WBB Preview: #17/18 Lady Vols vs. Southern Indiana

December 19, 2025 | Women's Basketball

UT Game Notes USI Game Notes UT Record Book Watch Live Listen Live Live Stats Buy Tickets Game Day Info.

No. 17/18 Tennessee (7-3) will play its final game of 2025 on Monday, as Southern Indiana (8-2) visits Food City Center.

The Lady Vols and Screaming Eagles will tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET in a contest broadcast on SECN+ and carried on the Lady Vol Radio Network and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Channels 106 or 190).

UT will be looking to bounce back and wrap up the pre-conference slate on a positive note after No. 16/17 Louisville handed the Big Orange an 89-65 loss on Saturday in the Shark Beauty Women's Champions Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

USI, meanwhile, took care of Morehead State on Saturday, 78-59, to win its fourth straight and improve to 2-0 already in the Ohio Valley Conference.

This will mark Tennessee's first meeting with the Screaming Eagles, who hail from Evansville, Ind. The Lady Vols are 41-14 all-time vs. schools from the Ohio Valley Conference, including 1-0 in 2025-26 after claiming a 72-61 victory at UT Martin in game three this season on Nov. 9.

MORE INFO

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

Opponent: Southern Indiana
Date: Mon., Dec. 22
Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Food City Center
Watch: SECN+
Radio: Lady Vol Network
Online: Live Audio , Live Stats

TENNESSEE

Roster Schedule Game Notes

SOUTHERN INDIANA

Roster Schedule Game Notes

THE LATEST FROM THE LADY VOLS

#17/18 Lady Vols Fall To #16/17 Louisville At Women's Champions Classic 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

BROADCAST DETAILS

Myan Patel (play-by-play) and Kamera Harris (color analyst) will call the game for the SECN+ 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 160 or 190.

A LOOK AT THE LADY VOLS

UT is led by a trio of national player of the year candidates in 6-0 redshirt junior guard Talaysia Cooper (15.3 ppg., 6.1 rpg., 4.6 apg., 3.7 spg., 17 3FGs) and 6-4 senior forwards Janiah Barker (15.3 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 1.4 spg., 14 3FGs) and Zee Spearman (11.2 ppg., 7.5 rpg., 11 3FGs).
Senior guard Nya Robertson joins that trio in double figures (10.1 ppg.) and leads UT with 21 three-pointers.
Freshman guard Mia Pauldo (9.0 ppg., 27 assts./10 TOs, 18 3FGs) was named USBWA and SEC Co-Freshman of the Week last week and continues to show growth.
Freshman guards Jaida Civil (5.7 ppg., 3.9 rpg.) and Deniya Prawl (3.8 ppg., 3.3 rpg.) also have made early impacts.
UT is averaging 80.6 points per game but is still searching for consistency in its game-to-game production, scoring 65, 112 and 65 over its past three contests.
The Lady Vols have forced eight opponents into 20 or more turnovers and are generating an average of 28.5 points per game off those miscues.
Tennessee averages 9.7 three-pointers per game to rank No. 15 nationally.

TRENDING...

UT is 4-0 at home and is playing only its fifth game in Knoxville out of 11 contests in 2025-26.
This marks the third team UT has played this season with an Eagle mascot and fifth featuring a type of bird, and UT enters with records of 2-0 and 3-1 vs. those feathered foes.
Talaysia Cooper has scored in double figures in every game this season after contributing 14 vs. Louisville.
Cooper's 3.7 steals per game rank No. 9 nationally, bolstered by 10 vs. Stanford.
Mia Pauldo is averaging 14.0 ppg. and 5.0 apg. over her past three contests.
Tennessee has hit 10 or more three-pointers in three of its last five games, including a total of 16 vs. Winthrop last Sunday that ranks No. 2 in program history.
The Lady Vols rank No. 7 nationally in offensive rebs. per game (17.3) and have yanked down 15 or more in every game this season.
UT is second in 3FGA per game (33.1) after shooting a season-low 25 vs. Louisville.
Tennessee has reached 10+ steals seven times and ranks No. 17 nationally at 13.1 swipes per contest.
After forcing 20 turnovers vs. Louisville, UT has caused 20+ in eight contests and ranks 18th in the NCAA (22.80 per game).

