Tennessee, which is receiving votes in both the Associated Press Poll and USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, hits the road for a Thursday night contest in Baltimore, Md., at Coppin State University.
The Lady Vols and Eagles will tip off at 7 p.m. ET at the Physical Education Complex Arena (PEC Arena) in a contest broadcast by the MEAC Network.
UT and CSU are meeting for the second straight season, with the Big Orange prevailing, 88-35, on Nov. 23, 2025, in Knoxville during the first-ever clash between them.
Tennessee is coming off a 109-62 victory over Duquesne on Monday night in Knoxville, as the Lady Vols won for the 27th consecutive time in their first appearance of a season at Food City Center.
UT scored its second-most points ever in an opener, and Kaylene Smikle tallied the second-most points by a Lady Vol in her debut with 31 against the Dukes.
Coppin State also opened its campaign with a victory on Monday night, taking an 80-69 decision over Cheyney in Baltimore.
UT is 4-0 all-time vs. schools currently in the MEAC, including 2-0 under Kim Caldwell.
BROADCAST DETAILS
- Kyle Borg (play-by-play) and Derek Brown (analyst) will be on the call for the MEAC Network broadcast.
- The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice providing play-by-play and Jay Lifford serving as studio host.
- A link to the live audio stream can be found on the WBB Preview page or the schedule on UTSports.com.
- For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
- Air-time generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
SETTING THE STAGE
- A pair of 1-0 teams will clash on Thursday night, as the Lady Vols make their first road trip of the young 2026-27 campaign.
- UT scored 20 points or more in each quarter vs. Duquesne, including 30 in the first and third periods. It had only one 30-point quarter the entire 2025-26 season.
- Tennessee will make its first-ever appearance on the home court of a MEAC school or an HBCU when it visits Coppin State on Thursday night.
- Coppin women’s hoops is no stranger to welcoming Power 4 schools to its campus, with the program playing host to at least one P4 team for the sixth-straight season.
- A year ago, South Carolina played at CSU, while Arizona State (2024-25), LSU (2023-24), Pitt & Georgetown (2022-23) and Maryland (2021-22) also have visited in recent years.
- The Lady Vols feature three players returning to Maryland with ties to the “Old Line State” or “Free State.” Leading scorer Kaylene Smikle spent two seasons at the University of Maryland, while fifth-year Kennedy Fauntleroy hails from Upper Marlboro and sophomore Zhen Craft is from Waldorf.
A LOOK AT THE LADY VOLS
- Tennessee has a veteran group of players, with most arriving on Rocky Top this season and looking to make an impact.
- USA TODAY Sports rated Tennessee’s 13-player 2026 portal signing class No. 9 overall, while On3 had UT at No. 13.
- ESPN had Kaylene Smikle rated No. 14 in its 2026 portal class player rankings.
- USA TODAY had the following Lady Vols ranked among the best in the portal: No. 19 Kaylene Smikle (Maryland), No. 30 Naomi White (Northern Arizona), No. 46 Fatmata Janneh (Texas A&M), No. 57 Rylie Theuerkauf (Georgia), No. 87 Harissoum Coulibaly (Auburn), No. 91 Kennedy Fauntleroy (East Carolina), No. 105 Jada Eads (Seton Hall) and No. 110 Aaliyah Moore (Texas).
- Nine of UT’s transfers were double-figure scorers at their previous universities.
- Nya Robertson, UT’s No. 5 scorer (8.5 ppg./57 3FGs) in 2025-26, received a temporary restraining order allowing her to play in her fifth year. She will dress Thurs. night.
- Jada Eads, Kennedy Fauntleroy, Fatmata Janneh, Avery Mills, Aaliyah Moore, Nya Robertson, Kaylene Smikle and Naomi White have previously earned all-conference honors.
LADY VOLS IN FIRST ROAD GAME
- The Big Orange women are 42-10 in their first road game of the season heading into Thursday night’s game after defeating UT Martin, 72-61, on Nov. 9, 2025.
- The Lady Vols are 11-5 in road openers all-time when facing a ranked team.
- During the modern era (1974-present), the Lady Vols are 47-6 all-time in season openers over the past 53 years, including 31-3 at home, 8-2 on the road and 8-1 at neutral sites after defeating Duquesne, 109-62, in Knoxville on Nov. 2, 2026.
- UT has a 50-3 all-time record in its first home contest of the year through 2026-27 after that win over Duquesne.
