KNOXVILLE, Tenn. —  No. 17/17 Tennessee (15-4, 3-4 SEC) and No. 2/2 South Carolina (19-1, 6-1 SEC) face off on Monday night at Food City Center.

The Lady Vols and Gamecocks will meet in a contest televised by ESPN2 and carried on Lady Vol Network radio stations as well as audio-streamed on UTSports.com and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Ch. 106 & 190).

UT will be facing its second straight top-10 opponent and is in the midst of a run in which it faces four top-10 foes in a five-game stretch. The Big Orange fell at No. 7/7 Texas on Jan. 23, 80-76, and will face No. 2/2 South Carolina on Monday and travel to Missouri on Feb. 2 before hosting No. 6/6 UConn on Feb. 6 and playing at No. 5/4 LSU on Feb. 9. Tennessee is coming off its fourth late-game, heartbreaking defeat of the season, falling by four at No. 7/7 Texas on Thursday in a contest that featured 15 ties and 15 lead changes.

The Lady Vols feature five players averaging double figures in scoring, led by redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper, who puts up 17.8 ppg., 5.7 rpg., 3.4 apg. and 3.3 spg. while shooting 49 percent from the field. Cooper has recorded nine 20+ scoring efforts this season. Also averaging double figures are junior guard Ruby Whitehorn (13.5 ppg.), fifth-year guard Jewel Spear (12.8 ppg.), senior point guard Samara Spencer (11.3 ppg., 5.5 apg.) and junior forward Zee Spearman (11.1 ppg., 5.9 rpg.).

South Carolina is coming off a big victory Friday, defeating No. 5/4 LSU, 66-56, in Columbia to run its winning streak to 14 games after suffering its only loss of the year on Nov. 24 at current No. 1/1 UCLA, 77-62. The Gamecocks, whose roster includes eight McDonald’s All-Americans, are paced by Joyce Edwards (12.2 ppg., 4.9 rpg.), MiLaysia Fulwiley (11.1 ppg.) and Te-Hina Paopao (10.9 ppg., 2.8 apg.) and feature seven other players averaging between 4.4 and 9.4 ppg.

Kim Caldwell‘s first Lady Vol team enters the match-up ranked No. 1 nationally in three statistical categories, as of Jan. 25, and is top 10 in five others. UT leads the NCAA in scoring offense (93.4), three pointers per game (11.5) and three point attempts per game (33.9), and is second in offensive rebounds per game (19.4), fourth in turnover margin (10.42), seventh in turnovers forced per game (24.58), eighth in bench points per game (31.8) and ninth in steals per game (13.1).

MORE INFO

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

• Opponent: South Carolina
• Date: Monday, Jan. 27
• Tip-off: 7 p.m. ET 
• Venue: Food City Center
• Watch: ESPN2
• Radio: Lady Vol Network
• Online: Live Audio, Live Stats

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TENNESSEE

 Roster ScheduleGame Notes 

SOUTH CAROLINA

 Roster ScheduleGame Notes 

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BROADCAST DETAILS

• Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Carolyn Peck (analyst) will have the call for ESPN2.
• All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
• 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 channels 106 and 190.

INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING

• COOP IS THE REAL DEAL: Guard Talaysia Cooper is having a break-out season, leading UT in scoring (17.8 ppg.) and steals (3.3 spg.), hitting double figures 16 times, carding nine efforts of 20+ points and notching eight quarters where she scored 10 or more points, including 12 and 10, respectively, in the fourth period vs. Florida State and Iowa.
• “FEAR DA SPEAR”: Jewel Spear is enjoying her best stretch of the season, averaging 15.4 ppg. in SEC play, hitting 24 of 49 three-point tries in league action (49.0 pct.) to run her season total to 47 treys and rank second in the league in that category.
• SMOOTH SAMARA: Samara Spencer (11.3 ppg.) ranks No. 8 nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.09), is No. 17 in total assists (105), and is No. 21 in apg. (5.5) while ranking No. 38 in 3FG pct. (42.3) and No. 2 for Tennessee in 3FGs made (44).
• DEPENDABLE RUBY: Ruby Whitehorn is UT’s second-leading scorer at 13.5 ppg., tallying 10+ points in 12 of her past 13 games, including a season-high 21 vs. Texas.
• ZEE STEPPING IT UP: Zee Spearman has scored 10+ 11 times, averaging 11.1 ppg. after tallying 14 (5-of-8 shooting) at Texas.

