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds. Tilda Trygger added 19 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks, while Zamareya Jones and Zoe Brooks scored 18 and 13 points, respectively.
The Kim Caldwell-coached Lady Volunteers look to bounce back from the loss to NC State when it hosts East Tennessee State on Friday.