Tennessee Lady Vols basketball rolled to a 110-64 win over Middle Tennessee State on Thursday. Kaylene Smikle had another huge night with a game-high 30 points, five rebounds and four assists. The Lady Vols recorded 30 steals, the second-most in a single game in program history, as the Blue Raiders turned the ball over 43 times.

Tennessee was also perfect from the free throw line, going 15 of 15. It was a better performance all around than the one just two nights earlier. After the game, head coach Kim Caldwell spoke with the media. Below is everything she had to say.

Opening statement

“I was really proud of our team’s response to our game the other night. I thought they really took it to heart. They fixed their offensive spacing. They finished really well. Our foul shooting was significantly better. Our ball pressure was better. They shared the ball consistently throughout the whole game, even when shots weren’t falling. Overall, I was really, really impressed with what they did on the floor tonight.”

What’s the latest on Aaliyah Moore after she limped off and didn’t return?

“She hurt her calf, and we just didn’t feel like it was worth putting her back in the game. So it’s just something we’re going to have to treat tomorrow.”

What did Harissoum Coulibaly’s performance tonight show you?

“That’s who Hari is. It was really great to see her be more comfortable on the floor tonight. And I think she’s going to continue to grow and grow. She’s been struggling a little bit in games, and we have a few players that are still trying to figure it out. And we’re, again, a new team, and that’s going to take some time. But I think our team was really happy for her tonight because that’s who she is. That’s why we recruited her. And I hope that’s who she’ll continue to be.”

Does it surprise you how consistent Gabby Minus already is four games into her career?

“No, it doesn’t, because she’s consistent every single day. And just to talk about her, she didn’t shoot very well from the foul line the game before. And guess what? She was in the gym. She was shooting foul shots. She wants to fix it. She wants to get it right. She’s going to ask questions. She plays and moves every single day with a sense of urgency to make sure she does things the right way and understands and grows and gets better. She has a very high ceiling.”

What made the defense click tonight?

“I think one thing that KK always says to our team is five people have to rotate together. We all have to rotate together, and tonight was the best we looked at everyone rotating together. We didn’t have one person a step behind. We were ready to go, and they were eager to get the steal, and that was fun to see, is that they knew they could get it and they could feel that pressure. From the start of the game, I think the reason we had a good start is because they pressured from the very beginning.”

What impresses you about Kaylene Smikle shooting nearly 60% from the field and better than 50% from 3?

“I think that, to her point, we knew who we were getting in a player. And she still, too, I think, has a really high ceiling. She’s not going to be perfect every single night, but this is consistently who she is. She shoots the ball very well, and I think she was underrated a little bit in her shooting ability. She has a great shot. She can get to the rim. 

“And what impresses me so much about her is not her efficiency, not the way she scores the ball, but the way she defends. She pressures the ball. She’s active. She flies around. She wants to go get steals. But when she could kind of go on a hot streak offensively, she continues to find her teammates. She makes the right plays. That’s why she’s efficient. She makes the right plays. She shares the ball. She has good teammates around her. She doesn’t just try to force it.”

How encouraging is it to see the offense flow this quickly in the largest win in series history over MTSU?

“It was great. I was very impressed with our turnovers that we forced and the 30 steals that we had. That’s a great number, and I think that really helped our offense go. And again, it was a team effort, and we don’t get those 30 steals if five people aren’t playing together.”

What led to that response on a short turnaround?

“I think that’s just they want to get it right. I was really impressed with their response on a short turnaround. They had a long day yesterday. It wasn’t necessarily a grueling day on the floor, but we watched film for a big chunk of time on our game from before. And then we had to learn the scout. And then they had to lock back in today and get through what we couldn’t get through. 

“And that’s not an easy team to scout for, and so they did a really good job. That was our first one-day prep, and we’re having a lot of firsts right now throughout the season. It was just a really impressive response. I think that they listened to what we said, and they took it to heart, and they fixed it. And that’s what makes them really fun to coach.”

What does the rest of the week look like ahead of Belmont on Tuesday?

“We’ll be off tomorrow, and then we’ll get back in on Saturday, and we’ll watch this game and then continue our Belmont prep before we head that way.”

What impressed you most about Jada Eads’ contributions tonight?

“Her six offensive rebounds, that’s a great number for her. And we knew she could do that, and to see her be able to do that was great. And again, she’s another player where she missed the summer, and she’s just now getting back into the flow. You’re just going to see her continue to get better and better.”

Closing statement on the signing class

“I will say this, one thing that we’re really excited about, and I know they came out yesterday, but we haven’t been allowed to talk about our two signing class players. These two [Kaylene Smikle and Fats Janneh] were a big part of it, but our whole team was a really big part of recruiting Amaya [Manuel] and Maci [Pringle], two top-35 kids.

"I think they will both be players that you guys will love to watch. Our fans will love to watch. As much as you guys love Gabby [Minus] and the two that are up here and how hard we play, those two fit that mold. They’re great people. They believed in themselves. They wanted to be a Lady Vol, and we’re happy to welcome them to the family.”

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