Tennessee Lady Vols Defeat UT Martin But Not How They Would've Liked

The Tennessee Lady Vols add another victory to their resume.

Tennessee forward Zee Spearman (11) sticks out the tongue after getting fouled during an NCAA college basketball game against East Tennessee State Buccaneers on November 7, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Lady Volunteers played one of their first three games on Sunday, as this was their third contest of the season. The Tennessee Lady Vols have one of the top programs in the nation when it comes to women's basketball.

Entering this contest, they were 1-1, with their only loss coming against a very tough North Carolina State team led by a very good group of players and coaches. That was a game that made national headlines, as it was No. 8 and No. 9 battling it out. While the Vols lost this contest, they were able to find their stride in their second game of the season, putting up nearly 100 points in blowout fashion against a solid ETSU program for their conference.

Lady Vols 72, UT Martin 61

Tennessee basketball coach Kim Caldwell gives instructions to forward Zee Spearman (11) during the NCAA college basketball game between the Tennessee Lady Vols and East Tennessee State Buccaneers on November 7, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Lady Vols were back in action on Sunday, which is just two days removed from their game against the ETSU Buccaneers. They played against the UT Martin Skyhawks, but they didn't have as much luck as they would've liked. The Vols didn't play the greatest game that they had hopes for, as they walked away with a win, but only by 11 points.

That makes you question "Why is an eleven-point victory alarming?" The easy answer is to mention the mistakes that the Lady Vols had, but the truth is that the Lady Vols are expected to win this type of games by more than 11 points. The worst part of this is how they struggled in the first half, as they entered the half on upset alert, as the game was tied. Now, there were still some things to like and it is still young in the season, but the Lady Vols will still need to clean some things up before they play some of these tougher teams.

The Lady Vols have another game on deck this coming week, as they will be back in action on Thursday. This will be yet another game that they are expected to win, as they are set to take on the Belmont Bruins in the Food City Center. This is a good thing, as they will have multiple days to work through their early-season struggles. This will be a game in which the Lady Vols very well could come out firing on all cylinders. There is still a lot of hoopin' left before the season is over, but a 2-1 start isn't the worst case scenario, which, even with the loss, the Lady Vols will continue to be noted as a powerhouse.

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