KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Showcasing its best offensive performance of the season, No. 18/18 Tennessee had five players scoring in double figures and turned in a dominating 112-40 victory over Winthrop on Sunday afternoon in front of 10,091 at Food City Center.
Demonstrating the benefits of a productive week of practice after the team’s recent West Coast trip and the completion of the semester and final exams, 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 collegiate 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. The Eagles trailed 66-17 at the half and allowed a number of offensive superlatives to Tennessee that are outlined in the postgame notes below.
The Lady Vols jumped on top 6-0 in the early going and used 54-percent shooting and seven forced turnovers to build a 17-1 lead, cruising into the 4:21 media timeout on an 11-0 run punctuated by a three-pointer from Barker. Winthrop, which shot only 15.4 percent from the field over the first 10 minutes, managed to score eight points the rest of the way, mostly on free throws. Mia Pauldo, though, hit a pair of charity tosses and two treys to finish with 12 for the quarter and help Tennessee secure a 27-9 cushion after the opening stanza.
UT opened the second period on a three-point barrage, getting back-to-back deep balls from Mia Pauldo and Robertson to move ahead 33-9. Robertson later added another, and Cooper and Kaniya Boyd got into the act with treys of their own to help send the Big Orange into the 4:49 media break with a 49-15 lead. The Lady Vols would continue to roll, building their spree of points to a season-high 24 straight with a Mia Pauldo three and layups by Jersey Wolfenbarger and Jaida Civil making it 64-15 before the Eagles could respond on a Jada Ryce jumper with a minute to go. Robertson had the last word, hitting a layup and sending her team into the intermission with a 66-17 gap on 55-percent shooting from the field with nine treys and 21-0 dominance in points off turnovers.
The Lady Vols continued their offensive prowess in the third quarter, using a 16-6 burst capped by a Barker three to take an 82-23 lead and force a Winthrop timeout with 6:31 remaining. Threes continued to be the order of the day, with Cooper, Lauren Hurst and Robertson connecting from long range and sending the home team into the final frame with a 93-30 advantage.
A 12-0 run early in the fourth, capped by a Civil three-pointer, made it 105-32 with 6:22 to go, and an Alyssa Latham layup a few minutes later sent the team to the 4:52 media timeout with the hosts carrying a 107-34 lead. A three by Mya Pauldo at the 3:22 mark and a put-back by Wolfenbarger with 1:16 to go were the final touches of UT’s seventh win in its past eight games.
NEXT UP: BACK TO NYC
Tennessee will travel to New York City next weekend, where it will face No. 22/20 Louisville in the Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 20.
1K CLUB
Janiah Barker, who produced her second double-double of the season and the 18th of her career, eclipsed the 1,000-point mark as a collegian with a layup at the 8:30 mark in the first period. She now has 1,018 points in 94 career games, including 146 in nine contests as a Lady Vol. She joins Nya Robertson (1,452) as the second Lady Vol on the current team to reach 1K in her career.
RAINING THREES
The Lady Vols made a season-most 16 three-pointers, tying for the second-highest total in program history with efforts vs. South Florida (3/21/25) and Kentucky (3/6/11). UT also tied for the second-most treys attempted in program annals with 42, matching the number set against MTSU (11/12/24). Mia Pauldo (4), Janiah Barker (3) and Nya Robertson (3) all had three or more buckets from beyond the arc vs. Winthrop.
SCORING IN THE PAINT, TOO
In addition to scoring 48 points beyond the arc, Tennessee generated 50 points in the paint to Winthrop’s 20. That total was the second-best this season behind 57 vs. Coppin State.
RACKING UP POINTS
The 112 points the Lady Vols scored vs. Winthrop was a season high and marked the eighth time during the Kim Caldwell era UT has reached triple digits. The total of 112 ranks as the third most over the past two seasons. Additionally, Tennessee carded its fourth-most points in a first half ever (66), its fourth-best halftime margin (49, 66-17) and its fourth-most points in a quarter (39 in 2Q). Kim Caldwell teams now hold the second, third, fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth-best point totals in a quarter in program history.
SHARING THE BALL
Tennessee’s 28 assists vs. Winthrop tied for the most assists in a game during the Kim Caldwell era. Last season, UT also dished out 28 in the win over North Carolina Central on Dec. 14, 2024. The previous high in 2025-25 was 18 vs. ETSU, Coppin State and UCLA.
CONTROLLING THE BOARDS
Tennessee’s 54 rebounds tied for the most in the Kim Caldwell era, matching the total against MTSU on Nov. 12, 2024. The previous best this season was 48 vs. Belmont and NC State. In addition to Janiah Barker yanking down 10, Jaida Civil grabbed seven of her own. Civil now has three games in a row snaring six or more caroms.
FORCING PLENTY OF TURNOVERS
The Big Orange forced the Eagles into 24 turnovers, making it seven out of the last eight opponents to record 20+ miscues. The Lady Vols charted 13 steals, marking the seventh time in nine games they’ve reached double digits in that category.
MIA FINDING HER WAY
Mia Pauldo logged her first career double-double with 18 points, 10 assists and four steals, which were all career bests for the freshman. Pauldo is only the third Lady Vol this season to tally a double-double, joining Janiah Barker and Talaysia Cooper. Pauldo scored 12 of UT’s 18 points in the first period, which made her the fourth Lady Vol this year to have a double-digit scoring quarter. She joins Talaysia Cooper, Nya Robertson and Janiah Barker in that club.
GETTING CONSISTENT PRODUCTION FROM THE BENCH
UT collected its highest point production from its bench with 54 vs. Winthrop. The Lady Vols’ previous best from the reserves was 42 in their win at MTSU. In five of the nine games, the Big Orange bench has produced 30+ points. The 37-point margin also was the largest of the year.
