WBB Preview: #23/22 Lady Vols vs. Florida

December 30, 2025 | Women's Basketball

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No. 23/22 Tennessee (8-3) will ring in 2026 with a New Year's Day SEC opener vs. Florida (12-3) on Thursday afternoon at Food City Center.

The Lady Vols and Gators will tip off at 2 p.m. ET in a contest broadcast on SECN+ and carried on the Lady Vol Radio Network and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Channels 117 or 191).

UT, which is coming off an 89-44 victory over Southern Indiana in its last game before the winter break on Dec. 22, carries a 5-0 home record in 2025-26 into the match-up.

Florida, meanwhile, is 1-2 in road games this season and arrives on Rocky Top having won four of its past five games, including an 82-66 victory over Furman on Sunday.

This will mark the 64th meeting between these programs, with Tennessee holding a 58-5 advantage in a series that began in 1980. The Lady Vols' 86-78 victory over UF last season in Gainesville on Feb. 23 was their fourth straight in the series and 10th in the past 11 meetings.

MORE INFO

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

Opponent: Florida
Date: Thurs., Jan. 1
Tip-off: 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Food City Center
Watch: SECN+
Radio: Lady Vol Network
Online: Live Audio , Live Stats

TENNESSEE

Roster Schedule Game Notes

FLORIDA

Roster Schedule Game Notes

THE LATEST FROM THE LADY VOLS

Cooper's Double-Double Helps No. 19/17 UT Trim Stanford, 65-62 #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

BROADCAST DETAILS

Myan Patel (play-by-play) and Niya Butts (color analyst) will be on the SECN+ call.
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 117 or 191.

A LOOK AT THE LADY VOLS

UT is led by 6-4 senior forward Janiah Barker (14.6 ppg., 6.3 rpg., 15 3FGs), 6-0 redshirt junior guard Talaysia Cooper (14.5 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 4.5 apg., 3.5 spg., 19 3FGs), senior guard Nya Robertson (11.0 ppg., 27 3FGs) and senior forward Zee Spearman (10.8 ppg., 7.5 rpg., 12 3FGs).
Freshman guard Mia Pauldo (9.9 ppg., 28 assts./10 TOs, 23 3FGs) joins them.
Nya Robertson (27), Mia Pauldo (23), Talaysia Cooper (19), Janiah Barker (15) and Zee Spearman (12) give UT five players hitting double digits in three-pointers.
UT is outscoring opponents 81.4 to 59.6 for a +21.7 margin on the year.
Tennessee averages 10.5 three-pointers per game to rank No. 3 nationally.
The Lady Vols have hurried nine opponents into 20 or more turnovers and rank No. 16 in steals per game at 13.5 and No. 18 at 23.36 miscues forced per contest.
UT is outscoring foes in points off turnovers, 29.2 to 13.5, and has won that battle in 10 of 11 match-ups.
Tennessee's bench has outscored its opponents' reserves in nine of 11 games by a 29.9 to 16.2 margin.

TRENDING...

Kim Caldwell owns a 249-44 record in her 10th season and will reach the 250-win plateau with Tennessee's next victory.
Mia Pauldo had a December to remember, averaging 15.3 ppg. during the month and scoring in double figures in all four games. She has upped her season average to 9.9 ppg.
Pauldo recorded scoring career highs vs. Stanford (14), Winthrop (18) and Southern Indiana (19) in three of the past four contests.
UT is 5-0 at home and is playing only its sixth game in Knoxville out of 12 contests.
Tennessee has made its highest totals of three-pointers in two of its last three games, firing in 16 vs. Winthrop and 18 vs. Southern Indiana, with the latter ranking No. 2 in UT history and tying for third in SEC annals.
After making only five three-pointers in the first five games, Nya Robertson has made 22 over her past six contests.
With 10 points vs. Winthrop and Southern Indiana, Alyssa Latham has tallied 22 points over her last three games after tallying 14 during the first six contests.

