WBB Preview: #22/22 Lady Vols vs. Missouri

February 10, 2026 | Women's Basketball

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- No. 22/22 Tennessee (15-6, 7-2 SEC) is back at Food City Center for its next two games, starting with a Thursday night clash with Missouri (16-10, 4-7 SEC).

The Lady Vols face the Tigers at 6:30 p.m. ET in a contest that will be broadcast on SECN+ and available on the Lady Vol Radio Network and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Chs. 117 or 191). In celebration of Black History Month, Shelia Collins (1981-85) will be recognized as this year's Lady Vol "Hidden Figure."

UT is coming off a 93-50 loss at No. 3 South Carolina on Sunday, ending a three-game road swing. Behind first-place USC (10-1), Kim Caldwell's squad remains as one of three SEC teams with two losses in league play, joining Vanderbilt (9-2) and Texas (8-2).

With LVFL Kellie Harper in her first season as head coach at Mizzou, the Tigers have won three of their past four games but come to Knoxville on the heels of an 85-66 home setback to Georgia on Sunday.

The Lady Vols lead the all-time series vs. Missouri, 16-3, and have won the past eight meetings between the schools.

MORE INFO

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

Opponent: Missouri
Date: Thurs., Feb. 12
Tip-off: 6:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Food City Center
Watch: SECN+
Radio: Lady Vol Network
Online: Live Audio , Live Stats

TENNESSEE

Roster Schedule Game Notes

MISSOURI

Roster Schedule Game Notes

THE LATEST FROM THE LADY VOLS

#3/3 South Carolina Overpowers No. 19/17 Lady Vols, 93-50 #19/17 Tennessee Outlasts RV/RV Georgia In Overtime, 82-77 Barker Named To Katrina McClain Award Mid-Season Top 10 #15 Lady Vols Challenge #1 UConn Before Falling To Unbeaten Huskies Tennessee, Ole Miss Announce Date For Rescheduled SEC Contest

BROADCAST DETAILS

Andy Brock (play-by-play), Kamera Harris (color analyst) and Sarah Detwiler (reporter) will be on the call for the SECN+ broadcast.
All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
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.
The Lady Vol Network broadcast also will be available on SiriusXM Satellite Radio channels 117 or 191.

A LOOK AT THE LADY VOLS

UT is 16th in the WAB, 21st in the NET and 22nd in the AP & Coaches Polls.
Tennessee is led by 6-0 redshirt junior guard Talaysia Cooper (14.6 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 4.0 apg., 3.0 spg., 40 3FGs), 6-4 senior forward Janiah Barker (13.7 ppg., 6.9 rpg., 24 3FGs), freshman guard Mia Pauldo (11.6 ppg., 53 assts./28 TOs, 40 3FGs) and senior forward Zee Spearman (11.5 ppg., 6.3 rpg., 21 3FGs).
The Lady Vols rank No. 8 nationally in threes made per game (9.6), with 10 games of 10+ treys made (4x in SEC play).
UT is No. 11 nationally in offensive rebounds per game (16.0) and No. 48 in total rebounds per contest (40.67).
Tennessee is No. 31 in turnovers forced per game (20.76) and has caused 20+ turnovers 12 times this season after hurrying Mississippi State into 24 on Jan. 29.
The Lady Vols are 34th nationally in steals per game (11.1), carding 10+ steals on 13 occasions after grabbing 11 vs. Miss. State.
The Big Orange bench contributes 25.1 points per contest, ranking No. 38 nationally.
Tennessee is No. 39 in NCAA scoring offense (76.6), including 72.0 in SEC games.

TRENDING...

Tennessee ranks No. 1 on the NCAA's Toughest Schedule Report, facing teams with a combined winning percentage of .703 from its past and future opponents.
Of the Lady Vols' seven remaining games, five are against ranked teams.
Since Jan. 18, Tennessee is in a stretch of playing nine ranked teams in 13 games.
By the time the regular season ends, UT will have played the top six teams in this week's AP Poll (UConn, UCLA, South Carolina, Texas, Vanderbilt and LSU) and all four teams in last year's Final Four.
Tennessee is 8-1 at home this season, with its only loss a 77-62 upset by Mississippi State on Jan. 29.
Talaysia Cooper ranks No. 20 nationally in steals per game (3.00) after recording three at South Carolina on Sunday.
UT has made 10, 12 and 10 three-pointers its last three games vs. No. 1 UConn, RV/RV Georgia and No. 3 South Carolina.
Zee Spearman stands just 13 points away from scoring 1,000 for her career.
Talaysia Cooper (15.5) and Mia Pauldo (14.4) have been Tennessee's top scorers in SEC games.

