BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The No. 5 Tennessee women’s basketball team rode its “hockey substitution” playing style to a near upset of No. 1 seed Texas in the Sweet 16 on Saturday
“Right now it’s just Year 1 playing this style of basketball,” said junior guard Ruby Whitehorn, who led the Lady Volunteers with 16 points in the 67-59 loss. “I feel like we showed the world how great it can be.”
Whitehorn joined Tennessee from the transfer portal after spending two years at Miami. The collective buy-in from Whitehorn and her teammates is what made their system so successful in their first season under new coach Kim Caldwell.
“It’s so much easier for the players that have done it once to do it again,” Caldwell said. “Everyone’s second year is usually their better year. People always ask, ‘Well, how long does it take to figure it out?’ Sometimes it takes a year.”
But just because the players bought in doesn't mean the process was always fun. During the season, the Lady Volunteers ran about five miles each practice. In the offseason, they had grueling conditioning sessions that consisted of running hills and pushing weights.
Every single day, whether it was a practice or conditioning session, felt like a game. Tennessee’s players treated it as such.
“I just remember the first time we all had conditioning, like our very first summer workout, all of us were on the ground,” Whitehorn said. “Like passed out, about to die because we couldn't breathe.”
Against Texas, Caldwell’s team employed a full-court press for all 40 minutes, substituted five brand new players nearly every dead ball and put up plenty of 3-pointers.
Ten Lady Vols played at least 14 minutes against Texas. As a team, they attempted 26 3-pointers.
Texas coach Vic Schaefer called Tennessee’s play style a “storyline” before the game and said his players probably wouldn’t like it.
“Quite frankly, I’ve got some competitors on my team,” Shafer said in a radio interview. “If I was yanking them out of the game, they’d be ticked off at me. They like to play.”
The Lady Vols, trying to advance to their first Elite Eight since 2016, stuck with their gameplan against the Longhorns and kept the game close until the last minute.
This was Caldwell’s first season coaching at a Power 4 school. Tennessee hired her last April after she led the 2023-24 Marshall team to a 26-7 season and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
She took over one of the most storied programs in college basketball. Led by Hall of Fame head coach Pat Summitt, the Lady Vols won eight national titles from 1987-2008.
Caldwell understands the high expectations and year-to-year championship aspirations of the program, regardless of how it gets done.
“We did something special, and I really think we put Tennessee back on the map,” senior guard Samara Spencer said.
Wesley Branch is a student in the University of Georgia's Sports Media Certificate ...
