The bad news. Tennessee lost another game in the final seconds. The good news. Tennessee is way ahead of schedule.

Even better news. Conor Scott Caldwell has arrived, the first child of coach Kim Caldwell and Justin Caldwell as outlined in a story HERE. The head coach had to watch the game from Knoxville, but Kim Caldwell had to be elated at how her assistant coach, Jenna Burdette, went toe-to-toe against Texas and its hall of fame coach, Vic Schaefer.

The Lady Vols fell 80-76 at No. 7 Texas – a prohibitive Final Four favorite – on Thursday night after having a shot to seize the lead before the clock expired. Tennessee has now lost four SEC games – three were to ranked teams – by a total of eight points. It would have been six points, but Tennessee had to foul at end, and the Longhorns hit both free throws.

“Not good enough, but I do think it was one of our more complete games,” Burdette said. “We had a decent start, a little letup in the second quarter, obviously. But other than that, we played hard. Our players played really hard. They played together, and they stuck together the entire time, so I am proud of them. But we’re going to get there.”

Tennessee knows what it needs to fix, and rebounding is at the top of the list. Tennessee went against a much bigger team in the paint, and the Longhorns feasted on the glass, especially in the first half. The Lady Vols also have to find a way to close out close games, whether it’s a timely defensive stop or better ball security.

But Tennessee also is competing at a high level in a hurry. Caldwell installed a new system on both ends and put together a team of returners and transfers and is, in sports vernacular, coaching them up. That’s not always easy to do. She has this team playing ahead of where most thought Tennessee would be.

Ruby Whitehorn blocks a shot against Texas. (Tennessee Athletics)

One of those transfers is Ruby Whitehorn, who is from Detroit and transferred to Tennessee last spring from Clemson. The junior guard poured in 21 points and made clutch shots in the final minutes. The highlights show how good the Lady Vols can be on offense and can be viewed HERE.

“We went to her a lot, and we went to her a lot down the stretch,” Burdette said. “I think she definitely had the hot hand tonight. I am really proud of her. She was a really good leader on the floor. She was talking the whole game.”

The SEC is a brutal slate to navigate, and No. 2 South Carolina arrives in town this Monday, January 27, at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Tennessee has shown it can play with anyone in the country. Texas’ one conference loss was at South Carolina, which has steamrolled SEC teams. Texas defeated Alabama, 84-40, and Arkansas, 90-56, in Austin in January. Earlier this week, the Longhorns dismantled No. 8/9 Maryland by 39 points at a neutral site in New Jersey.

The Lady Vols were one made basket and a stop from leaving Austin with a win. It’s coming. And Tennessee has time to fix it. Burdette will keep the acting title until Caldwell can return to the court.

“We’re super excited for both Kim and Justin,” Burdette said. “I cannot wait to meet the baby, personally, but today as a group, I think our staff was really good collectively, and we really pulled together as well, and our team took to it, but just fell up short at the end.”

Maria M. Cornelius, a senior writer/editor at MoxCar Marketing + Communications since 2013, started her journalism career at the Knoxville News Sentinel and began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press.