Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell will be back on the sidelines coaching the Lady Vols against South Carolina on Monday night just seven days after giving birth to her first child, she announced during a press conference on Sunday.
Caldwell and her husband Justin welcomed their first child, Conor, into the world last Monday after publicly announcing her pregnancy in September. The first-year Tennessee head coach missed the Lady Vols’ 80-76 loss at Texas last Thursday but returned to practice on Friday.
Longtime Cadlwell assistant coach Jenna Burdette served as Tennessee’s acting head coach in the days leading up to and during the Lady Vols’ game at Texas.
“She did great,” Caldwell said of Burdette. “She stepped up and we had tried to talk about it for months and months. We knew that that trip was gonna be hard. I was either gonna be very pregnant and very well close to having a baby or have a baby and so she did a great job of taking control and she had the two days of practice before that and then she had the team there and the team looks up to her and respects her.”
More From RTI: Auburn Player Motivated by Tennessee Prank Before the Game, Records Game-High 16 Points
Tennessee dropped a heartbreaker at No. 7 Texas, 80-76, trailing by one entering the fourth quarter and down by one point entering the fourth quarter and tied with 30 seconds left.
The Lady Vols are in the midst of a tough stretch, losing four of their last six games. But nearly every game has been a heartbreaker with Tennessee losing the four games by a combined eight points. Caldwell’s first Tennessee team lost at the buzzer against Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and LSU.
The challenge doesn’t get any easier on Monday as Tennessee hosts the reigning National Champion South Carolina Gamecocks at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll with their only loss coming at No. 1 UCLA earlier this season.
Tennessee enters the game 15-4 (3-4 SEC) and ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll. The Lady Vols are looking to get over the close game hump and earn a marquee win over Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks.
Tipoff between Tennessee and South Carolina is at 7 p.m. ET on Monday night. ESPN is broadcasting the game.