The Tennessee Lady Vols made their debut in the AP Poll under head coach Kim Caldwell on Monday, landing at the No. 19 spot following their 7-0 start to the season.
Tennessee was No. 29 in the rankings last week when you put the “others receiving votes” into consideration. But after a 2-0 week with wins over Florida State and No. 17 Iowa, the Lady Vols moved up 10-spots into the rankings.
The Lady Vols are one of seven SEC teams in this week’s top 25, coming in behind No. 3 South Carolina, No. 4 LSU, No. 6 Texas, No. 10 Oklahoma and No. 16 Kentucky and ahead of No. 22 Ole Miss.
Caldwell’s first Tennessee team jumped out to a 23-point halftime lead at home against Florida State on Wednesday before holding on for dear life in the second half. Florida State missed a shot on the final possession as Tennessee earned a 79-77 victory over the Seminoles.
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The Lady Vols followed up their win over Florida State by heading to Brooklyn and earning a win over No. 17 Iowa. Tennessee forced a breathtaking 30 turnovers to overcome a shaky three-point shooting performance to earn the 78-68 victory.
Iowa led in the fourth quarter before Tennessee ended the game on a 16-2 run in the final four minutes to earn the first top 25 win of Caldwell’s tenure.
The high-scoring Lady Vols have three players averaging double digit points so far this season but South Carolina transfer Talayshia Cooper has been Tennessee’s most productive player this season, averaging 20.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 36 assists per game.
Tennessee’s last two games were its only non conference matchups against power five teams. The Lady Vols have remaining matchups against North Carolina Central, Memphis, Richmond, Tulsa and Winthrop before opening SEC play at Texas A&M on Jan. 2.
