Tennessee guard Talaysia Cooper (55) celebrates a shot by Tennessee guard Samara Spencer (7) during a women's college basketball game between the Lady Vols and UConn at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville on Thursday. Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No. 19 Tennessee women win thriller over No. 5 UConn

By Andrew Wright | Last updated Feb 6, 2025 9:15 PM ET

For the first time since 2007, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers have beaten the Connecticut Huskies.

A highly anticipated showdown between the two teams lived up to expectation and saw Tennessee come away with an 80-76 victory.

TENNESSEE TAKES DOWN UCONN!

First-year Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell beats Geno Auriemma in their first meeting pic.twitter.com/w60EFN5BxF
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 7, 2025

Before the win on Thursday, the Lady Vols hadn't won a game against a ranked opponent since Dec. 7, when they knocked off then-No. 19 Iowa.

With Iowa no longer being a top 25 team, this was Tennessee's first true win against a ranked opponent. It is a huge weight lifted off the shoulders of Kim Caldwell's team.

A 13-0 run in the third quarter gave the Lady Vols a nine-point lead that was ultimately too much for UConn to overcome. The Huskies went over four minutes without scoring during the Tennessee scoring run.

PUCKETT TRIPLE BUCKET pic.twitter.com/MVZwm2ATnD
— Lady Vols Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) February 7, 2025

Being able to hold Paige Bueckers (14) and Sarah Strong (18) to just 32 combined points was also a huge part of Tennessee's win.

Bueckers (19.0) and Strong (17.0) average 36.0 points combined per game, so allowing four less than that may have ultimately decided the Vols' four-point victory.

The usually efficient Bueckers was just 5-for-16 (31.2%) from the field, well below her season average of 54.4%.

TOUGH JILL

ESPN
https://t.co/ZZHfCaD7N6 pic.twitter.com/PsE3X2uA86
— Lady Vols Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) February 7, 2025

Tennessee will have a chance to keep the momentum going Sunday when they travel to Baton Rough to face No. 6 LSU.

UConn will travel to Providence on Sunday.

Andrew Wright

Andrew "Dew" Wright graduated from Charleston Southern University with a degree in Communication Studies. He is a lifelong Chicago Cubs and Washington Commanders fan.

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