A LOOK AT OUR LAST GAME

No. 23/18 Tennessee closed out the pre-conference portion of its schedule and headed to the holiday break by lighting up The Summitt with 18 three-pointers in an 89-44 victory over Southern Indiana on Dec. 22 at Food City Center.
The Lady Vols (8-3) were paced by three players in double figures, including senior guard Nya Robertson with 20 and freshman guard Mia Pauldo with 19, with those players swishing six and five treys each, respectively, as UT notched the No. 2 total of deep balls in school history and tied for third all-time in the SEC. Junior forward Alyssa Latham was in double figures for the second time in three games, tossing in 10 points via 7-of-8 accuracy at the free-throw line.
The Screaming Eagles (8-3), whose 29 turnovers led to 36 UT points, were paced by Ali Saunders with 14 points and Chloe Gannon with 11.

NOTES FROM THE USI GAME

JINGLE BELLS, THREE-BALLS FELL: UT hit the second-most three-pointers in program history and tied for the third-most in SEC history with 18 vs. USI. That replaced the previous UT season best and No. 2 total of 16 vs. Coppin State on Nov. 23. Nya Robertson and Mia Pauldo put a large dent in the total, with Robertson hitting six and Mia Pauldo making five. Pauldo's five eclipsed her career high of four threes set against Winthrop on Dec. 14, while Robertson's six was her second-best career effort behind the 10 she hit vs. Coppin State. The 48 three-point attempts by UT were also the second best in Tennessee and SEC history.
NYA WAS ON THE NICE LIST: Nya Robertson's game-high 20 points allowed her to pace UT for the third time in 2025-26. Robertson now has two games this season scoring 20 or more points and 33 such games during her career. The SMU transfer led the Lady Vols in threes made in a game for the fourth time this year as well, knocking down six in 14 attempts. She leads UT with 27 treys on the year.
FORCING TURNOVERS APLENTY: The Lady Vols forced their fourth foe in a row into 20+ turnovers, hurrying Southern Indiana into 29 on Monday night. Tennessee has forced nine of its last 10 opponents into 20+ miscues. Monday night's total was the third most of the young season, following 36 by Coppin State and 30 by Stanford.
THE DECEMBER OF MIA: Mia Pauldo has found her groove in the month of December, with four games in a row scoring in double figures and six total on the season. Pauldo broke her career high in points three times in four games with 14 vs. Stanford, 18 against Winthrop and 19 versus Southern Indiana. She has averaged 15.3 ppg. over her last four contests.
BLOCK PARTY FOR ZEE: Zee Spearman had a career-high six blocks against the Screaming Eagles. That total led the Lady Vols, making it six times in eleven games that Spearman has paced her team in swats. The forward now has 19 on the season and is averaging 1.7 per contest.
BENCH BRIGADE: Bench production was plentiful on Dec. 22, with the Lady Vols outscoring USI by a 47-7 count in bench points. The margin of 40 was the largest differential in bench points this season by Tennessee. The Big Orange also pitched a shutout from Southern Indiana's bench until the fourth quarter, leading 28-0 after the first three quarters.

LADY VOLS IN SEC OPENERS

Through 2024-25, Tennessee is 37-6 all-time in its first Southeastern Conference game of a season, including 19-3 at home and 18-3 on the road.
After winning at Texas A&M on Jan. 2, 2025, 91-78, the Lady Vols have won their past 11 SEC openers, last losing a conference lid-lifter to LSU, 80-77, on Jan. 2, 2014.
Tennessee is 37-6 in its first SEC home game of a season through 2024-25, winning seven of its last nine such contests after falling to No. 9/10 Oklahoma, 87-86, on Jan. 5, 2024.
This marks the Big Orange's first time opening SEC play at home since beating Alabama, 62-44, on Dec. 30, 2021.
The Lady Vols are 34-9 in their initial SEC away game of a season after defeating Texas A&M on Jan. 2, 91-78.winning their last five and 15 of the past 16.

BIG ORANGE HISTORY ON NEW YEAR'S DAY

Tennessee is opening SEC play on New Year's Day for the fourth time.
The Lady Vols are 3-0 in Jan. 1 league games, including 2-0 at home and 1-0 on the road.
UT last played on New Year's Day in 2017, defeating Kentucky, 72-65.
The Big Orange also recorded a road win at Auburn (73-52) in 2012 and a home win over Arkansas (88-58) in 1998.

