The Lady Vols are one of just two teams left in the SEC to be undefeated in conference play, and both hail from the state of Tennessee.

Tennessee (14-3, 6-0) held off Kentucky (17-4, 4-3) in a bruising border battle Thursday night at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. A crowd of 12,551 held its breath in the final eight seconds as Tennessee’s defense secured the 60-58 win. The packed student section overflowed into the upper deck.

“I really want to give a thanks to the crowd,” Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell said. “The students came in full force. They were worth at least six points, and they got loud, it got loud, and we have players who play off that, so I appreciate the crowd tonight. It meant a lot to us.”

Both teams were missing key forwards – Janiah Barker for Tennessee after she got hit in the head against Alabama and Teonni Key for Tennessee after she dislocated her elbow earlier in January. Key’s big sister, former Lady Vol Tamari Key, sat courtside with their mother, and former Lady Vols player and coach Holly Warlick. Former Lady Vols Tess Darby and Emily Saunders also were at the game.

To compound Tennessee’s woes, seniors Talaysia Cooper and Zee Spearman spent much of the game in foul trouble. All five freshmen stepped up for Tennessee with Mia Pauldo pouring in 21 points, Jaida Civil adding nine points and Deniya Prawl chipping in with eight points. The defense also was stout with Civil forcing a shot clock violation on Kentucky with her one-on-one defense to end the first quarter with an 11-7 lead.

It was not, by any means, a high-scoring game, and Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks said afterward that it set the game of basketball back. He also thanked the packed post-game media room, which had outlets from both states, for its dedication and coverage to women’s basketball.

While the game wasn’t an offensive masterpiece, and defense determined the outcome – a steal by Cooper sealed the win – it had flashes of stellar play, especially with drives to the rim and timely threes.

“We did it with defensive effort,” said Caldwell, whose press conference with Prawl and Pauldo can be watched HERE. “The majority of their points came from the foul line. So, when we looked at the stat sheet, the only thing I really touched base on is we got 20 more shots than them.

“It’s what we want all year. It’s what we want every single game. When we played Alabama, we got one more shot than them. If we don’t get 20 more shots against this team here today, we lose by 15.”

Janiah Barker, center, celebrates a basket. Barker was held out of the game after getting hit in the head against Alabama. (Tennessee Athletics.)

With the offense sputtering a bit late in the fourth quarter, Spearman hit a three, and Pauldo buried a mid-range jumper to put Tennessee ahead 59-54. The freshman has proven she can hit clutch shots in tight games.

“It’s huge,” Caldwell said. “I mean, it’s huge. And especially on nights where you’re a little shorthanded, whether it’s foul trouble or a player’s not playing.”

South Carolina lost at Oklahoma on Thursday night in overtime, so Tennessee and Vanderbilt, which beat Auburn in Nashville, are the only teams left without a blemish in SEC play. The Lady Vols freshmen had a big role in that.

“I think it just takes time,” Caldwell said. “And I’ve said that all along. I’ve been consistent with that, I’ve always said that. I will always say that. When you have a lot of new players, you have young people, you’re playing a different style of play. You need to be patient.

“You have players that believe in me and I believe in them.”

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 and a 10th anniversary edition will be released June 16, 2026.