Tennessee women’s basketball offered its first look at a completely rebuilt roster Tuesday night, defeating Florida A&M 132-63 in an exhibition at Food City Center.
The Lady Vols showcased their depth and offensive versatility, placing eight players in double figures while recording 26 assists, 30 offensive rebounds, and 42 second-chance points.
For third-year head coach Kim Caldwell, the balanced scoring was encouraging, but the team’s willingness to share the basketball stood out even more.
“I love it when we can have a lot of players in double digits,” Caldwell said. “You can get scoring from everywhere. I think we do have a deep team, and I think we have a very balanced team that multiple people can step up on any given night.”
Caldwell also pointed to areas Tennessee must improve before opening the regular season, including half-court defense, defensive rotations and shot selection.
Following the exhibition, Caldwell was joined by guards Naomi White and Jada Eads to discuss Tennessee’s performance, the challenges of playing in Caldwell’s system and the significance of wearing a Lady Vols uniform.
Kim Caldwell
Opening comments on Florida A&M coach and Lady Vols alumna Bridgette Gordon
Caldwell praised Gordon’s character and expressed appreciation for Florida A&M making the trip to Knoxville. She described Gordon as one of the most wonderful people she has met, despite knowing her for only a short time, and wished the Rattlers success moving forward.
On having eight players score in double figures and Tennessee’s offensive balance
“I love it when we can have a lot of players in double digits. You can get scoring from everywhere. I think we do have a deep team, and I think we have a very balanced team that multiple people can step up on any given night. More so than the eight people in double figures, I was excited with the fact that we had 26 assists and we were sharing the basketball, and we didn’t take very many shots on two people. We passed the ball pretty well tonight.”
On the team’s leading playmaker recording seven assists
“No, I knew she was going to fly. No, she is such a great player, and she is a little bit of a gamer too. And we were, as a coaching staff, talking about her before the game, of I think we’ll see a little bit of a different spark, and she always plays great. She’s in the gym as much as, if not more than anyone. So she deserved to have a great stat line. She always deserved to have a great stat line. I was proud of her assist numbers, and I think she was proud of her assist numbers.”
On Gabby Minus settling into her first exhibition
“I was very proud of Gabby. She had those two rough shots early in the game, and she’s coming off the sideline and trying to coach her up on the shots and say, ‘Well, tell me about those two shots.’ And the answer, the correct answer, was I shot them too quick, and she just grabbed me and said, ‘Coach, I’m so nervous.’ And so that’s why tonight was so good. We had so many players that had sat last year or sat part of last year, two freshmen that did their debut, and it means something to them. They were nervous, and I think they settled into the game. But that’s why you have these exhibitions. So the first time out isn’t really the first time out.”
On the performance of Tennessee’s point guards
“I thought they did a really good job of taking care of the ball. That’s a number we’ve been trying to get down every day in practice. We had nine turnovers. I would have liked it to be a little bit lower tonight, but that number is going to fluctuate night to night just because we have so much new. But I thought they did a really good job of pushing pace, putting people in the right spots, and they took care of it.”
On Tennessee’s free-throw shooting
“Yeah, I was very pleased with that. That was a great number for us. I was even more happy with how many times we got to the line. That’s always been something that’s really important to me as a coach, is making sure we’re scoring from three, one and two, and getting to the foul line, getting those possessions is going to be really important.”
On Tennessee’s aggressive full-court press and defensive rotations
“I think we were very aggressive in the press, almost too aggressive at times. They were seeing wide-open layups on the back end that we have to clean up about when to rotate or even to rotate back. That will eventually start to bite us in the butt a little bit when we don’t make the right rotation of when to play off of each other. This time of year, I’m much more satisfied with aggressive mistakes than passive mistakes. It’s way easier to pull them off than it is to get them to go forward and be aggressive, and that’s who they’ve been since we put the press in, is an aggressive team, a team that wants to get it right, a team that wants to get the ball back and play that way. And so now we just have to clean it up.”
On whether Tennessee took too many 3-pointers after attempting 41
“It was a little bit high because I think we could have gotten whatever shot we wanted at the rim. We are going to be a high-volume three-point shooting team. I think we settled for some, especially early. I think we took some that we could have had some layups at the rim. I think we are going to shoot at a higher percentage for the most part. But I did like the way we rebounded the ball when we weren’t shooting well. I like the way that us not hitting threes didn’t make any difference.”
On what Tennessee needs to improve before the regular-season opener
“We need to clean up our half-court defense. We’ve talked a lot through our scrimmage about knowing new personnel. We let our shooters have too many wide-open threes. We helped up too much right under the rim. Our scrambles once the press was broken on the back end need to be cleaned up. All of those things were pretty eye-opening. And we talked midgame about sharing the ball more on offense. I think early we were just shooting whatever the first shot was, and that’s not going to hold throughout the season. And I think they did a really good job in real time of trying to do the right thing and making the right pass and swing the ball sideline to sideline a little bit more.”
