KNOXVILLE, Tenn. —  No. 15/15 Tennessee (15-2, 3-2 SEC) travels to Nashville this weekend to meet in-state rival RV/NR Vanderbilt (14-4, 1-3 SEC) on Sunday at Memorial Gymnasium in the Commodores’ home “We Back Pat” game.

The Lady Vols and Commodores are slated to meet at 2 p.m. CT (3 p.m. ET) in a contest streamed by SECN+ and carried on Lady Vol Network radio stations statewide as well as audio-streamed on UTSports.com and SiriusXM Satellite Radio channels 192 or 209. Tennessee leads the all-time series, 80-10.

UT is coming off a 13-point home triumph over RV/RV Mississippi State (15-4, 2-3 SEC), when it hit 46 percent beyond the three-point arc (12-26) to win, 86-73, on Thursday night at Food City Center. The Big Orange forced 20 turnovers and generated a 30 to 14 points-off-turnovers advantage in the victory.

The Lady Vols feature five players averaging double figures in scoring, led by redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper, who puts up 18.2 points per game and shoots 50 percent from the field. Cooper is coming off a 16-point, 10-rebound, seven-assist, three-steal effort vs. MSU, marking her third double-double of the year. Ruby Whitehorn and Jewel Spear put up 13.4 ppg. for the Lady Vols, with Whitehorn carding a season-high 20 points vs. State and Spear joining Samara Spencer (11.7 ppg.) in making four treys vs. the Bulldogs.

Vandy was off Thursday after dropping an 83-77 decision at No. 6/4 LSU on Monday night that extended the Commodores’ losing skid to three games. The Commodores are paced by the trio of Khamil Pierre (22.4 ppg., 10.3 rpg.), Mikayla Blakes (20.0 ppg.) and Iyana Moore (13.4 ppg.), with freshman guard Blakes rising to 22.8 ppg in SEC contests, while Pierre and Moore contribute 21.5 ppg. and 17.5, respectively.

Kim Caldwell‘s first Lady Vol team enters the match-up ranked No. 1 nationally in three statistical categories through Jan. 16. UT is tops in the NCAA in scoring offense (95.8), three pointers per game (12.0) and three point attempts per game (35.4). It is second in turnover margin (11.53) and offensive rebounds per game (20.3), third in turnovers forced per game (26.06) and steals per game (14.1), and sixth in bench points per game (33.2).

MORE INFO

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

• Opponent: Vanderbilt
• Date: Sun., Jan. 19
• Tip-off: 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT)
• Venue: Memorial Gymnasium
• Watch: SECN+
• Radio: Lady Vol Network
• Online: Live Audio, Live Stats

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BROADCAST DETAILS

• Alex Gould (play-by-play) and Drew Maddux (analyst) will have the call for the SECN+ live stream.
• 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 209 and 192.

INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING

• COOP IS THE REAL DEAL: Guard Talaysia Cooper is having a break-out season, leading UT in scoring (18.2 ppg.) and steals (3.5 spg.), hitting double figures 15 times, carding eight efforts of 20+ points and notching seven 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 this season, tying for a team-best 18.4 ppg. in SEC play, hitting 22 of 37 three-point tries in league action (59.5 pct.) to run her season total to a team-high 45 treys thus far.
• SMOOTH SAMARA: Samara Spencer (11.7 ppg., 5.5 apg.) ranks No. 5 nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.32) with 93 assists, is seven dimes short of her third 100+ assist season and is second on the team with 42 three-pointers (team-best 43.8 percent).
• DEPENDABLE RUBY: Ruby Whitehorn ties as UT’s second-leading scorer at 13.4 ppg., tallying 10+ points in each of her past 11 games and 20 her last outing vs. State.
• ZEE STEPPING IT UP: Forward Zee Spearman has scored 10+ nine times, averaging 10.9 ppg. and a team-high 5.9 rpg.