- The Lady Vols have won 27 straight times in their first appearance of the season at Food City Center and have been victorious in that case in 44 of their past 45 campaigns.
CALDWELL IN FIRST ROAD GAME
- Caldwell is 8-2 in her squads’ first true road contest through 2025-26, including 2-0 at Tennessee, 0-1 at Marshall and 6-1 at Glenville State.
- UT’s first road contest a year ago came at UT Martin, with the Lady Vols prevailing in the Pat Summitt Heritage Classic, 72-61.
- Kim Caldwell is 9-2 in season-opening games during her career, including 2-0 at home, 2-1 on the road and 5-1 at neutral sites after defeating Duquesne, 109-62, in Knoxville on Nov. 2, 2026.
- She is 2-1 as head coach at Tennessee in openers after beating Duquesne this season, falling to NC State in 2025-26 and beating Samford in 2024-25.
- Caldwell was 0-1 in season openers at Marshall and 7-0 at Glenville State.
- The 2024-25 campaign at UT was the first time one of her teams opened a regular season on its home court and 2026-27 marked the second.
- Caldwell is 10-1 in the first home game of a season all-time, including 3-0 at Tennessee, 1-0 at Marshall and 6-1 while at Glenville State through 2026-27.
A LOOK AT THE DUQUESNE GAME
- Kaylene Smikle hit 11 of 13 shots from the field, including five of six from beyond the arc, to fire in 31 points and spark the Tennessee women’s basketball team to a 109-62 victory over Duquesne on Monday night in front of 9,662 at Food City Center.
- The 6-foot, fifth-year guard produced 17 of her points in the opening quarter and helped the Lady Vols tally their highest score in an opener since 1989, when UT hit 112 in a victory over Stetson. Her personal total of 31 for the game ranked as the second most in a Lady Vol debut behind Patricia Roberts’ 51 in 1976 vs. Kentucky.
- Smikle had all kinds of help in the scoring column, with five other UT players hitting double figures. Freshman Gabby Minus and senior Rylie Theuerkauf had 13, junior Jada Eads tossed in 12 and junior Naomi White and sixth-year Aaliyah Moore contributed 11 each. Senior Fatmata Janneh pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, while Eads dished out six assists.
- The Dukes were paced by Carla Viegas, who knocked down seven three-pointers en route to 24 points. Nadia Moore added 16.
- The 109 points allowed by Duquesne were the most since 1990 and second only to 115 by Penn State that season.
POSTGAME NOTES VS. THE DUKES
- LADY VOLS IN SEASON OPENERS: With the victory over Duquesne, the Lady Vols improved to 47-6 all-time in season openers, including 31-3 at home in the modern era (1974-present). UT has now been in the win column in its first appearance of the season at Food City Center 27 straight times. Coach Kim Caldwell is no different on opening day, improving her record to 9-2 in the opening game of a campaign.
- CONNECTING FROM THE JUMP: The Big Orange were feeling it in their season-opener, racking up 109 points versus Duquesne. That effort marks the second-most points UT has ever had in a lid-lifter behind a 112-39 result against Stetson at home on Nov. 26, 1989.
- KK WENT OFF: Kaylene Smikle’s 31 points marked the third time in her career she has scored over 30 and the 75th time she has hit double figures. Smikle tied her career-high for three-pointers made in a game with five. “KK” started off hot with 17 points in the first quarter, shooting five-for-five from beyond the arc. Smikle is the first Lady Vol this season with 10+ points in a quarter. UT had four different players with double-digit quarters in 2025-26, and 17 points would have ranked atop the performances a year ago.
- DEBUT HISTORY: The 31 points in Kaylene Smikle’s first Tennessee game put her in the record books, ranking second in program history for Lady Vol debuts behind Patricia “Trish” Roberts’ 51 against Kentucky on Nov. 13, 1976.
- IMPACT FRESHMAN: Gabby Minus earned the first start of her career in her first collegiate game to become the 25th freshman in program history to start in her debut contest. Minus made a huge impact, tying for second on the team with 13 points and adding six rebounds and three assists with no turnovers. She was just the second UT freshman in the past eight years to score 13 or more in her debut.
- PUTTING FOUR TOGETHER: Tennessee had more than 20+ points (30 in the 1st, 21 in the 2nd, 30 in the 3rd and 28 in the 4th) in every quarter against the Dukes, including two 30-point frames. UT had only one 30-point quarter the entire 2025-26 season, getting a 39-point outburst in the second stanza vs. Winthrop.