On 30 offensive rebounds and 42 second-chance points
“Yeah, we’re going to need that. That’s a big part of our offense, is to try to go get those extra points, those extra possessions. And on nights where you’re not doing it very well, you’re going to have four people in there that are really going to seek that ball to get another one, and that’s where we have to be consistently night in and night out. Whether our opponents are short or tall, we have to go in there and get those possessions back.”
On Kennedy Fauntleroy’s injury
“The update is her. It looks OK. She’ll see Doc tomorrow, but she came running back on the floor, and I couldn’t kill her for having that response. But we hope she’s OK.”
Caldwell indicated Fauntleroy would be evaluated by a doctor Wednesday after leaving the game and later returning to the bench.
On aggressive play, foul trouble and players returning from extended absences
“Yeah, I think she is another player. Her, Jada, Aaliyah haven’t played in quite some time, and so it’s a big deal for them to be back out there. And I think all three of them came out playing very aggressive. They didn’t come out playing hesitant or tentative, and they were ready for the moment, and she wanted to get that ball back. And she was an aggressive player, and that’s how she plays. And I think we’ll see her in foul trouble in some games this year because she goes and she gets the ball, and she is long, and she’s in her space. And so that’s something we have to continue to work on with her in practice. But I was proud of those three for just stepping up to the moment, and I’d rather have her be aggressive than just walking around and not guarding. And so that’s something that we can fix.”
Caldwell also emphasized the significance of Aaliyah Moore returning to competition after a lengthy absence.
“To put it in perspective of what it is like to sit out a season, Aaliyah Moore’s last basketball game that she played, Connor was three days old. Like he is now a whole human being walking around talking in full sentences, and that’s a long time to not play basketball. I think she said it was 655 days or something since she’s played basketball. I think she looked pretty good tonight. And KK too, she’d been sidelined for a season, and you can only replicate fans so much, and I think that they all enjoyed playing here today.”
Naomi White
On Florida A&M coach Bridgette Gordon speaking to Tennessee’s players after the exhibition
“She was giving very encouraging words just to be appreciative of each other and that we always would rep the Lady Vols and to always do that with pride and respect. And she was also just giving us advice on how to be a great team and to make big strides.”
On finally playing in a Lady Vols uniform
“For me, it was really a blessing to just be out there. It was really just great. It was a very surreal moment for me. I’ve always dreamed of playing in the SEC, playing at a higher, higher level. So just being out there with this group of girls and then have Coach Kim as my coach, she’s great. I love her. She’s great, and she’s very understanding of a lot of things, and she just helps us get better. And then just coming out again, like Jada said, people coming off injuries, and it was just great to see them out there for the first time in a long time.”
On Kennedy Fauntleroy and Jada Eads directing Tennessee’s offense
“They always have great control. In practice, they control it very well too. They always have great pace. They’re always looking for the open hand.”
On the importance of the Lady Vols’ legacy and Gordon’s message
“I just think being here is just such an amazing thing, and then also the whole legacy just around Tennessee. I just think it’s great and important to come up to us and have so many kind words to say to us and then give us great advice so we can keep pushing and making moves forward. I just think that was great for her to do and I really appreciated it because we did have a conversation, a little conversation. So then hearing from her and hearing all of the things that she had to say was great.”
Jada Eads
On Gordon’s postgame message to the team
“Yeah, for her to come over and talk to us as a team, and I’ve never really had a coach ever that came over and gave us so much advice and praise. So to have that is honestly eye-opening. We still have so many fans and everyone’s cheering us on and wanting so much from us. So to hear that, it motivates us more to play as a team and what it means to be a Lady Vol.”
On finally making her Lady Vols debut after months of preparation
“Honestly, it was so nice. To be able to go out there and play with the group of girls that we’ve been going at it with for months, all the hard work and dedication that we put in, we’re just seeing it pay off. And now we’re going to keep going and put our foot down and continue to work and run. So to be able to go out there and play with the group of girls that I’ve played with over the summer, and coming back from an injury, and having them there by my side is also a blessing.”
On Tennessee’s offensive flow and half-court execution
“Honestly, just looking to push the floor. Once we push the floor and you don’t see anything there, we get into sets, just move the ball around. We have so many weapons, so once you move the ball around, the floor is open. Honestly, if somebody else attacks, someone’s open. It feels nice to be able to play with a lot of weapons on the floor. It’s honestly a blessing. So to be able to play with that group of girls and just be able to pass the ball around and just fly around and play is nice.”
On what Gordon’s message meant to Tennessee’s newcomers
“It was eye-opening, honestly, what it means to be a Lady Vol. We had so many people that came in that played before us, and they told us what it means to be a Lady Vol. But to have her come over and tell us after the game, it means so much. While I’m here, I’m noticing what it means to be a Lady Vol and how important it is. So for me to throw on my jersey today and be able to play out on the court in front of the fans was nice.”
On what impressed her most about Naomi White’s performance
“Honestly, the way she passed the ball. She can score, get downhill whenever she wants. But the way she shared the ball, contributed to everything, really stuck out to me. So when she got the assist-to-turnover ratio award, I was just so happy for her.”
Tennessee will now turn its attention to the regular-season opener Monday, with Caldwell emphasizing defensive communication, improved shot selection and continued offensive chemistry as priorities following the exhibition victory.