FAMILIAR FACES

There will be several familiar faces on the respective benches on Thursday night.
Tiger head coach Kellie (Jolly) Harper played at Tennessee from 1995-99 and is a 1999 UT graduate who later served as head coach of the program from 2019-24.
Her husband, Jon, who works outside college athletics, was an assistant for Kellie Harper on Rocky Top.
Mizzou assistant coaches Jennifer Sullivan (assistant coach, 2019-21) and Liza Fruendt (director of recruiting operations, 2021-23, and assistant coach, 2023-24) served on Harper's staff at Tennessee.
MU director of operations Haley Hall was program coordinator for Harper at UT from 2022-24 and assistant director of operations for Kim Caldwell in 2024-25.
Missouri assistant Michael Scruggs is a Tennessee graduate who was a student manager under Pat Summitt.
Tigers graduate assistant Nick Norris was a practice player at Tennessee under Harper (2022-24) and Caldwell (2024-25).
Casi Dailey, Lady Vol director of women's basketball/Olympic sports medicine, was on the UT staff during Harper's time at Tennessee and also previously worked with the LVFL when she was head coach at NC State.
Josh Theis, director of video & creative content, was on Harper's UT staff from 2021-24 and serves in the same role on Caldwell's staff.
Heather Ervin, director of student-athlete success and external relations, was on Harper's staff from 2019-24 and serves in the same capacity for Caldwell.
Tennessee's Kaniya Boyd, Talaysia Cooper and Kaiya Wynn have been coached by both Harper and Caldwell. Cooper redshirted during Harper's final season at UT.
MU sophomore Sydney Mains hails from Knoxville and played at Catholic High School.

LADY VOLS IN SEC PLAY THIS SEASON

After facing Missouri, Tennessee will prepare to play four games in a span of eight days, hosting No. 4 Texas on Feb. 15, playing at No. 14/16 Ole Miss on Feb. 17, hosting Texas A&M on Feb. 19 and playing at No. 10 Oklahoma on Feb. 22.
The Big Orange has ranked league wins over No. 11/12 Kentucky and No. 21/21 Alabama, and its only losses are to Mississippi State in Knoxville in the teams' second meeting of the year and at No. 3/3 South Carolina.
UT ranks No. 3 in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.277) and No. 6 in scoring defense (68.33).
The Lady Vols are No. 3 in turnover margin (+3.67) and No. 6 in steals per game (8.67).
Tennessee is No. 3 in offensive rebounds per game (14.78) vs. league foes.
UT is No. 5 in three-point field goals per game (8.44).
Talaysia Cooper is averaging 15.5 ppg. (12th SEC) and leads the Big Orange with 21 steals in eight conference games to rank No. 5 in the SEC at 2.63 per contest.
Cooper ranks ninth in SEC games in three-point field goal percentage (.352) and in three-pointers made per game (2.38).
Freshman guard Mia Pauldo is averaging 14.44 ppg. to rank No. 17 among all league players and third among freshmen.
Pauldo also ranks No. 6 in the league in free-throw percentage (.878).
Janiah Barker paces the team on the boards with 8.25 rpg. in SEC play to rank seventh and is third for UT in scoring at 12.0 ppg. vs. conference foes.
Barker also is seventh in the SEC in blocked shots at 1.38 and third in defensive rebounds per game (6.25).
Zee Spearman is 10th in league games in offensive rebounds per contest at 2.78.

A LOOK AT OUR LAST GAME

No. 19/17 Tennessee could not contain a hot-shooting South Carolina squad on Sunday, as the No. 3/3 Gamecocks shot 69.2 percent from the field and raced to a 93-50 win in front of 16,206 at Colonial Life Arena.
The Lady Vols (15-6, 7-2 SEC), who jockeyed with USC in a first quarter that had nine lead changes before losing touch, were led by Turbeville, S.C., native Talaysia Cooper with 17 points. Janiah Barker added 10 and pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
South Carolina (24-2, 10-1) placed all five starters in double figures, led by 21 from Ta'Niya Latson. Joyce Edwards chipped in 20, while Tessa Johnson, Raven Johnson and Madina Okot added 14, 13 and 10, respectively.