UT/UF SERIES NOTES

Tennessee is 26-2 all-time vs. Florida in games played in Knoxville, 24-3 in Gainesville and 8-0 at neutral sites.
UT is 3-1 in overtime contests vs the Gators, including 3-0 in Gainesville in extra-frame skirmishes.
The Lady Vols have won four straight and 10 of the past 11 in the series.
They also have won nine of the last 10 contests played at Exactech Arena after winning there in 2025.
Kim Caldwell is 2-0 vs. UF, winning at home while at Marshall and on the road in 2025 while at Tennessee.
UT's record for most free throws made in a game (40-46) came at Florida on Feb. 3, 2005.

A LOOK AT FLORIDA

UF's top players are Liv McGill (24.4 ppg.), Me'Arah O'Neal (14.3 ppg., 7.9 rpg.) and Laila Reynolds (13.1 ppg.).
Florida averages 11.5 steals, forces 21.0 turnovers and limits opponents to 36.3-percent shooting and 58.2 ppg.
The Gators have held 14 of 15 foes below 70 points.

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

Kelly Rae Finley is 87-63 in her fifth year at UF.
Her 2022-23 team reached the WNIT quarterfinals, while last year's squad made the WBIT semifinals.
In 2021-22, she was named the Maggie Dixon NCAA Division I Rookie Coach of the Year by the WBCA.
Finley also was honored as 2021-22 USA Today Sports Network SEC Coach of the Year and a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year award.

THE GATORS' LAST GAME

Florida (12-3) connected on 30 of 46 shots inside the arc en route to an 82-66 victory over visiting Furman (6-7) on Sunday.
Me'Arah O'Neal led all scorers with 22 points, while Laila Reynolds (17), Liv McGill (12) and Caterina Piatti (11) also were in double figures.
UF outscored FU in the paint, 58-34, and drew 22 fouls that resulted in 16 of 26 shooting at the charity stripe.

LAST TIME WE MET

Tennessee overcame 15 fouls and 22-percent shooting in the first half and an 11-point second-quarter deficit to walk away with a hard-earned 86-78 road victory over Florida on Feb. 23, 2025, at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville.
The Lady Vols (21-6, 8-6 SEC) trailed 37-26 just before the half, but they flipped the script with a 37-point third quarter to claim their fourth-consecutive victory. Redshirt sophomore Talaysia Cooper, who was restricted to two minutes of playing time over the first 20 minutes due to foul trouble, fired in 15 points in the second half to finish with a team-high 18. Junior forward Zee Spearman tossed in 16, while senior guard Samara Spencer added an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double.
The Gators (14-14, 5-9 SEC) were paced by Ra Shaya Kyle with 19 points and 10 boards. Laila Reynolds and Liv McGill each contributed 17.

LAST TIME WE MET IN KNOXVILLE

Tennessee fended off a scrappy Florida team to extend its win streak to six games in an 88-81 victory over the Gators at Food City Center on Jan. 11, 2024.
For the third straight game in SEC play, the Lady Vols overcame a double-digit deficit to claim victory, this time overturning a 12-point UF advantage in the second quarter. The Lady Vols converted on 16 of 18 free-throw tries in the final frame to seal the victory.
Tennessee (10-5, 3-0 SEC) was led by senior Jewel Spear and junior Sara Puckett, who each fired in 20 points. Fifth-year senior Rickea Jackson added 18 points and eight rebounds.
Aliyah Matharu led UF (9-6, 0-3 SEC) with 23 points.

NEXT UP

After opening 2026 and the SEC slate at home, Tennessee will hit the road for its next two contests.
The Lady Vols will begin that stretch by playing at Auburn at 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET) on Sunday, Jan. 4, at Neville Arena.
The contest will be broadcast on SEC Network and carried on Lady Vol Radio Network stations with audio streaming on UTSports.com.