A LOOK AT OUR LAST GAME

No. 16/17 Louisville shot 50 percent in three out of four quarters on Saturday and No. 17/18 Tennessee could not keep pace while falling, 89-65, at the Shark Beauty Women's Champions Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The Cardinals shot 49.3 percent for the game to the Lady Vols' season-low 34.2 percent and broke open a five-point game at the half by outscoring UT, 48-29, over the final 20 minutes to improve to 12-3. The Big Orange (7-3) managed to force 20 UL miscues but was only able to out-produce the Cards, 26-20, in points off turnovers.
Senior forward Zee Spearman paced Tennessee with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while redshirt junior Talaysia Cooper and freshman guard Mia Pauldo added 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Louisville featured six players scoring in double digits, led by Tajianna Roberts with 18 and Imari Berry with 15.

NOTES FROM THE LOUISVILLE GAME

DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR ZEE: Zee Spearman's 18 points and 12 rebounds vs. Louisville led to her first double-double of the season and the ninth in her career. Spearman paced the Lady Vols in points for the second time this season after she had 24 in a home win over ETSU on Nov. 7. The senior now has been in double figures six times this season and on four occasions in the past five games.
TURNING THEM OVER: The Lady Vols forced the Cardinals into 20 turnovers during the game. Tennessee has forced eight of its last nine opponents into 20+ turnovers. Talaysia Cooper led the Big Orange with three steals on the day and now has 37 in 10 games for a 3.7 average.
CONSISTENT COOPER: After scoring 23 in UT's last outing at the Shark Beauty Women's Champions Classic in Brooklyn on Dec. 7, 2024, Talaysia Cooper was again in double figures with 14 on Saturday vs. Louisville. That marks the 38th time in her career she has scored 10+. Cooper is the only Lady Vol to have a double-digit point total in every game this season.
BEST STRETCH FOR JERSEY: Senior forward Jersey Wolfenbarger's last two games have been her most productive of the season. The transfer from LSU averaged 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds and shot 71.4 percent from the field (5-7) in contests vs. Winthrop and Louisville. Her six points and six boards vs. WU were season highs, and she followed that with four points, two rebounds and a steal vs. the Cardinals on Saturday in Brooklyn.

UT/USI SERIES NOTES

This marks the first meeting between Tennessee and Southern Indiana in women's basketball.
The Lady Vols, though, are 41-14 all-time vs. schools who are currently members of the Ohio Valley Conference after defeating UT Martin earlier this season, 72-61, on Nov. 9.
The Screaming Eagles feature a pair of sisters, Chloe and Channah Gannon, from the Volunteer State. They hail from Manchester, Tenn., and played at Coffee County High School.

A LOOK AT SOUTHERN INDIANA

Southern Indiana, predicted to finish fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference this season, is led by four players averaging double figures in points, including Ali Saunders (16.4), Sophia Loden (13.7), Channah Gannon (13.0) and Chloe Gannon (12.5).
The squad is already off to a 2-0 start in OVC play, defeating Little Rock (57-40) and Morehead State (78-59), who were projected to finish seventh and 10th in the league, respectively.
The Screaming Eagles are outscoring their opponents by an average of 75.0 to 50.2 and have held five foes to 45 points or fewer.
Similar to Tennessee, USI averages 12.1 steals per game and forces its opponents into 22.5 turnovers per contest.
Southern Indiana shoots 73.3 percent from the free-throw line, with Channah Gannon (93.3) and Ali Saunders (92.0) missing only three attempts between them all season.

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

Rick Stein is 479-276 in his 27th year as head coach at Southern Indiana and has led the program from NCAA Division II status to its fourth year competing in NCAA Division I.
In 2023-24, Stein was named the OVC Coach of the Year after guiding the Screaming Eagles to a sweep of the league's regular season and postseason tournament titles.
Stein piloted USI to eight NCAA Division II tourney appearances, including an Elite Eight berth, prior to the move to DI and has earned two WNIT bids in the past three seasons.

THE SCREAMING EAGLES' LAST GAME

Southern Indiana took down Morehead State, 78-59, on Saturday at Liberty Arena in Evansville to move to 2-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play behind a career-high 35 points from senior guard Ali Saunders.
With the victory, USI (8-2, 2-0 OVC) won its fourth straight game while starting 2-0 in OVC action for the third season in a row. Morehead State, meanwhile, dropped to 4-8 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Saunders registered her 35-point performance on 10-22 shooting overall with six made threes and a perfect 9-of-9 day at the free-throw line. The senior scored 25 of the 35 points in the second half and also added five assists and four steals in the contest.
Chloe Gannon added 15 points, Channah Gannon contributed 12, and Sophia Loden grabbed 11 rebounds.

NEXT UP: THE SEC OPENER

After facing Southern Indiana on Monday, the Lady Vols will enjoy a few days off during the winter break before returning to prepare for conference play.
Tennessee will play host to Florida in the SEC opener at 2 p.m. ET on Thurs., Jan. 1, 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.