After a season-opening loss to NC State by just three points, Lady Vols basketball returned to Knoxville on Friday for the home opener. In a clash with ETSU, Tennessee took an early and commanding lead that resulted in a 97-47 win.
Here are three quick takeaways from the Lady Vols’ first win of the 2025-26 season.
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Shot Selection Needs to be Better at Times
The Lady Vols rolled into this game on fire from range. Tennessee knocked down six threes in the first quarter, including an unanswered stretch of four, to help take a demanding lead. When they were dropping, it looked great. When they started to rattle out instead, it was ugly.
Far too often, the Lady Vols continued to settle for threes early in the shot clock. Without running much of an offense, somebody would put up a shot from range instead of getting downhill or trying to find a big in the paint. Against a team of ETSU’s size, even when they were falling into zones, that led to unnecessary inefficiencies.
That’s something Kim Caldwell has harped on this off-season, too. She knows this team doesn’t have as much shooting as last year. A barrage of threes will still be a part of what Tennessee does on a nightly basis, but she’s talked about wanting to get to the rim at a much higher clip.
Her team didn’t do that all tonight. Instead, they took 29 of their 53 shots from the field from range in the first three quarters. By the end of the third and the entirety of the fourth, they started to get better looks inside, but it still led to 38 3-point attempts.
Need More Out of These Two Transfers
Tennessee’s transfer portal class was ranked No. 1 by ESPN this offseason. While it’s not hard to see why, two of the transfers haven’t found their full footing yet.
A starter in both games, Nya Robertson came in with a knack for scoring at SMU. In game one, she posted seven points on 3-for-9 shooting, along with two assists. In game two, she scored two points on 0-for-6 shooting from the field and 0-for-5 from range.
Off the bench, forward Jersey Wolfenbarger pairs the athleticism of a guard with the body of a forward. Despite this, she didn’t score against NC State on one attempt from the field. Against ETSU, she got on the board in the fourth quarter to finish with two points on her only attempt and two rebounds.
The story on both is far from written, but it hasn’t been the greatest start for either. The Lady Vols are going to need them to get acclimated in this upcoming stretch of out-of-conference play before things heat up again, though.
Two Returners Living Up to the Hype
Talaysia Cooper put together an incredible game one against NC State, in which she led the team in points (23), rebounds (11), assists (seven) and steals (three). In the following game this Friday, she picked up right where she left off.
Cooper finished with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting with four rebounds, three steals and two blocks. The biggest development has been her growth from range. She knocked down four 3-pointers in the game. If she can get that to consistently fall, she’ll be as good as anyone in the country.
Also having a strong game was Zee Spearman. She settled for shots from range a few times too many, but when she wanted to get in the post or cut to the rim, she got optimal looks or was fouled. She finished with a tie for her career-high 25 points, though 12 came from the free throw line. She also grabbed six rebounds.
Tennessee is counting heavily on both of these returners this year, especially with Ruby Whitehorn dismissed from the team. With both typically on the floor together in the same rotation, it’s a combination Kim Caldwell has pegged as one she’s hoping can work well together.