FROM A TEAM PERSPECTIVE

• PILING UP POINTS: The Lady Vols rank No. 1 nationally in scoring offense, generating 93.4 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 11.5 and has hit 10+ treys 13 times, eclipsing the old school best of six. It made nine of 17 vs. Texas for its highest pct. (52.9) of 2024-25.
• CRASHING O-BOARDS: UT is No. 2 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 19.4. It has twice reached 30+ this season.
• TURNING OVER THE OPPOSITION: UT is No. 7 in turnovers forced per game (24.58) and No. 4 in T.O. margin (10.42). Miss. State had 20 miscues on Jan. 16 for the 13th 20+ T.O. game (7 were 30+) by a foe in 2024-25.
• RACKING UP STEALS: UT is No. 9 nationally in steals per game (13.1). It now has 12 games of 10+ steals and 249 total in 19 games. It had 159 in 33 games a year ago.
• THAT’S A 10-COUNT: Tennessee has prevented its foes from getting the ball over halfcourt in 10 seconds a total of 17 times in 19 games. UT forced only five violations the previous five years combined.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• UT NO. 13 IN NET RANKINGS: With four losses by a grand total of eight points to NET No. 3 Texas, No. 9 LSU, No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 21 Vanderbilt, and quality wins over No. 26 Florida State, No. 30 Richmond, No. 32 Mississippi State, No. 34 Iowa and No. 58 Middle Tennessee, Tennessee is ranked No. 13 in the NCAA’s NET rankings.
• 100 DIMES x 3 FOR SAM: Samara Spencer has dished 100+ assists (105) for the third straight season after putting up 154 in 2022-23 and 115 in 2023-24 at Arkansas.
• WHITEHORN NEARING 1K: Ruby Whitehorn has tallied 257 points in 2024-25 (13.5 ppg.) to hit 968 for her career, leaving her 32 away from reaching 1,000.
• CHASING 2,000/500 STAT LINE: Jewel Spear now has 2,034 points and 492 rebounds, needing eight rebounds to have a 2000/500+ stat line for her career.
• UNCOMMON 1,500/500/500 IN SIGHT: Samara Spencer has 1,583 pts., 479 rebs. and 470 assts., nearing a 1,500/500/500 career stat line. Only five SEC women’s players have done that since 1991-92.
• LAST BIG ONE: A 75-67 win over #2/3 S.C. on 2/18/21 was UT’s last home top-five win.

FAN EXPERIENCE INFO.

• Student Concessions Promotion: Seven dollar concessions cash for students as well as CFA for first 100 students in the student section.
• Halftime Entertainment: The Zuzu Acrobats.  
• Student T-Credits: Students will get one point by scanning tickets (point in account next day). 
• Postgame autographs: Avery Strickland
• Tickets available at AllVols.com.

PARKING, TRAFFIC FLOW, ENTRY ALERTS

• Fans coming to campus looking to purchase basketball parking will do so on-site with a credit card.
• Those parking in the G-10 garage are requested to enter from Neyland Drive.
• There is free public parking on the Ag Campus and a free shuttle to and from there for fans. All shuttles are fully accessible for those with disabilities.
• The shuttle location on the Ag campus is on River Drive near the Brehm Animal Sciences Bldg. and across from the CF lot. Visit https://parking.utk.edu/parking/special-events/athletic/ for maps and more information.
• Shuttles begin two hours prior to tip-off. Return shuttles run one hour postgame or until the Food City Center is cleared. 
• Accessible shuttle loading and unloading for those with disabilities is located next to Arena Dining. 
• For regular shuttles, the unloading and loading areas near Food City Center will be as follows: Prior to the game, regular shuttles will unload at Chamique Holdsclaw and Lake Loudoun Blvd. After the game, regular shuttles will load at Lake Loudoun Blvd and Phillip Fulmer Way.
• All tickets and Tennessee Fund parking passes are digital.
• Fans will again see walk-through metal detectors outside of all Food City Center entrances.  
• Gates typically open one hour before tip for women’s games.

PHILLIP FULMER WAY CLOSURE INFO.