FROM A TEAM PERSPECTIVE

• PILING UP POINTS: The Lady Vols rank No. 1 nationally in scoring offense, generating 95.8 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 12.0 and has hit 10+ treys 13 times, eclipsing the old school best of six. It has hit 10+ threes in its past seven games, notching its best streak.
• CRASHING O-BOARDS: UT is No. 2 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 20.3. It has twice reached 30+ this season.
• TURNING OVER THE OPPOSITION: UT is No. 3 in turnovers forced per game (26.06) and No. 2 in T.O. margin (11.53). 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. 3 nationally in steals per game (14.1). It now has 12 games of 10+ steals and 239 total in 17 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 17 games. UT forced only five violations the previous five years combined.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• DOUBLE FIGURES STREAK: Ruby Whitehorn has scored in double figures in 15 of 17 games and currently has an 11-game streak of scoring 10 or more points. 
• BEST COACHING START SINCE…: A 13-0 start by Kim Caldwell was the best in a Lady Vol debut season by a coach, and UT’s 15-2 record is the program’s best mark at this point in the year since the 2021-22 team stood 18-2 as of Jan. 27 that season.
• UT NO. 16 IN NET RANKINGS: UT is at No. 16 in the NCAA’s NET rankings as of Jan. 17 with quality wins over NET No. 28 Florida State, No. 32 Richmond, No. 34 Mississippi State, No. 37 Iowa and No. 53 Middle Tennessee. Coming up: No. 22 Vanderbilt, No. 2 Texas and No. 1 South Carolina.
• CHASING 2,000/500 STAT LINE: Jewel Spear now has 2,000+ points and needs 11 rebounds to have 500 for her career.
• EYEING 1,000: Junior Ruby Whitehorn (939) is closing in on 1,000 career points.
• UNCOMMON 1,500/500/500 IN SIGHT: Samara Spencer has 1,567 pts., 471 rebs. and 458 assts., nearing a 1,500/500/500 career stat line. Only five SEC women’s players have done that since 1991-92.

REPPING THE VOLUNTEER STATE

• UT has five players who are from the Volunteer state.
• Among active players this season, sisters Tess and Edie Darby are from Greenfield, Avery Strickland is from Knoxville and Destinee Wells is from Lakeland.
• Kaiya Wynn, who hails from Nashville and attended Ensworth, is out for the season due to injury.
• Tess Darby is one of UT’s career leaders in three pointers (5th, 206), three-pointers attempted (5th, 560) and three-point field goal percentage (11th, 36.8).
• Darby’s 70 threes and 185 three-point attempts in 2023-24 rank No. 9 and No. 8 in Lady Vols history.

LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME

• No. 15 Tennessee shot 46 percent from beyond the arc, connecting on an efficient 12 of 26 attempts, to hand Mississippi State an 86-73 setback on Thursday night at Food City Center.
• The Lady Vols were eight of 15 from three-point land in the first half and hit four more over the second 20 minutes. The percentage for the game was their second best of the season.
• Junior guard Ruby Whitehorn connected on eight of 16 shots from the field, including two of five tries from three-point range, to lead Tennessee (15-2, 3-2 SEC) with a season-high 20 points. Senior point guard Samara Spencer hit four treys to finish with 18 points, while redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper added a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double and fifth-year guard Jewel Spear tossed in 13 on 4-of-6 marksmanship from long range.  
• The Bulldogs (15-4, 2-3 SEC) placed three players in double figures, led by 17 points from Jerkaila Jordan. Debreasha Powe and Destiney McPhaul chipped in with 16 and 11, respectively, as MSU fell to UT for the fourth time in the past five meetings.

POSTGAME NOTES VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE

• RUBY DROPS A 20-PIECE: Ruby Whitehorn posted a team-leading and season-high 20 points versus Mississippi State. Whitehorn tallied a season-high eight field goals and tied her season-best with two three-pointers. The junior nabbed her first 20-point game of the season, her fourteenth 10-plus contest thus far, including her 11th straight, and the 52nd 10-plus contest of her career.
• LOCKING DOWN THE DOGS: The Lady Vols forced the Bulldogs to turn the ball over a total of 20 times during Thursday’s win, posting a 30-14 advantage on points off turnovers. Thirteen of Tennessee’s foes thus far have committed at least 20 miscues: NC Central (44), Samford (37), Western Carolina (37), Oklahoma (31), UT Martin (31), Iowa (30), Winthrop (30), Texas A&M (25), Liberty (25), Tulsa (23), Arkansas (22), MTSU (22) and Mississippi State (20).
• ANOTHER COOP DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Talaysia Cooper recorded her third career double-double on Thursday evening against the Bulldogs. The redshirt sophomore carded 16 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Cooper’s other double-double games came against Memphis and MTSU. She totaled 18 points and 10 boards against the Tigers and 12 points and 11 rebounds versus the Blue Raiders.
• SINKING THE LONG BALL: Tennessee carded its 13th performance of knocking down ten or more three-pointers in a single contest, hitting 12 against the Bulldogs for its seventh straight 10+ shooting effort. Four Lady Vols knocked down a three-pointer, with Jewel Spear and Samara Spencer each sinking four apiece. Tennessee notched its highest three-point game against N.C. Central, draining an NCAA, SEC and school-record 30 treys. The Lady Vols have tallied 10 or more three-pointers against the following programs: N.C. Central (30), MTSU (15), Liberty (14), Tulsa (14), Memphis (12), Arkansas (12), Mississippi State (12), LSU (11), Western Carolina (10), Winthrop (10), Texas A&M (10), Oklahoma (10) and Samford (10).