NOTES FROM THE SOUTH CAROLINA GAME

COOP PACES UT IN PALMETTO STATE HOMECOMING: Talaysia Cooper finished with 17 points and carded her 17th double-digit performance of the season. Cooper led the Lady Vols in points scored for the eighth time this year as well as the 22nd time for her career. The Turbeville, S.C., native hit four three-pointers to get to 17, making it the third time this season she knocked down four or more treys in a contest. The guard also led Tennessee in steals and assists with three takeaways and five assists, marking the 13th time she has been the Lady Vols' steal leader in 2025-26.

UT/MU SERIES NOTES

The Lady Vols hold a 16-3 all-time record vs. Missouri, standing 7-1 in games played in Knoxville, 7-2 in Columbia and 2-0 at neutral sites.
The Big Orange carry a series-best eight-game winning streak into Thursday's match-up.
Tennessee has won in its last three meetings vs. the Tigers in Knoxville, with all three by margins of at least 10 points.
The Big Orange's 80-69 victory in Knoxville in 2024 featured the fourth-highest point total by the Lady Vols in the series, with only the 101 in Knoxville in 1978, the 84 in Knoxville in 2013 and the 82 in the 2010 Paradise Jam at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, surpassing that mark.

A LOOK AT THE TIGERS

Missouri is paced by three players scoring in double digits on the season, including Grace Slaughter (19.1), Shannon Dowell (16.0) and Jordana Reisma (10.0).
Slaughter (19.4) and Dowell (15.4) are the Tigers' only players averaging double figures in SEC play, with Abbey Schreacke just outside that range at 9.6 ppg.
Mizzou averages 72.9 ppg. in SEC play while giving up 81.2 ppg.
MU makes nearly 15 free throws per contest.

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

The Tigers are led by LVFL Kellie (Jolly) Harper, who is in her first year in Columbia and possesses a 409-270 career record in 21 seasons.
Prior to arriving at Missouri, she served as Tennessee's head coach from 2019-24, compiling a 108-52 record with five NCAA appearances in as many seasons.
The Sparta, Tenn., native is a 1999 graduate of UT, playing point guard for the legendary Pat Summitt and helping the Big Orange to NCAA titles in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The '98 squad finished 39-0.

MIZZOU'S LAST GAME

Georgia outscored Missouri 22-11 in the second quarter and limited the Tigers to four three-pointers in the game to claim an 85-66 win in Columbia on Sunday.
Shannon Dowell paced Mizzou with 16 points, while Lisa Thompson and Grace Slaughter added 14 and 10, respectively.
Rylie Theuerkauf scored 22 points to lead UGA, which led for all but 23 seconds of the contest. Dani Carnegie and Mia Woolfolk added 16 points each for the Bulldogs.

LAST TIME WE PLAYED MU

Talaysia Cooper fired in 27 points, as No. 18/19 Tennessee held off Missouri on Feb. 2, 2025, at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, 76-71.
Cooper scored 14 in the first quarter and 10 in the third frame to help the Lady Vols overcome a slow start and 12-point first quarter deficit to improve to 16-5 overall and 4-5 in SEC play. The 6-foot guard also joined Sara Puckett with a team-leading seven rebounds and had a squad-best six steals, four assists and three blocks. Cooper received scoring help from junior forward Zee Spearman, who contributed 13.
The Tigers (12-12, 1-8 SEC) were led by 18 points from De'Myla Brown, while Grace Slaughter added 16, Ashton Judd 13 and Laniah Randle 10, along with 11 rebounds.

LAST TIME WE MET IN KNOXVILLE

The Lady Vols won their sixth straight game at home on Feb. 4, 2025, taking an 80-69 wire-to-wire victory over Missouri in front of 9,190 in Food City Center.
Jewel Spear fired in 22 points for Tennessee (14-7, 7-2 SEC), while Rickea Jackson scored 19 points and Sara Puckett added 15.
Missouri (11-11, 2-7 SEC) was led by Mama Dembele, who tallied 18 points. Grace Slaughter, Ashton Judd and Hilke Feldrappe added 14, 12 and 11, respectively.

NEXT UP

Tennessee is back in action at home on Sunday, playing a marquee match-up with No. 4 Texas at 3 p.m. ET at Food City Center.
The meeting will mean Tennessee has played each of the top four teams in this week's AP Poll and the same squads that participated in the 2025 NCAA Women's Final Four last year in Tampa.
The contest will be televised nationally on ABC.
The game also will be carried on Lady Vol Radio Network stations with audio streaming available on UTSports.com.