• Due to the resumption of construction and upgrades to Neyland Stadium, basketball fans and media members should be advised of immediate changes to normal traffic patterns on Phillip Fulmer Way and Peyton Manning Pass during the rest of the 2024-25 season. 
• Phillip Fulmer Way from G-10 garage to Neyland Stadium Gate 21 vicinity is now closed.
• The G-10 garage will not be accessible southbound on Phillip Fulmer Way. 
• Phillip Fulmer Way will be closed to southbound traffic at Middle Drive, and it will not be accessible via Peyton Manning Pass.
• For events at Food City Center, G-10 and Staff 5 parking areas will be accessible via Lake Loudoun Boulevard, but it is strongly recommended that vehicles enter G-10 via Neyland Drive. 
• Lot G5/30 is only accessible from Lake Loudoun Blvd.

BABY CALDWELL ARRIVES

• An hour prior to the Lady Vols’ game at Texas on Jan. 23, it was announced publicly that Kim Caldwell and husband Justin, who is player development coordinator for the Tennessee men’s basketball team, had welcomed a new son into the world.
• Conor Scott Caldwell is the first child for the couple.
• No other details about the birth have been shared, but mom, dad and Baby Conor are doing well.
• Scott is the first name of Kim Caldwell‘s father, the late Scott Stephens, who coached her in high school and served as an assistant coach for four seasons (2016-20) when she was head coach at Glenville State before he passed away on Nov. 21, 2020.
• Caldwell did not make the trip to Texas with the Lady Vols but was scheduled to address the media on Sunday, Jan. 26, in advance of the South Carolina game.

FOUR LOSSES BY EIGHT POINTS

• The Lady Vols’ four losses this season have come by a combined total of eight points.
• Tennessee fell by one to No. 9/10 Oklahoma (87-86), by two to No. 6/4 LSU (89-87), by one at RV/NR Vanderbilt (71-70) and by four at No. 7/7 Texas (80-76).
• In a scheduling oddity, this will mark the second of potentially three occasions this season where Tennessee will face top-10 opponents in consecutive games. 
• UT played No. 9/10 Oklahoma and No. 6/4 LSU back to back on Jan. 5 and 9. 
• It is meeting No. 7/7 Texas and No. 2/2 South Carolina on Jan. 23 and 27. 
• Coming soon, it is slated to face No. 6/6 UConn and No. 5/4 LSU on Feb. 6 and Feb. 9, respectively.

UT EYEING A 40-TREY TRIO

• Tennessee is seeking to have its first trio of players to hit 40 or more three-pointers in a season since 2010-11.
• Jewel Spear (47 / 38.2 pct.) and Samara Spencer (44 / 42.3 pct.) already have surpassed 40, and Tess Darby (39 / 35.8 pct.) stands one trey away.
• The last time UT had three or more with 40+ deep balls, Angie Bjorklund (73), Meighan Simmons (63) and Shekinna Stricklen (42) accomplished that feat during the 2010-11 campaign en route to a 34-3 record.

LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME

• No. 17/17 Tennessee gave No. 7/7 Texas all it could handle Thursday night at the Moody Center in Austin, but the Longhorns scored the game’s last four points and escaped with an 80-76 victory in Southeastern Conference play.
• Junior guard Ruby Whitehorn’s runner helped the Big Orange (15-4, 3-4 SEC) tie the game at 76 with 44 seconds to go, but Texas (19-2, 5-1 SEC) grabbed the lead on a Madison Booker jump shot with 27 seconds remaining and clinched the contest with a pair of free throws by Rori Harmon with three seconds left.
• Tennessee was led by Whitehorn, who fired in a season-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Junior forward Zee Spearman was the only other Lady Vol in double figures, chipping in 14 on 5-of-8 shooting. UT’s coaching staff was directed by assistant coach Jenna Burdette, who served as acting head coach with Kim Caldwell not making the trip after giving birth to a son, Conor Scott Caldwell, during the week. 
• The Longhorns had four players hit double digits in points, with Booker and Taylor Jones setting the tone with 26 and 21, respectively. Aaliyah Moore and Jordan Lee chipped in 11 and 10, respectively.

