Dawn Staley, South Carolina women’s basketball vs Tennessee: Prediction, injury updates

It was the shot heard around the basketball world the last time South Carolina women’s basketball and Tennessee met.

On March 9, 2024, former Gamecocks star center Kamilla Cardoso hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.1 second on the clock to beat the Lady Vols in the SEC Tournament semifinal, preventing Tennessee from handing South Carolina its first loss.

Now with new coach Kim Caldwell, the No. 17 Lady Vols (15-4, 3-4 SEC) host the No. 2 Gamecocks (19-1, 7-0) in Knoxville on Monday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2) at the Food City Center.

The Lady Vols are coming off a four-point loss to No. 7 Texas on Thursday. South Carolina beat No. 4 LSU 66-56 on Friday, ending the undefeated start to the Tigers’ season.

Here is what to know about Tennessee ahead of the matchup:

Will Tennessee’s Kim Caldwell coach against South Carolina?

Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell gave birth to her first child, a baby boy named Conor on Jan. 20, three days before the players and team were in Austin, Texas. Assistant coach Jenna Burdette handled head coaching duties in Caldwell’s absence.

On Sunday afternoon, Caldwell addressed the media and said she plans to coach Monday night, according to Cora Hall of The Knoxville Sentinel.

Talaysia Cooper: Tennessee’s top scorer who started at South Carolina

Talaysia Cooper began her college career at South Carolina and averaged 8.4 minutes and 2.9 points per game as a freshman during the 2022-23 season. She transferred to Tennessee outside of the portal window, which meant she had to sit out the 2023-24 season and is now a sophomore, leading the Lady Vols.

She’s averaging 17.8 points per game to go with 5.7 rebounds. She’s scored more than 20 points in eight games, including a season-high 33 points on Nov. 16 against Liberty.

South Carolina, Tennessee two of the best scoring offenses

South Carolina and Tennessee rank No. 6 and No. 14, respectively, in the country in terms of scoring margin. In terms of points per game, the Lady Vols are the best in women’s college basketball with an average of 93.4.

Tennessee has allowed its opponents an average of 69.4 points per game, whereas South Carolina has been averaging 81.8 points per game and allowing an average of 55.1 points per game.

Lady Vols have had trouble with close games this season

The Lady Vols have struggled with closing out tight games as of late.

Tennessee lost to Texas 80-76 on Thursday night after leading late in the fourth quarter. Last Sunday, the Lady Vols lost by one to Vanderbilt on a put-back shot with 1.8 seconds left. In similar fashion, LSU beat them 89-97 on Jan. 9 with a wild shot with seconds left. The game before that, Tennessee lost 87-86 to Oklahoma after a missed 3-point attempt with less than 10 seconds left.

Who has beaten South Carolina women’s basketball?

The Gamecocks fell to UCLA, 77-62, on Nov. 24 in Los Angeles for their first, and so far only, loss of the season. The Bruins are the only undefeated basketball team in the country and have been No. 1 in the polls since beating South Carolina.

South Carolina vs Tennessee injury updates

The SEC injury report will be released on Sunday night, but as of Friday:

South Carolina

Tennessee

RAVEN JOHNSON: How South Carolina’s Raven Johnson did exactly what Dawn Staley needed to beat LSU, Kim Mulkey

South Carolina score prediction vs Tennessee

South Carolina 95, Tennessee 83: The Lady Vols score at a high clip but the Gamecocks’ discipline and defensive effort is too strong of a wall to break through.

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina women’s basketball vs Tennessee score prediction