KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With guards Talaysia Cooper and Kaniya Boyd sidelined with injuries, No. 20/22 Tennessee employed a “next-player-up” mentally to take care of Arkansas, 85-50, and remain unbeaten in SEC play on Sunday afternoon in front of a season-best crowd of 11,335 at Food City Center.

 The Lady Vols (12-3, 4-0 SEC), who won their fifth-straight game and improved to 7-0 at home this season, were led in scoring and rebounding by senior forward Zee Spearman with 20 points and eight boards, along with three assists, three steals and two blocks. Freshman guard Mia Pauldo continued her strong play, firing in 18 points, while senior forward Janiah Barker and freshman guard Jaida Civil chipped in 13 and 12, respectively.

 

Arkansas (11-8, 0-4 SEC), which was forced into 26 turnovers on the day and held to 27.3-percent shooting, was led by 13 points and nine rebounds from Jada Bates. Ashlynn Chlarson added 10 points.

 

Both teams shot over 55 percent during the early stages of the game, but Tennessee generated twice as many attempts and makes en route to 60-percent accuracy. A Spearman layup and three-pointer and Barker step-back jumper provided UT a 9-5 lead by the 8:13 mark. Layups by Civil and Barker pushed the gap to 15-7 with 6:15 to go, and a Jersey Wolfenbarger layup and Mia Pauldo trey sent the Big Orange into the 4:16 media break with a 20-9 cushion. A Nya Robertson deep ball out of the timeout and a Spearman layup delivered the Lady Vols their largest lead so far at 25-11 with 3:17 remaining, and a Lauren Hurst put-back and Mia Pauldo layup helped the home team close out the first quarter with a 29-18 advantage and UT’s highest opening-period point total of the season.

 

Arkansas whittled the deficit to seven by the 4:54 media timeout, 33-26, as Tennessee went a cold 18.2 percent from the field over the first five minutes of the second stanza. The Lady Vols buckled down, though, getting a Civil free throw, a Barker jumper, Spearman three and a pair of free throws from Barker in succession to restore the lead to 13, 41-28, with 2:41 to go. A Mia Pauldo jumper with six ticks on the clock sent the Big Orange into the intermission with a 43-30 lead after holding the Razorbacks to 22.7-percent shooting and forcing them into eight turnovers in the period.

 

UT started its scoring in the third quarter with an old-fashioned three-point play by Mia Pauldo and got pairs of free throws from Deniya Prawl and Civil, followed by a Civil three to zoom ahead by 19, 53-34, with 6:33 remaining. A Spearman layup off a steal and assist from Civil sent the Lady Vols into the 4:27 media timeout with a 55-37 lead. A Mya Pauldo trey right after the break began a 10-4 burst by the Big Orange, and Alyssa Latham’s three-ball capped it, helping their team wrap up the third with a 65-41 advantage.

 

Barker extended the Tennessee margin to 27 at the outset of the final stanza, 68-41, and the Lady Vols maintained a 68-43 gap when Arkansas asked for time with 7:39 remaining in the game. A Hurst three ignited a 12-0 run with Mia Pauldo knocking down another deep ball to bookend that spree and send the Big Orange into the 4:38 media timeout with an 80-46 lead. Mia Pauldo’s third trey of the contest and a layup by Spearman ended the scoring for UT and helped Kim Caldwell‘s squad remain as one of three 4-0 teams in SEC action.

 

NEXT UP

After being idle on Thursday, Tennessee will play its third away game in its last four contests next Sunday, making its way to Tuscaloosa for a road “We Back Pat” match-up with RV/#24 Alabama. The match-up is slated for 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) at Coleman Coliseum. The contest will be televised on SEC Network and carried on Lady Vol Radio Network stations with audio streaming on UTSports.com.

 

ZEE CATCHING FIRE IN CONFERENCE PLAY

Zee Spearman has caught fire in SEC play, with her 20 points vs. Arkansas marking her third game out of four in double figures. The forward is averaging 13.3 points in conference play, and after yanking down eight caroms vs. the Razorbacks, she is tallying seven rebounds per game in her past four outings.

 

FORCING TURNOVERS

Arkansas was the tenth opponent this season who the Lady Vols have forced into 20 or more miscues. UA’s total of 25 was the most the Big Orange has forced against an SEC opponent in the 2025-26 campaign, and UT improved its turnovers-forced-per-game average to 22.1 in 15 contests.

 

THE THREES WERE FALLING

UT knocked down 11 threes against the Razorbacks on Sunday, marking the seventh time this season 10 or more have fallen for Tennessee and the second game in a row. UT has now hit 10+ in six of its last ten games, and its season total of seven such games ranks as the second-most in a season all-time by the Lady Vols behind last year’s 18.

 

GENERATING POINTS OFF TURNOVERS

UT won the points-off-turnovers battle for the 12th time this season, forging a 25-6 advantage against UA from the Razorbacks’ 26 miscues. Six points were the fewest the Lady Vols have allowed from miscues all season.

 

WE’LL TAKE THAT!

The Big Orange grabbed 11 steals to make it 29 times during the Caldwell Era that UT has registered double digits. Tennessee has recorded a large chunk of that total with 11 of those efforts this season.