KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In her inaugural season, Coach Kim Caldwell celebrated her first significant victory as the 19th-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers triumphed over their historic rival, UConn, with a close score of 80-76 on Thursday evening. This hard-fought win marked the Lady Vols’ first victory against the fifth-ranked Huskies since the revival of their rivalry in 2020, breaking a streak of four consecutive losses in their matchups since the teams resumed competing against each other after a long hiatus that lasted until 2007.

The atmosphere at Thompson-Boling Arena was electric, with the home crowd creating an intense environment right from the start of the game. “We played really hard. I’m so proud of our group,” Caldwell stated following the hard-fought matchup. “That’s a really good team, and we knew we had to outwork them.”

Coincidentally, shortly after the final buzzer sounded, a tornado warning was issued for Knoxville. However, the most significant storm of the night came from the dynamic performance of the Lady Vols on the court.

For Caldwell, the victory comes on the heels of a momentous few weeks; she welcomed her newborn son just two weeks prior to this game. Despite putting up a strong fight, her team had previously fallen short in several close encounters, having lost four of their five games against teams ranked high in the national standings. The Lady Vols faced tough competition from Oklahoma, LSU, Texas, and South Carolina, with narrow defeats by one, two, four, and seven points, respectively.

Upon clinching this crucial victory, Caldwell expressed a sense of “relief,” acknowledging the weight of finally securing a significant win. “We’ve done this before. We practice like this; we can execute on the court,” she reflected. “That’s the level of play we knew we were capable of achieving, and it was just a matter of us harnessing that potential. The players made a concerted effort to focus; they wanted it and played with tremendous determination.”