For the first time in her young career, Lady Vols basketball freshman point guard Mia Pauldo was forced to sit out of a game. After suffering a concussion in the loss to South Carolina last Sunday, she was ruled out ahead of the dominant win over Missouri on Thursday.
Now, with Texas coming to town, Pauldo is ruled out for a second-straight game. She is the only UT player listed on the availability report.
After the win over Missouri, Kim Caldwell declined to give a detailed update on Pauldo’s status. She said she had no update on the timeline for her return, but did offer that it was during the loss to the Gamecocks, and not an injury suffered during the ensuing practices.
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Pauldo has emerged as one of the best players for the Lady Vols this season. She is averaging 11.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game on the year.
She’s elevated her game in SEC play, as well. In conference play alone, she’s posted 14.4 points per game. This is the 17th-highest mark in the SEC so far and the second-best on the team. Talaysia Cooper’s 15.7 points is the only Lady Vols’ mark that is higher.
However, Pauldo’s last time out, the loss to South Carolina, was a rough performance. In the historic 43-point loss, Pauldo produced no points on 0-for-10 shooting from the field and 0-for-9 from range. She grabbed three rebounds, passed for two assists and came up with a steal, though, in 24 minutes.
“I don’t think she made bad plays,” Caldwell said about Pauldo after the game. “I think she still played hard. I just think her shot didn’t fall tonight. And we are better when she’s better.”
The Lady Vols’ game against Texas will begin at 3 p.m. ET and air on ABC. Tennessee enters as the No. 22 team in the country, while the Longhorns are at No. 4, but coming off a loss to No. 5 Vanderbilt.
