COLUMBUS, Ohio – Zee Spearman ran up to Jillian Hollingshead after the final buzzer, leaping into the air for a chest bump.
A smile was plastered on her face as she yelled, "Sweet 16, baby!" and danced on the Ohio State logo at Schottenstein Center on Sunday. The Lady Vols soaked up the 82-67 win in the second round of the NCAA tournament to advance to the Sweet 16, relishing the fact that they handed the No. 4 seed Buckeyes (26-7) their first loss at home this season.
"I felt like it’s kind of personal," Spearman said. "Everybody been sleeping on us all year, and we just showed them what we can do."
No. 5 seed Tennessee (24-9) will face either No. 1 seed Texas or No. 8 seed Illinois in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday (1 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
Tennessee won the battle of the full-court presses, scoring 37 points off Ohio State's 23 turnovers, which was its season high. Ruby Whitehorn, who scored 14 points, said the Lady Vols were motivated by the matchup.
It was press against press. It would come down to who was more aggressive, who could get more steals. Tennessee outpaced Ohio State in steals 15-8, led by seven from Talaysia Cooper, who led the Lady Vols with 19 points.
"They said they do it better than us, and if you watched the game – we did it better than them, and we executed," Alyssa Latham said. "We played harder than them, we were more gritty."
"We took that personal," Cooper added. "Because nobody does what we do. We the SEC, ain't no press like our press."
Spearman, Whitehorn and Latham are three of the transfers who bet on coach Kim Caldwell when she was hired last April. Spearman believes the Lady Vols started the season with a chip on their shoulder. They wanted to win from the start.
That's what Caldwell wanted, too, and she told the Lady Vols as much in their first meeting.
"A winner is a winner," Whitehorn said. "I trusted that (Caldwell) was a winner and she was a dog, no matter what level you play at. A dog is something that's in the heart, not on the level basketball that you playing."
Cooper was one of the 10 players who stayed. She loved Caldwell's approach to win now.
It's not easy being coached hard, but it's because Caldwell cares. And it paid off, with Cooper leading Tennessee's defense to its best overall performance of the season.
"Coach being on our (butt) every day in practice," Cooper said of what got the Lady Vols to their best in March. "Pushing us to our limit and knowing what we could be."
Caldwell didn't let them settle for less than their potential, even through a disappointing stretch going into the NCAA tournament.
Sunday was the kind of performance Spearman envisioned when she decided to play for Caldwell. Spearman logged 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting and added five rebounds and a block, and she was crucial in the win.
"I knew that it was going to be a different type of playing style when I got here," Spearman said. "I knew I just had to gain my confidence back, and I felt like (Caldwell) did a great thing getting me here."
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on X @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols were 'more gritty' thanks to Kim Caldwell to earn Sweet 16
