WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —  No. 18/16 Tennessee (10-0) and Tulsa (6-5) will wrap up their stays at the West Palm Beach Classic at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, meeting for the very first time.

The teams will face off at Rubin Arena on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University in a contest streamed live on BallerTV and carried on Lady Vol Network radio stations as well as audio-streamed on UTSports.com and SiriusXM Satellite Radio channel 380.

Tennessee is coming off an impressive 92-67 victory on Friday over a Richmond (9-3) squad that was receiving votes in the national polls and played No. 6 Texas to within 11 points last Sunday. The Lady Vols shot 51.4 percent from the field and were led by a 24-point performance from Talaysia Cooper in the win. Perhaps most impressive was the face the Spiders entered the game ranked No. 30 in scoring defense at 54.55 points per game, and UT’s 92 points were well past that. The previous high allowed by UR was 76 vs. Columbia, and No. 6 Texas only managed 65.

Tulsa, meanwhile, triumphed in its fourth straight game, staving off a late Montana challenge, 68-58, at Rubin Arena in the game right before Tennessee-Richmond.

The Big Orange will attempt to start the year 11-0 for only the second time in the past 13 seasons and join the 2017-18 (15-0) post-Pat Summitt era squad in opening their campaigns that way. UT won its first 10 contests for only the 13th time in program history.

Kim Caldwell‘s team enters the match-up ranked No. 1 nationally in six statistical categories after defeating Richmond. UT is tops in the NCAA in scoring offense (96.9), three pointers per game (12.5), three point attempts per game (38.9), offensive rebounds per game (21.4), turnovers forced per game (27.6) and winning percentage (100.0). It is second in steals per game (15.2) and turnover margin (13.1).

MORE INFO

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

• Opponent: Tulsa
• Date: Sat., Dec. 21
• Tip-off: 11 a.m. ET 
• Venue: Rubin Arena
• Watch: BallerTV
• Radio: Lady Vol Network
• Online: Live Audio, Live Stats

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TENNESSEE

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TULSA

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THE LATEST FROM THE LADY VOLS

 Cooper’s 15-Point Third Frame Helps No. 18/16 UT Repel Spiders, 92-67 No. 18/16 Lady Vols Improve To 9-0 With 90-75 Win At Memphis No. 19/18 Lady Vols Hit 30 Threes in 139-59 Win Over NC Central Cooper Named TSWA Player Of The Week

BROADCAST DETAILS

• Landon Coggins (play-by-play), a junior sports broadcasting major from Palm Beach Atlantic University, will have the call for the BallerTV live stream.
• The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice providing play-by-play and Jay Lifford serving as studio host.
• A link to the live audio stream can be found on the Hoops Central page or the schedule on UTSports.com.
• For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
• Air-time generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
• The Lady Vol Network broadcast also will be available via SiriusXM Satellite Radio channel 380.

INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING

• SUPER COOPER: Talaysia Cooper led all scorers with 24 points vs. Richmond and boosted her average to 19.8 ppg. It marked her sixth game scoring 20 or more and her eighth consecutive in double figures.
• SAM STEADY ON THE DIMES: In a return near to her hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Samara Spencer (13.4 ppg., 5.5 rpg.) dished out six assists and dropped 11 points vs. Richmond for her eighth game with five or more assists and her ninth contest reaching double figures in points.
• RUBY ON A ROLL: Ruby Whitehorn (12.4 ppg., 5.9 rpg.) had 15 points and seven boards vs. Richmond, hitting 10+ for the fourth straight game and eighth time overall, and had 5+ boards for the seventh time.
• 10-0 WITH NINE DIFFERENT FIVES: UT has begun the year 10-0 with nine different starting lineups and nine different players appearing in the first five. UT repeated a previous quintet vs. Memphis but had a new one vs. Richmond on Friday.
• GREEN LIGHT ON 3s: Thirteen of the 14 active players on UT’s roster have hit at least one trey this season, a program-best total replacing the 12 in 2022-23.

FROM A TEAM PERSPECTIVE

• PILING UP POINTS: The Lady Vols rank No. 1 nationally in scoring offense, generating 96.9 points per game. The lowest a Kim Caldwell team has ranked in ppg. is No. 4, where she was in 2023-24 (85.3) at Marshall.
• MAKING THREES IN BUNCHES: UT ranks No. 1 in 3FGs made per game at 12.5 and has hit 10+ treys six times, eclipsing the school record vs. Memphis for most games with double-digit totals in a season.
• ELITE ON O-BOARDS: UT is No. 1 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 21.4. It has twice reached 30+ this season.
• TURNING OVER THE OPPOSITION: UT is No. 1 in turnovers forced per game (27.6) and No. 2 in turnover margin (13.1) after hurrying Richmond into 17 miscues on Friday afternoon.
• RACKING UP STEALS: UT is No. 2 nationally in steals per game, averaging 15.2, and its total of 152 in nine contests is only seven behind last year’s 159 in 33 games.
• THAT’S A 10-COUNT: Tennessee has prevented its foes from getting the ball over halfcourt in 10 seconds a total of 12 times in 10 games. UT forced only five violations the previous five years combined.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• A NUMBER THAT COUNTS: UT is tied with nine teams at No. 1 nationally with a win percentage of 100 through Dec. 20.
• A 10-0 START: With Friday’s win over Richmond, Tennessee has opened up 10-0 for the first time since 2017-18 (15-0) and for the 13th time in program history.
• FAST STARTS FOR CALDWELL: UT’s 10-0 start is the second-best opening of a season in Kim Caldwell‘s nine years as a head coach behind her 29-0 start at Glenville State in 2021-22 on the way to 35-1. 
• UT’S BEST COACHING START: The win over N.C. Central on Dec. 14 gave Kim Caldwell (now 10-0) eight straight to open her tenure, making it the best coaching debut in the rich history of Lady Vol basketball. 
• TENNESSEE HOOPS STANDS ALONE: UT is the only school with undefeated women’s (10-0) and men’s (11-0) basketball teams.
• LADY VOLS NO. 28 IN NET RANKINGS: UT is No. 28 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, with wins over No. 23 Florida State, No. 31 Iowa, No. 32 Richmond and No. 59 Middle Tennessee.
• NO. 28 TOUGHEST SCHEDULE: The Lady Vols’ cumulative schedule ranks No. 28 on the NCAA’s Toughest Schedule report.

LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME

• Redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the third quarter, propelling No. 18/16 Tennessee past RV/NR Richmond, 92-67, on Friday afternoon at the West Palm Beach Classic. 
• With a partisan orange-clad crowd cheering them on, the Lady Volunteers improved to 10-0 on the season, marking the third time during the post-Pat Summitt era and 13th time in program history the team has begun a campaign with 10 straight wins. The Spiders, who are ranked No. 31 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, fell to 9-3 after losing their second straight game to a ranked Power Four program. No. 6 Texas defeated RU by 11 last Sunday, 65-54, on RU’s home court.
• Cooper, a 6-0 guard, took over in the third stanza, scoring 15 of the Lady Vols’ 26 points in the frame after Richmond cut the gap to six just after halftime. She finished 10 of 18 from the field and added five steals in her sixth game this season with 20 or more points. 
• Also hitting double figures in points for the Big Orange were Ruby Whitehorn with 15 and Samara Spencer with 11, with the Fort Lauderdale native knocking down three of seven tries beyond the arc and dishing a game-best six assists. Zee Spearman led her squad on the glass, hauling down nine caroms and was a rebound bucket shy of her second straight double-double with eight points on the day.
• Richmond, which trailed 23-21 after one and 47-39 at the half, was led by Rachel Ullstrom with 19 points. Maggie Doogan, Ally Sweeney and Addie Budnik chipped in 14, 13 and 12 points, respectively.

UT/TULSA SERIES NOTES

• This is the first meeting between these programs.
• Tennessee is 45-1 all-time vs. schools currently in the American Athletic Conference after defeating Memphis on Wednesday night.

A LOOK AT THE GOLDEN HURRICANE

• After starting 2-5, the Golden Hurricane has won its past four contests.
• Tulsa is led by Delanie Crawford and Elise Hill, who average 17.4 and 10.1 points per game, respectively.
• Crawford and Hill are the Golden Hurricane’s top shooters from the arc, knocking down 29 and 18 treys, respectively, over the first 11 games.
• One of Tulsa’s losses was to Southeastern Conference school Georgia, falling on Nov. 21, 60-44.
• The Golden Hurricane gives up only 62.6 points per contest, surrenders only 37.0 percent on field goals and averages 9.5 steals per game.  

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

• Angie Nelp is 65-39 in her fourth season as head coach at Tulsa.
• In her first three seasons, Nelp compiled a 59-34 record for a .634 winning percentage. 
• She won the most games of any Tulsa coach in their first three seasons and is the first coach in program history to post winning records in her first three seasons, registering 17 wins in her first and second years and 25 wins in her third.
• Prior to taking the helm in Tulsa, Nelp served as associate head coach at Arizona State (2017-21), assistant coach at Rice (2015-17) and assistant coach at Mercer (2011-15).

TULSA’S LAST GAME

• The Tulsa women’s basketball team earned its fourth consecutive victory after holding off Montana’s late comeback bid for a 68-58 victory at the West Palm Beach Classic in West Palm Beach, Fla. 
• The Golden Hurricane now has a winning record at 6-5, while the Lady Griz fell to 4-7.
• Although the Griz never enjoyed the lead, they came within just three points at 59-56 with 3:57 to go in the game after trailing by as many as 15 points in the third quarter. 
• Senior guard Delanie Crawford halted any potential comeback, scoring six unanswered points in 22 seconds with a three-pointer, a layup and an and-1 free throw with less than two minutes left. 
• Her teammates Kristol Ayson and Paige Bradley took care of Tulsa’s free throws when Montana started fouling, sealing a 10-point victory for Tulsa.
• Crawford led all scorers with 26 points off 10-for-23 shooting (43.5%), including 5-of-15 accuracy on treys (33.3%). Ayson was Tulsa’s other double-figure performer with 10 points. Sophomore Elise Hill coordinated the offense with a team-high six assists.
• Junior Hadley Periman paved the way for Tulsa with nine boards and three blocks. She led a defense that collected 14 steals as a group.
• Both teams shot higher than 40 percent from the field and over 33 percent in three-pointers, with Montana finishing with a better shooting percentage (46.8) and free throw mark (87.5) than Tulsa. The Hurricane, however, shot the ball 15 more times after turning over the Griz on 29 occasions.

UP NEXT

• The Lady Vols will take a brief break for the holidays and then return to action on Dec. 29, as they play host to Winthrop at Food City Center.
• Tennessee and the Eagles will meet at 2 p.m. ET in the Big Orange’s first Sunday home game of the season.
• Winthrop is led by LVFL Semeka Randall (1997-01), who starred as a freshman on UT’s 39-0 NCAA national championship team.
• The contest will be streamed on SECN+ and broadcast statewide on Lady Vol Network radio stations and worldwide via live stream on UTSports.com.