KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Zee Spearman led four players in double figures, as the No. 8/9 Tennessee women’s basketball team raced to a 27-5 first quarter and never looked back in a 97-47 home-opening win over ETSU on Friday night at Food City Center.
With a crowd of 10,671 looking on, Spearman finished with 24 points, including six from the three-point arc and 11 from the free-throw line to pace a Lady Vol attack that scored 20+ points in each quarter. Talaysia Cooper added 18 points on the night, while Janiah Barker and Mia Pauldo contributed 15 and 12, respectively, for UT (1-1). Spearman and Alyssa Latham tied for the team high with six rebounds apiece.
The Buccaneers (0-2) were led by Emmah McAmis and Paige Lyons, who shared team scoring honors with 10 points each.
Tennessee forced 26 ETSU turnovers, converting those into 32 points with 20 coming via fast breaks. The Big Orange held the visitors to 28-percent shooting overall, including 18.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Barker opened the game with an inside bucket, and UT ran off nine straight points to lead 9-0 at the 5:49 mark after a pair of Spearman free throws. ETSU finally got on the scoreboard on a McAmis layup at the 4:42 mark before another Barker layup sent the Lady Vols into the 4:26 media timeout with an 11-2 cushion. Mia Pauldo hit a three-pointer right after the break and then Cooper (3) and Spearman (1) combined for four threes to fuel a 12-0 run and build a 27-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Layups by Jaida Civil and Kaniya Boyd pushed the gap to 31-5, forcing a quick Buccaneers timeout with 7:40 remaining in the second stanza. A Spearman three, Latham fast break layup and Barker layup on a feed from Lauren Hurst increased the lead to 40-9 at the 3:52 mark. A Civil spin move in the paint, a pair of Spearman free throws and a Cooper three extended the margin to 47-11 with 1:53 to go, and Barker’s layup with 28 ticks on the clock sent the Big Orange into the locker room leading 48-14 at the half.
A Cooper tip-in and a Mia Pauldo three got the Lady Vols rolling in the third quarter, lifting the home team to a 54-14 lead with 7:20 left. A Cooper put-back and a Boyd layup helped send Tennessee into the 3:28 media break up, 62-23. Tennessee continued to widen the gap, with Nya Robertson and Barker pairs of free throws sandwiching a Spearman layup to run the score to 72-28 with 35 seconds remaining. Mia Pauldo’s three-ball sent her squad into the final frame leading 75-31.
A Spearman old-fashioned three-point play opened the fourth quarter, and a Latham bucket down low on a dish from Mya Pauldo punched the score to 80-33 heading into an ETSU timeout at the 6:24 mark. The teams exchanged buckets over the next few minutes, with Barker’s turnaround jumper in the paint giving UT an 84-40 advantage entering the final media timeout with 4:29 to go. The Lady Vols continued to find the basket with ease and closed out the game with Kaiya Wynn converting an and-one and Mya Pauldo finding the bottom of the net from long range to provide the final score.
UP NEXT
The Big Orange have a very quick turnaround, departing Saturday for Martin, Tenn., to take on the UT Martin Skyhawks on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT (3 p.m. ET) in the Pat Summitt Heritage Classic at the Elam Center. That contest will be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the Lady Vol Radio Network.
NEW GAME, NEW FIVE
Jaida Civil earned her first career start Friday night as the Lady Vols produced a new starting five opening up their second game, including Janiah Barker, Zee Spearman, Nya Robertson, Civil and Talaysia Cooper. This marks the second game in a row at least one rookie has started.
VOL NATION SHOWING OUT
Friday’s attendance of 10,671 was the largest in a home opener for Tennessee since 10,913 were on hand in 2012 against Rice. This comes after Tennessee averaged 10,647 last season, which ranked fifth nationally.
ZEE WAS ROCKING
Zee Spearman’s 24 points marked the second time in her career she has scored 20 points or more, following a 25-point effort vs. Samford last season. It was the fourth time she has led UT in scoring, and it was the 12th time leading UT in rebounds. The three treys Spearman hit also tied her career best for three-pointers in a game.
EVERY LADY VOL CONTRIBUTED
Lauren Hurst made her collegiate debut, and Kaiya Wynn made her first appearance of the season after missing the 2024-25 campaign due to a torn Achilles tendon. Every member of the Big Orange now has tallied minutes in the regular season.
HOT FROM BEHIND THE ARC
UT hit 12 threes against the Buccaneers. Under Kim Caldwell, the Lady Vols have now had 19 games where they have produced 10 or more three pointers in a contest. They had 18 such contests in 2024-25 and averaged 10.1 three pointers per game to rank second in the NCAA and first in the SEC. Talaysia Cooper and Mia Pauldo recorded four treys each, while Zee Spearman had three to lead Tennessee.
HIGH SCORING QUARTERS
UT scored 27 points in the first quarter, 22 in the second, 26 in the third and 22 in the fourth. Six out of eight quarters this season the Lady Vols have gone for 20+. Last season Tennessee scored 20 or more points in 94 of 136 quarters.
FORCING MISCUES
The Big Orange forced 26 total turnovers in the 97-47 win on Friday night. Twenty-one of UT’s foes committed at least 20 miscues in 2024-25 during the first year under Kim Caldwell. A total of 32 of the Lady Vols’ 97 points Friday night came off turnovers.
LADY VOLS IN HOME OPENERS
After the win over ETSU, Tennessee owns a 49-3 all-time record in its first home contest of the year. The Lady Vols have now won 26 straight times in their first appearance of the season at Food City Center and have been victorious in that case in 43 of their past 44 campaigns.
UT/ETSU SERIES NOTES
With the win, Tennessee is 17-1 at home, 7-1-1 away and 2-0 at neutral sites vs. ETSU. The Lady Vols have won 24 straight in the series.
