Texas, Tennessee clash in all-SEC Sweet 16 matchup Saturday

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell was “a little bit busy” the last time her Lady Volunteers took on the Texas Longhorns during Southeastern Conference play Jan. 23.

She gave birth to her son, Conor, three days before the game and watched it from home. She said it was “interesting” to see the game from a fan’s perspective.

“I was yelling at the TV,” she said. “I wasn’t very involved in the prep on that, but after the game, we watched the film and treated it like normal.” Texas won the game 80-76.

She was back on the sideline a week after giving birth, and she’ll be there when the Lady Vols get another crack at the Longhorns at 2:30 p.m. CDT, Saturday in the Sweet 16 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. Caldwell said the players filled her in on what they saw during the game and potential adjustments they should make.

“Any time you’re coaching young people, you want to be a teacher first,” she said, “to listen to them and get their thoughts and feedback about what needs to go differently this time around. It’s something we ask of them.”

Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer gave Caldwell and her team the ultimate coaching compliment during Friday’s press conference, saying the Lady Vols “play extremely hard.”

“We had a knock-down drag-out at our place earlier in the year,” Schaefer said. “We were running on fumes that week, and I’m sure they’re confident going into this one, and rightfully so. Coach Caldwell has done an incredible job getting that thing turned around really quick, and you have to give her and her players credit for that.”

Texas dominated the boards against the Lady Vols, but they do that to most teams. The Longhorns were plus-15 in rebounding margin, grabbing 39 rebounds, including 16 on the offensive end, resulting in 25 second-chance points. It’s part of the formula that’s worked for Texas this season, and if they want to play three more games after Saturday, they’ll have to stick to what got them this far.

Taylor Jones had 21 points and 14 rebounds against Tennessee, shooting 9-for-12 and collecting nine offensive rebounds. She said it took her team a little bit to get used to Tennessee’s frenetic pace, but once the Longhorns settled in, they played the game they wanted to.

“It was important to always be mentally engaged because of how many subs they had and how fast the game was,” she said. “You couldn’t have a mental lapse or they’d take advantage of it.”

In a 65-48 win over Illinois in the second round March 24, Longhorns forward Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda had the best offensive game of her career, scoring 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting in 29 minutes. She entered the game averaging 16 minutes of playing time and barely saw the floor against Tennessee, playing six minutes. If she could contribute even half of what she did against the Fighting Illini, the Longhorns should be in good shape to advance to another Elite Eight.

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