UT/VU SERIES NOTES

• Tennessee leads the all-time series, 80-10, winning the past eight meetings between the schools and earning a victory in its last nine trips to Memorial Gymnasium. 
• UT has won 18 of the past 19 contests vs. Vandy, dating back to 2014.
• The Lady Vols are 37-1 vs. the Commodores in Knoxville, 33-7 in Nashville and 10-2 at neutral sites (all postseason). 
• These squads have been to overtime on one occasion, with Tennessee seizing a 92-79 decision in Nashville on Jan. 19, 1997.
• The 86 points scored by the Lady Vols in Nashville last season were UT’s most in Memorial Gymnasium since defeating Vanderbilt, 94-88, on Feb. 15, 2004.

A LOOK AT THE COMMODORES

• Khamil Pierre, a 6-2 sophomore forward, paces the VU attack with averages of 22.4 ppg. and 10.3 rpg.
• Freshman guard Mikayla Blakes averages 20.0 ppg. and leads the Commodores with 60 assists, while senior guard Iyana Moore contributes 13.4. ppg.
•  Blakes is putting up 22.8 ppg. in SEC play, while Pierre produces 21.5 ppg. and Moore adds 17.5 ppg.
• VU is outscoring foes on average, 86.8 to 62.6 ppg.
• Vandy forces 22.7 turnovers per game and grabs 12.8 steals per contest.

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

• Shea Ralph is 65-52 in her fourth season at Vandy.
• She guided Vanderbilt to its first NCAA Tournament bid since the 2014 NCAA Tournament in 2023-24 and posted the ‘Dores’ first NCAA win since 2013.
• A seven-time NCAA champion as a student-athlete and coach, Ralph arrived at VU after spending the previous 13 seasons as an assistant at UConn. 
• While serving as a coach at her alma mater, Ralph helped guide the Huskies to 12 Final Four appearances and six national championships, including a record four straight titles from 2013-16.

VU’S LAST GAME

• The Vanderbilt women’s basketball team hung tough with No. 5/4-ranked LSU, but a late run by the Tigers handed the Commodores an 83–77 loss on Monday night at Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
• Vandy held a 73-72 lead with 2:40 left to play in the game after a layup from Jordyn Oliver. LSU held the Commodores without a field goal over the next two-plus minutes, as an 8-3 run by the Tigers gave them a lead they would not relinquish.
• The Commodores got a pair of 20-point performances from Khamil Pierre and Iyana Moore. Pierre registered a game-high 28 points, while Moore scored a season-best 23 points. It was Pierre’s 10th game with 20 or more points this season.

LAST TIME WE MET VANDY

• Tennessee scored a season-high 30 points in the first quarter and never looked back, racing past Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium, 86-61, on Feb. 18, 2024.
• The Lady Vols (16-9, 9-4 SEC) shot a sizzling 76.9 percent in the first frame, including an eye-popping 83.3 percent from the three-point arc, to seize a 15-point lead in the first 10 minutes en route to their eighth straight victory in the series with the Commodores (19-8, 6-7 SEC). 
• The Lady Vols finished the game at 52.5 percent from the floor, marking their second-best percentage of the season behind a 53.3 rate vs. Kentucky on Jan. 7.
• Rickea Jackson enjoyed an 11-for-15 day from the field to lead the Big Orange with 24 points. Jewel Spear connected on three of six three-point attempts and contributed 16 points, while Jasmine Powell added 12.
• Iyana Moore led VU with 25 points, while Jordyn Cambridge and Sacha Washington added 14 and 13.

UP NEXT

• The Lady Vols travel to Austin, Texas, next week, where they’ll meet the Texas Longhorns on Thursday at 8 p.m. CT (9 p.m. ET) at the Moody Center in the hosts’ “We Back Pat” game.
• The contest also will be available on Lady Vol Network radio stations statewide and via audio stream on UTSports.com.