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Takeaways from Lady Vols Basketball's first win under Kim Caldwell

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Takeaways from Lady Vols Basketball's first win under Kim Caldwell

It looked like Samford would get the last shot of the third quarter with just 15 seconds left.

But Lady Vols basketball established its press and forced a turnover. Point guard Samara Spencer found Jewel Spear with seconds left and fired her fourth 3-pointer of the game. Spear didn't get off to the best start, but her teammates told her to keep shooting, and so she did.

She led the Lady Vols (1-0) in 3-point shooting in their 101-53 win over Samford (0-1) in Tuesday's season opener at Food City Center at Thompson-Boiling Arena. Kim Caldwell was happy to have her first game behind her as coach of the Lady Vols.

“It wasn't the nicest thing. I thought we had some really good periods where we looked great, exactly how we were supposed to look for most of the game,” Caldwell said. “And then I think we had some moments where we looked like a whole new team.”

Jewel Spear “invaluable” to Lady Vols

Spear was always in the right place on defense and made the right rotation. There was a block early in the third quarter and the senior guard went coast-to-coast for a layup to give Tennessee a 27-point lead.

Spear finished the game with two blocks and four steals in addition to her 18 points, six rebounds and two assists. Her defense has been a focus in the offseason, both on and off the ball. Spears' communication allows her to be in the right spots and make the right rotations, which leads to her production.

“This defense that Coach Kim put us in has helped with all of this and forces you to be aggressive,” Spear said. “So it just allows me to be successful on defense.”

Caldwell called Spear “invaluable” as a captain and leader because she does a little bit of everything for the team.

Zee Spearman explodes in the fourth quarter

Zee Spearman had a solid performance — and then she scored 15 of Tennessee's 23 points in the fourth quarter.

Spearman seemed comfortable and was one of the most consistent rebounders. The junior forward was also efficient, scoring 10-for-12 points for a game-high 25 points. She added six rebounds and two steals in 19 minutes.

Caldwell said Spearman is “very capable” of being one of their top players.

“She’s probably one of the most progressing players we have,” Caldwell said. “When she got here it just happened too fast for her. And she’s learned to settle in, play with both feet and get rebounds, and she’s kind of filling up the stat sheet, too.”

When all the press worked best

Tennessee didn't initially have much success with the full press. Samford threw the ball in too easily, but as the Lady Vols increased the pressure, they began to force turnovers.

In the second quarter, Tennessee forced two consecutive 10-second violations with Talaysia Cooper and Kaniya Boyd leading the press. The guards' length and ball pressure made it difficult for Samford to make longer passes. If this was the case, players could skip the passes.

Cooper filled the stat sheet in addition to her 19 points, adding seven steals, five assists, five rebounds and two blocks.

Caldwell said when the Lady Vols played hard, they looked great. If one person on the court takes their foot off the gas, everything falls apart.

LADY VOLS: Kim Caldwell on Samara Spencer's role, substitution style ahead of Lady Vols' season opener

“They just understand that sometimes it's hard to play hard, but it's a lot more fun if you just play hard all the time,” Caldwell said. “Because if you take these breaks, we either turn everything around or forego long distances.”

Tennessee finished the game with 37 forced turnovers for 50 points. There were also 20 turnovers, but they only led to 14 points for Samford.

Cora Hall covers women's athletics at the University of Tennessee. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you like Cora's coverage, consider a digital subscription to access everything.

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