POSTGAME NOTES VS. TEXAS

• 3×100 FOR SAM: Samara Spencer surpassed 100 assists in a season for the third consecutive year, carding six against Texas on Thursday night to run her total to 105 in 19 games. Spencer spent the previous three seasons at Arkansas and dished out 154 in 2022-23 and 115 in 2023-24. She now has 470 for her career.
• 13 GAMES WITH A NEW FIVE: Tennessee has begun a game with 13 different starting lineups this season and 10 different players appearing in the first five. Jewel Spear, Samara Spencer, Talaysia Cooper, Ruby Whitehorn and Jillian Hollingshead opened the contest on Thursday evening against the Longhorns. Spencer leads the squad with 18 starts, followed by Whitehorn and Cooper who have 16 apiece. Spear tallied her 12th and Hollingshead appeared in the starting five for the first time this year.
• DOUBLE-DIGIT RUBY: Ruby Whitehorn recorded her 16th game in double figures as a junior, firing in a season-high 21 points against Texas. The Detroit, Michigan, native netted a season-high eight field goals and tied her season best of four free throws. Whitehorn posted an 11-game streak of hitting 10 or more points, ranging from the Iowa contest on Dec. 7 to Mississippi State on Jan. 16. The junior has cracked 20 points twice this season, including two of the past three games, and carded one double-double thus far. 

UT/USC SERIES NOTES

• Tennessee leads the all-time series, 51-16, but South Carolina has won the last seven meetings and 10 of the past 11 matchups.
• Tennessee is 23-5 in Knoxville, 21-5 in Columbia and 7-6 at neutral sites vs. the Gamecocks.
• UT is 1-0 in overtime games vs. USC, taking a 79-73 extra-frame decision over the Gamecocks in the Palmetto State on Feb. 15, 1996. 
• The Lady Vols are 3-5 vs. USC in the SEC Tournament after falling, 74-73, in Greenville, S.C., on a last-second three-pointer in the SEC semifinals on March 9, 2024.
• These teams met three times a year ago, with Tennessee offering South Carolina the stiffest challenge it had all year during its 38-0 season.

A LOOK AT SOUTH CAROLINA

• With eight McDonald’s All-Americans on its roster, South Carolina has great depth and is first nationally in bench points per game at 42.2 per contest.
• The Gamecocks score 81.9 ppg. and allow only 55.1, with a scoring margin of 26.8 that ranks No. 7. 
• The trio of Joyce Edwards (12.2), MiLaysia Fulwiley (11.1) and Te-Hina Paopao (10.9) are the top scorers in a balanced attack.
• USC shoots 46.8 on FGs and 76.3 on FTs.

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

• Dawn Staley is in her 17th season at South Carolina, forging a 459-107 mark there.
• She led USC to NCAA titles in 2017, 2022 and 2024.
• South Carolina has won eight SEC regular season and eight postseason tourney titles under Staley.
• Staley won three Olympic gold medals as a player and guided the USA to gold in 2020 as head coach.

THE GAMECOCKS’ LAST GAME

• Joyce Edwards scored 14 points and Sania Feagin added 12 points and seven rebounds, and No. 2 South Carolina beat fifth-ranked LSU, 66-56, on Friday night to end the Tigers’ undefeated season.
• The Gamecocks held the Tigers to just eight points in the second quarter, their lowest-scoring frame of the season, limiting them to a season-low total (56 points).
• South Carolina’s defense was strong, recording a team total of 13 steals for the fourth game this season and notching a season-high 11 blocked shots.
• South Carolina has won 69 straight at home and 54 in a row in SEC regular-season games.

LAST TIME WE FACED SOUTH CAROLINA

• No. 5 seed Tennessee overcame a 23-point first-half deficit and took a two-point lead with 24 seconds left before South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso banked in a three-pointer as time expired to give the top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Gamecocks a 74-73 win in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on March 9, 2024.
• The Lady Vols, who fell to the undefeated USC squad by scores of 11, eight and one over a 24-day span, including two games in a week, were a last-second heart-breaker away from advancing to their second SEC Tournament championship game in as many years and knocking off their first No. 1 team since 2005.
• Rickea Jackson finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight assists, while Jewel Spear was right behind her with 21 points.

LAST TIME WE MET IN KNOXVILLE

• The Lady Vols pushed No. 1 South Carolina to the limit, taking a tie game into the fourth quarter before falling to the undefeated Gamecocks, 66-55, in front of 11,073 at Food City Center on Feb. 15, 2024.
• Rickea Jackson fired in 19 points to pace Tennessee, while Sara Puckett contributed 15 points and Jasmine Powell added 12 along with eight rebounds.
• Kamilla Cardoso led USC with 18 points and 10 boards.

UP NEXT

• Tennessee is idle on Thursday before heading to Columbia, Mo., to face off vs. Missouri on Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena. 
• The Lady Vols and Tigers will meet at 2 p.m. CT (3 p.m. ET) in a contest streamed on SECN+.
• The game also will be available on Lady Vol Network radio stations statewide and via audio stream on UTSports.com.