The Kim Caldwell era of Lady Vols basketball started with a bang.
Tennessee’s fast-paced offense and suffocating defense dominated its exhibition against Carson-Newman, winning 135-49 in the debut for the Lady Vols coach Thursday at Food City Center at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Lady Vols put up 105 points by the end of the third quarter, which is the most they have scored in three quarters against the Eagles in the last three matchups. The last two seasons, Tennessee has scored 81 and 86 points, respectively, in three quarters.
Clemson transfer guard Ruby Whitehorn was even better than advertised, scoring a game-high 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Talaysia Cooper was a menace on defense in the full-court press, snagging four steal-and-scores in the first half alone. The redshirt sophomore guard logged 16 points on 8-for-15 shooting and added a game-high eight steals.
The Lady Vols shot 52.1% from the field and 39.6% from 3-point range – they went 19-for-48 from deep. Tennessee scored 52 points off 43 turnovers, logging 30 steals.
Whitehorn and Cooper started the game, along with senior guards Samara Spencer and Jewel Spear and senior forward Sara Puckett.
The Lady Vols settled into their full-court press in the first quarter and Carson-Newman had no answers. They forced 25 turnovers in the first half, and 16 were steals. Tennessee looked cohesive in its half-court defense and it showed in the stats – Carson-Newman shot 37% from the field and scored fewer than 10 points in the first and fourth quarters.
Caldwell stuck with her signature substitution system, changing full lineups at a time. But it didn’t disrupt the flow of the game, even though it was frequent.
Six players scored in double figures. Zee Spearman had 17 points, Jewel Spear had 17, Puckett had 14 and redshirt freshman Kaniya Boyd had 13.
It was an exhibition against a Division II program, so the results should be taken with a grain of salt. But it was still a dominant result and a debut that made an impression. Lady Vols fans have an exciting offense to look forward to this season.
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
