Lady Volunteers Basketball Outlast Lady Dawgs in Overtime

The Lady Volunteers basketball team defeated UGA 82-77 in overtime following one of the best games of the season for the two.

Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell during a women's college basketball game between the Lady Vols and Mississippi State held at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 29, 2026. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Lady Vols basketball team headed to Athens, Georgia, on Thursday as they looked to finally get back into the win column following back-to-back defeats. That would be no easy task against the 18-4 Lady Bulldogs, who were coming off an unsatisfying loss themselves to Alabama.

Tennessee had to stay focused on this game despite this game being sandwiched between games versus two of the top three teams in the country (UCONN and South Carolina). 

Lady Vols Pull Off Overtime Win

Tennessee's Mia Pauldo (13) after a game between the Lady Vols and Kentucky at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn., Jan. 22, 2026. Tennessee defeated Kentucky. | Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The first quarter was back-and-fourth with neither team taking a lead of more than four.

The second quarter, at one point, seemed like it was getting away from the Lady Vols. The Lady Bulldogs took an eight-point lead with just under three minutes left in the half. The Lady Vols responded well with Nya Robertson, Mia Pauldo, and Talaysia Cooper, all hitting threes in under 90 seconds to get back into the game. Then, down one, Mia Pauldo fired and connected on a three at the buzzer to give Tennessee a 33-31 lead at half. 

Tennessee looked a lot better in the third quarter; they took a seven-point lead with 4:40 to go in the quarter, but after that, neither team could really get going with only a few more points scored. Despite that, the Lady Vols led UGA 49-45 going into the 4th quarter.

The fourth quarter was more or less the same as the other three quarters, with it being a nail-biter the whole quarter. 

With the Lady Vols up one, 64-63, with 14.8 seconds left, Zee Spearman hit two clutch free throws to extend the lead to three. UGA went for the quick two and committed a foul with 8.5 seconds left to send Mia Pauldo to the line. The freshman stayed calm and hit both attempts. Unfortunately, the Volunteers fouled Dani Carnegie from beyond the arc, and she would proceed to knock down all three free throws to tie the game with 5.8 seconds left. 

Tamaysia Cooper would get a chance to win it at the buzzer, but was just short on her three-point attempt. All tied up at 68 a piece, the game would head to overtime.

The Vols took the lead 15 seconds into the overtime period and held onto the lead for the rest of the way with some big-time free throws late to hold onto the win 82-77.

Zee Spearman and Mia Pauldo were the stars of the show. Together, they combined for 44 points while Talaysia Cooper almost recorded a double-double but ended up just a rebound short.

The Volunteers' next game is Sunday in Columbia as they take on the thrid ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in a battle of two of the best teams in the SEC.

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