The No. 5 Tennessee Lady Volunteers prepare to face the No. 1 Texas Longhorns in a Sweet 16 showdown in Birmingham, Alabama. While the teams have faced off before, with Texas taking down Tennessee 80-76 in a hard-fought game at the Moody Center, one factor was missing: Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell.
Caldwell had a son, Conor, this January and missed exactly one game: Texas. Now, she’ll have a chance to take down the top seed in the region.
Tennessee’s Kim Caldwell Finally Gets Her Shot at Texas
Caldwell spoke to the press Wednesday, ahead of the Lady Volunteers’ matchup with the Longhorns, and commented on the opportunity to finally face Texas.“I think it’ll be nice to be back on the court and to get that opportunity back,” Caldwell said.
Kim Caldwell only missed one game when she had her baby, Conor. Texas.
Now, she gets to face that same exact team in the Sweet 16. I asked Caldwell if it feels like a full circle moment to get to be on the sidelines and coach against the Longhorns. #LadyVols pic.twitter.com/mwAV6okg2t
— Casey Kay (@caseykaytv) March 26, 2025
The Lady Vols almost got it done against the Longhorns in January, but a jumper from forward Madison Booker with 28 seconds to go gave the Longhorns a two-point lead they never relinquished. Booker led the Longhorns with 26 points, and forward Taylor Jones helped clean up with 21 points and 14 rebounds.
On the Tennessee side, junior guard Ruby Whitehorn led the charge with 21 points. Junior forward Zee Spearman was the only other Lady Vol in double-digits.
Caldwell emphasized rebounds in her presser, commending the team’s rebounding job last week, but calling Texas a “bigger” and “more physical” opponent, that would take more focused effort to defeat.
And she thinks both teams are playing much better than the first time around.
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“They’re playing much better, and I think we are, too,” Caldwell said. “So, I do think it’ll be a different game, but their half-court defense has improved significantly. At least it looks like that on film. Their full-court pressure has improved significantly since their last loss.”
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