Lady Vols basketball coach Kim Caldwell never experienced a three-game losing streak in her young career before this season.
Caldwell, who’s in her ninth season as a head coach, owns a career record of 232-36. Before this season, Caldwell’s teams averaged 3.9 losses a season.
The No. 19 Lady Vols (15-5, 3-5 SEC) have lost three games in a row in conference play, but the first-year Tennessee coach said it doesn’t feel any different coming into work.
“I think that is just the gauntlet of what the SEC is,” Caldwell said. “You’re losing these games, and you’re still going up in the (NCAA) NET. It’s kind of hard to wrap your head around that of hey, these teams, you’re keeping them close, and you’re building off of that. It’s not great. I am proud of how they have responded, and we’re right there.”
All of Tennessee’s losses have been to SEC teams that are now ranked, and all of them have been single-digit losses. The Lady Vols are coming off of a 70-63 loss to No. 2 South Carolina, which was Caldwell’s first game after giving birth to her son Conor on Jan. 20.
The three straight losses don’t change how Caldwell teaches in practice. They’re still trying to learn, looking at stats and making adjustments. The team has responded “really well” after the losses, Caldwell said, and their focus has been on their defensive pressure, shot selection and communication on offense.
Caldwell said the SEC has lived up to the reputation of being one of the toughest leagues in the nation.
“You have to show up every single night,” Caldwell said. “There are no days off. When we’re going on the road, it’s a big game for us. We got to take care of business.”
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The Lady Vols play Missouri (12-11, 1-7) on the road on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, SEC Network+). The Tigers won their first game of SEC play Monday, upsetting Mississippi State at home, and then took a shorthanded Texas down to the wire Thursday.
Caldwell said playing at Missouri, which is tied for last-place in the SEC with Georgia, will be a “huge challenge.” Defense will be the focus in practice with all of the shooters the Tigers have at their disposal. Caldwell expects to see a lot of different looks defensively, too, so they have to be prepared for everything.
“I don’t like the fact that it’s on the road. I don’t like the fact that maybe you look at their record and you think it’s easy, because it’s not,” Caldwell said. “It’s really good team, and they’re playing very well right now.”
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell on first 3-game losing streak of career
