Knoxville, TN – The No. 9 seed and No. 18/17-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team (22-8, 8-8 SEC) is set to clash with No. 8 seed Vanderbilt (21-9, 8-8 SEC) in the second round of the 2025 Southeastern Conference Tournament in Greenville, SC, on Thursday at 10:00 AM CT (11:00 AM ET).
The matchup will take place at Bon Secours Wellness Arena and will be broadcast on the SEC Network, with radio coverage available on Lady Vol Network stations and an audio stream on UTSports.com. This game marks a rematch of their January 19th meeting in Nashville, where Vanderbilt secured a narrow 71-70 victory thanks to a last-second put-back by Mikayla Blakes.
The Lady Vols are coming off a dominant 77-37 win over Texas A&M on Wednesday, their fifth victory in the last seven games. Tennessee delivered its best defensive performance of the season, holding the Aggies to season lows in points and field goal percentage (26.5%).
Injury updates brought positive news for Tennessee, as All-SEC Second Team and All-Defensive Team standout Talaysia Cooper returned strong from a lower-body injury sustained against Georgia on Sunday. Cooper led all scorers with 19 points in the win over Texas A&M.
Cooper, a key player on multiple national award watch lists, has been the Lady Vols’ leader this season, averaging 16.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 3.0 steals per game while shooting 45% from the field. She has recorded 11 games with 20+ points this season, including a 25-point performance at Kentucky on February 27th.
Other double-digit scorers for Tennessee include fifth-year guard Jewel Spear (13.1 ppg, 71 three-pointers), junior forward Zee Spearman (11.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg), junior guard Ruby Whitehorn (11.5 ppg), and senior point guard Samara Spencer (10.4 ppg, 4.7 apg).
Vanderbilt, which earned a first-round bye, enters the game on a two-game winning streak after defeating Texas A&M and Missouri. However, the Commodores struggled late in the season, going 3-5 during a challenging stretch of their schedule.
Vanderbilt is led by SEC Freshman of the Year Mikayla Blakes, who averages 23.3 points per game. She is supported by Khamil Pierre (20.8 ppg, 9.6 rpg) and Iyana Moore (12.1 ppg).
Broadcast Details
The game will be called by Sam Gore (play-by-play) and Nikki Fargas (analyst) on the SEC Network. Fans can also stream the game via WatchESPN on various platforms, including smartphones, tablets, and connected TVs.
Radio coverage will be provided by the Lady Vol Network, with Brian Rice on play-by-play and Jay Lifford as studio host. A live audio stream will be available on UTSports.com.
Tennessee Connections
The Lady Vols roster features five players from Tennessee: Tess and Edie Darby (Greenfield), Avery Strickland (Knoxville), Destinee Wells (Lakeland), and Kaiya Wynn (Nashville), who is sidelined for the season due to injury. Tess Darby ranks among UT’s all-time leaders in three-pointers made (5th, 221) and attempted (5th, 605).
In-State Rivalry
Tennessee holds a 266-63-1 all-time record against in-state opponents, including a 3-1 mark this season with wins over UT Martin, MTSU, and Memphis, and a loss to Vanderbilt. The Lady Vols have won 38 of their last 41 games against Tennessee-based schools.
SEC Tournament History
Tennessee boasts an 87-28 (.757) all-time record in the SEC Tournament, including a 41-5 mark in opening games. The Lady Vols are 8-2 against Vanderbilt in tournament play and 5-1 in second-round contests.
Tennessee has won a record 17 SEC Tournament championships, most recently in 2014, and has been runners-up seven times. Last season, the Lady Vols reached the semifinals before falling to South Carolina on a buzzer-beater.
The Lady Vols will look to continue their strong tournament tradition as they aim for another deep run in Greenville.
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