- BIG DAY ON THE BOARDS: The Big Orange pulled down 55 rebounds vs. Duquesne, marking the most ever during the Kim Caldwell era and surpassing the 54 collected last season vs. UT Martin and Winthrop.
UT/CSU SERIES NOTES
- This marks the second meeting between Tennessee and Coppin State in women’s basketball.
- The Lady Vols won last year’s first meeting in Knoxville on Nov. 23, 2025, 88-35.
- UT enters the contest with a 4-0 record against schools currently in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
- Tennessee will also face MEAC school NC Central in Knoxville on Dec. 8. The Lady Vols and Eagles met for the first time in Kim Caldwell‘s initial season on Rocky Top in 2024-25, with the Big Orange racing to a 139-59 victory.
- Nya Robertson set a UT record and tied for the third-most three-pointers in SEC history in last season’s meeting with CSU, swishing 10 vs. the Eagles.
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES
- Coppin State’s women’s basketball team is picked to finish fourth in the MEAC standings this season.
- Additionally, Shanaii Gamble and Karen Nimo were selected as the Eagles’ “Players to Watch” in place of a MEAC Preseason All-Conference Team.
- Gamble, a 6-foot junior forward, is Coppin’s top returning player after averaging 6.3 points along with a team-high 7.2 rebounds last season.
- Nimo, a 5-11 junior guard, is in her first season with Coppin after playing last year at Charlotte where she averaged 2.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 29 games.
- Nimo (13) and Gamble (11) were two of four players in double figures in the opener vs. Cheyney, joining Anya George (20) and Samari Taylor (10).
ABOUT THE HEAD COACH
- Darrell Mosley is in his second season at the helm of the Coppin State program after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant at Arizona State, the final two as the associate head coach.
- Mosley had a six-year stint as the head coach at NCAA Division II Lincoln (Pa.) from 2015-21, fashioning an 82-66 record there.
- He guided that school, where he played collegiately, to a 23-6 overall record in 2019-20 and was named the CIAA Women’s Coach of the Year.
COPPIN STATE’S LAST GAME
- Anya George led four Eagles in double figures with a career-high 20 points, as Coppin State opened the season with an 80-69 victory over Cheyney on Monday night at PEC Arena.
- A sophomore from Chester, Pa., George led all players in scoring, hitting seven of 16 shots with three 3-pointers while posting a 3-of-4 night from the line. The UMass transfer added five rebounds, two blocks and three steals in her CSU debut.
- Karen Nimo followed with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Shanaii Gamble added 11 points and senior transfer Samari Taylor posted a double-double with ten points and 11 rebounds.
LAST TIME WE MET
- Nya Robertson knocked down a school-record 10 three-pointers and tied her career best with 32 points, as No. 15/13 Tennessee cruised past Coppin State, 88-35, at Food City Center and picked up its NCAA-best 1,500th all-time win on Nov. 23, 2025.
- Robertson, a 5-foot-7 senior guard from Fort Worth, Texas, connected on 10 of 16 attempts from beyond the arc, breaking the previous UT women’s best of nine threes, set by Samara Spencer vs. NC Central on Dec. 14, 2024, and tying for third in SEC history.
- The Lady Vols (5-1) also got 19 points from Janiah Barker, 11 from Talaysia Cooper and 10 from Zee Spearman.
- The Eagles (1-5), who committed 36 turnovers, became the first team since Howard on Dec 29, 2019, to finish without a player scoring in double figures vs. UT.
NEXT UP
- Tennessee returns home for a pair of games next week, playing host to New Haven on Tuesday and Middle Tennessee on Thursday.
- Both of those contests tip at 6:30 p.m. ET and will be available for streaming on SECN+.
- The MTSU contest will be UT’s Salute To Service contest, presented by Standard Nuclear, paying tribute to Tennessee’s ultimate Volunteers.
- Since the introduction of the Salute to Service recognition in 2018, Tennessee Athletics has welcomed thousands of military and veterans from across the southeast to numerous athletics events as part of overall efforts.
- During Salute to Service, current military members, veterans and first responders may present a military ID, DD 214, license certification, state-issued ID, badge or other employer-issued identification at ticket locations outside of Food City Center for complimentary admission to the designated men’s basketball and/or women’s basketball games for them and their immediate family (limit of 4 to 6, based on availability).
- In addition to complimentary admission for active military and veterans, free parking and shuttle service is available for Vol and Lady Vol basketball games from UT’s Ag Campus.
