Tennessee began the Kim Caldwell era on Rocky Top with a dominant 135-49 preseason exhibition win over Carson-Newman on Thursday evening in Knoxville.
The Lady Vols shot 51.1 percent on 49-of-94 shooting Thursday as Caldwell’s brand of up-tempo, fast-paced basketball debuted in front of the Lady Vol faithful in the Food City Center.
The shooting wasn’t close to the only impressive stat from Thursday, either. Tennessee tallied 30 steals, 50 fast break points, 26 second-chance points, 47 rebounds, and forced 43 turnovers from the Carson-Newman offense throughout the four-quarter contest.
Transfer guard Ruby Whitehorn looked cool and confident during her debut with Tennessee as she recorded a game-high 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from the three-point line.
Redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper also had a big game in her Tennessee debut with 16 points on 8-of-15 shooting with five rebounds and five assists to add.
After the game, Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell sat alongside Whitehorn and Cooper as the three Volunteers discussed their reactions to the huge win in Knoxville.
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Check out the full press conference interview below:
