WBB Preview: #17/18 Lady Vols vs. #16/17 Louisville

December 16, 2025 | Women's Basketball

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No. 17/18 Tennessee (7-2) will meet No. 16/17 Louisville (11-3) on Saturday morning in the Shark Beauty Women's Champions Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Lady Vols and Cardinals will tip off at 11 a.m. ET in a contest televised nationally by FOX and carried on the Lady Vol Radio Network and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Channels 106 or 190).

UT takes a two-game winning streak into the match-up and is coming off its most complete performance of the season last Sunday, a 112-40 triumph over Winthrop in Knoxville.

After defeating Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday night, 76-51, Louisville enters with a four-game win streak and has triumphed in seven of its past eight just like the Lady Vols.

The Cards lead Tennessee, 3-2, in the all-time series and have won the past three meetings. The programs last met in Wichita, Kansas, on March 26, 2022, during the NCAA Sweet 16. The Cardinals prevailed, 76-64, getting 23 points from Hailey Van Lith.

MORE INFO

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

Opponent: Louisville
Date: Sat., Dec. 20
Tip-off: 11 a.m. ET
Venue: Barclays Center
Watch: FOX
Radio: Lady Vol Network
Online: Live Audio , Live Stats

TENNESSEE

Roster Schedule Game Notes

LOUISVILLE

Roster Schedule Media Center

THE LATEST FROM THE LADY VOLS

Mia Pauldo Nets USBWA, SEC Co-Freshman Of The Week Honors #18/18 Lady Vols Click Offensively, Dominate Winthrop, 112-40 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award Winner Tamika Catchings Represents What's Possible Cooper's Double-Double Helps No. 19/17 UT Trim Stanford, 65-62 #14/11 Lady Vols Fall On The Road To #3/3 Bruins Lady Vols' Tip Time Versus Louisville Updated

BROADCAST DETAILS

Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and Sarah Kustok (color analyst) will call the game for the FOX broadcast.
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 WBB Preview 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 on SiriusXM Satellite Radio channels 106 or 190.

A LOOK AT THE LADY VOLS

UT is coming off its best effort of the year, with highs for pts. in a game (112), pts. in a qtr. (39/2Q), pts. in a half (66/1H), FGs (42), FGsA (77), FG% (54.5%), 3FGs (16), 3FGsA (42), 3FG% (38.1%), rebs. (54) and assts. (28) vs. Winthrop and holding a foe to season lows in FG% (25%), 3FG% (11.8%) FT% (50%) and second lowest in pts. (40) and assts. (5).
UT is led by a trio of national player of the year candidates in 6-0 redshirt junior guard Talaysia Cooper (15.4 ppg., 6.7 rpg., 4.7 apg., 3.8 spg., 16 3FGs) and 6-4 senior forwards Janiah Barker (16.2 ppg., 6.1 rpg., 1.4 spg., 14 3FGs) and Zee Spearman (10.4 ppg., 7.0 rpg., 8 3FGs).
Senior guard Nya Robertson joins that trio in double figures (10.8 ppg.) and leads UT with 21 three-pointers.
Freshman guard Mia Pauldo (8.9 ppg., 23 assts./7 TOs, 16 3FGs), named USBWA and SEC Co-Freshman of the Week on Tuesday, is coming off an 18-point, 10-assist double-double vs. Winthrop.
Freshman guards Jaida Civil (6.2 ppg., 4.1 rpg.) and Deniya Prawl (4.0 ppg., 3.1 rpg.) also have made early impacts.

TRENDING...

UT has won seven of its past eight games.
Janiah Barker and Talaysia Cooper have scored in double figures in every game this season, with Barker notching three games of 20+ and Cooper two.
Cooper's 3.78 steals per game rank No. 10 nationally, bolstered by 10 vs. Stanford.
Tennessee has hit 10 or more three-pointers in three of its past four games, including a total of 16 vs. Winthrop on Sunday that ranks No. 2 in program history.
The Lady Vols rank No. 6 nationally in offensive rebs. per game (17.6) and 12th in rebs. per game (45.11) after pulling down a Caldwell-era high of 54 vs. Winthrop.
UT is first nationally in 3FGA per game (34.0) after firing 42 vs. Winthrop (No. 2 in UT history).
With 13 steals in its last game, UT has reached 10+ seven times and ranks No. 16 nationally at 13.6 swipes per contest.
After forcing 24 turnovers vs. Winthrop, UT has caused 20+ in seven contests and ranks 16th in the NCAA (23.11 per game).
The past six games, rookie Mia Pauldo has tallied 18 assists vs. only three turnovers.
Freshman Jaida Civil has pulled down six or more rebounds in the past three games.

IT'S TENNESSEE/LOUISVILLE WEEK

This will mark the second meeting between a pair of ranked Tennessee and Louisville teams in college basketball this week.
On Tuesday night in Knoxville, the No. 20/23 UT men's team played host to the No. 11/11 UL men's team, powering past the Cardinals, 83-62, at Food City Center.
Rick Barnes' Vols improved to 8-3, while Louisville fell to 9-2.

UT ONE OF NINE SCHOOLS WITH TOP 25 W/M TEAMS

Tennessee is one of only nine universities with both the women's and men's teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 this week.
The Lady Vols stand at No. 17, and the Vols check in at No. 20 in the Dec. 15 polls.
Two other schools in the 2025 Shark Beauty Women's Champions Classic are in that ranked women's/men's club, including Louisville (16/11) and UConn (1/5).
The other schools in both polls (W/M): Iowa State (10/4), Michigan (6/2), Michigan State (24/9), Nebraska, North Carolina (18/12) and Vanderbilt (13/13).

FROM SPECTATORS TO THE BIG STAGE

Mia and Mya Pauldo, who hail from the New York City suburb of Paterson, N.J., were at the Barclays Center last season with their family as Tennessee fans at the Shark Beauty Women's Champions Classic.
TwinBackCourt, as they are known, got to watch the Lady Vols defeat Iowa, 78-68.
They also got to see their future Tennessee teammates afterward and met Lady Vol legend, WNBA All-Star, U.S. Olympic gold medalist and New York native (Astoria, Queens) Chamique Holdsclaw as well.

A LOOK AT OUR LAST GAME

No. 18/18 Tennessee had five players scoring in double figures, as it turned in a dominating 112-40 victory over Winthrop last Sunday at Food City Center.
The Lady Vols (7-2) scored 39 points in the second quarter and 66 in the first half, carding their top offensive performances of 2025-26 on both counts en route to season highs in points, field goals, field goal percentage, three-pointers, three-point percentage, assists and rebounds.
Senior forward Janiah Barker carded a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead the Big Orange and surpass 1,000 points for her career, while freshman guard Mia Pauldo enjoyed her first double-double with career bests of 18 points and 10 assists on the day. Senior guard Nya Robertson, redshirt junior guard Talaysia Cooper and junior forward Alyssa Latham also were in double figures with 13, 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Winthrop (7-5), which was held to 25-percent shooting and was out-rebounded, 54-33, was paced by Ryiah Wilson with 12 points.

NATIONAL ACCLAIM FOR MIA PAULDO

Mia Pauldo was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Tamika Catchings National Co-Freshman of the Week and the SEC Freshman of the Week after her effort vs. Winthrop on Dec. 14.
Pauldo turned in her first career double-double, registering career highs in points (18), assists (10) and steals (4) vs. the Eagles to help propel the Lady Vols to a 112-40 victory.
The 5-foot-6 guard scored 12 points in the first quarter alone, jump-starting UT to a 27-9 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
It marked back-to-back games with an increase in her scoring career high (14 vs. Stanford), and she committed zero turnovers for the second straight game.
Over her past six contests, she has dished out 18 assists and has only three turnovers during that span.

UT/LOUISVILLE SERIES NOTES

Tennessee trails Louisville, 3-2, in the all-time series, standing 1-0 at home, 1-1 on the road and 0-2 in neutral site games.
UL has claimed the last three meetings, with the scores in 2017 (75-64) and 2022 (76-64) almost identical.
The 2013 contest came in Oklahoma City during the NCAA Elite Eight, with the Cardinals prevailing, 86-78, to advance to the Final Four that season.
UT is 140-50 vs. ACC schools after falling to NC State (80-77) and defeating Stanford (65-62) this season.

A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS

Louisville is led by double-figure scorers Tajianna Roberts (13.0 ppg.) and Laura Ziegler (11.6 ppg.).
That duo has hit 25 and 21 of the Cardinals' 113 three-pointers on the season, respectively.
UL averages 81.9 points per game and allows a stingy 57.8 to opponents.
Seven other players average more than 5.0 points per game.

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

Jeff Walz is 497-149 in his 19th year as a head coach, all at Louisville.
Walz has guided the Cardinals to 12 trips to the NCAA Sweet 16, eight trips to the Elite Eight, four trips to the NCAA Final Four and two trips to the national title game.
Walz is one of four active head coaches to reach at least four Final Fours.

THE CARDINALS' LAST GAME

After trailing 19-14 after the first quarter, Louisville outscored Eastern Kentucky, 62-32, the rest of the way to claim a 76-51 home victory on Wednesday night.
Tajianna Roberts led the Cardinals with 12 points, while Laura Ziegler contributed 11 and Skylar Jones and Yevheniia Putra chipped in 10 each.
EKU shot 50 percent from the field in the first period, connecting on four of seven attempts from deep and was down by only three at the half, 30-27.
UL held the Colonels below 27 percent from the field during the middle two quarters to take control of the game and used a 60-32 rebounding advantage to prevent second chances by the visitors.
Reserve Grace Mbugua was a big part of the dominance on the glass for Louisville, pulling down 10 boards in 12 minutes of action.
The Cards also had a 44-22 advantage in the paint and scored 23 points off 21 EKU turnovers.

THE LAST TIME WE MET

The last time these teams met on March 26, 2022, senior Rae Burrell poured in a season-high 22 points for #18/17 Tennessee, but it wasn't enough to overcome #4/4 Louisville in a hard-fought NCAA Sweet 16 setback at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas, 76-64.
Graduate Jordan Walker joined Burrell in double figures for No. 4 seed UT (25-9), finishing with 10 on the day. Junior Tamari Key led the Big Orange in rebounds with 10.
No. 1 seed Louisville (28-4) was led by Hailey Van Lith and Emily Engstler, who had 23 and 20, respectively. Kianna Smith also was in double digits with 12.

NEXT UP: HOME ON MONDAY NIGHT VS. USI

The Lady Vols will head home after Saturday's game and begin preparing for a quick turnaround.
Tennessee will play host to Southern Indiana at 6:30 p.m. ET on Monday at Food City Center.
The contest will be broadcast on SECN+ and carried on Lady Vol Radio Network stations with audio streaming on UTSports.com and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Chs. 106 or 190).
The game will be final contest of 2025 and the last non-conference game before Tennessee plays host to Florida in the SEC opener at 2 p.m. on Jan. 1 (SECN+).