Mia Pauldo put her head down and drove inside the arc at Humphrey Coliseum.
The freshman point guard had no problem getting drives into the paint all game against Mississippi State, but this time, she stopped on a dime, 15 feet from the basket and pulled up. Pauldo drained the midrange jumper, giving the Lady Vols an answer after the Bulldogs cut their lead to seven points in the fourth quarter.
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Pauldo was both the spark and the steadying force for No. 22 Tennessee. She played like a veteran in her second SEC road game. She scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Lady Vols (11-3, 3-0 SEC) to a 90-80 win over Mississippi State (14-3, 1-2) on Jan. 8.
“We needed her tonight,” Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell said on the Lady Vol Radio Network after the game. “Without her, we probably don’t come away with a win.”
Pauldo shot 8-for-12 from the field, and she got herself to the free throw line frequently, where she went 8-for-9. She also logged three assists and a pair of rebounds and steals in 28 minutes.
Caldwell was most proud with Pauldo’s final assist of the game when she passed it to Nya Robertson for a transition layup.
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“She had a chance to go get 28 at the end, and she passed the ball,” Caldwell said. “That’s just such a selfless play, such a senior play, and a freshman normally would be thinking about her career, and she wasn’t. And I love that about her.”
Pauldo got Tennessee off to a hot start, scoring 12 of her points in the first quarter. She made both her 3-pointers in the first quarter, and the second sparked a 9-0 run that allowed the Lady Vols to build a lead they never gave up. Janiah Barker, who had 18 points and six rebounds, hit a 3-pointer next before Pauldo capped the run with an and-one layup in transition.
Pauldo’s constant effort showed up in a multitude of ways, whether she was giving the Bulldogs fits at the top of the press or diving on a loose rebound to force a jump ball.
She also gave the Lady Vols an edge they need. Pauldo was always poised and measured, but a brief celebration or a short outburst of emotion after a play created an infectious energy the team could feed off of.
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“I came into this game thinking, just be Mia. Just be Mia tonight,” Pauldo said. “Just be aggressive from the start and throughout the whole 40 minutes of the game. But it helps with my teammates trusting in me, and moving without the ball and creating shots for me.”
Pauldo also made really smart plays, like driving against MSU’s leading rebounder Favour Nwaedozi to draw her fourth foul at the beginning of the third quarter.
Pauldo has been consistently productive since the beginning of December, but she hit another level against MSU.
“It’s so amazing to see what she does,” said Barker, who also recorded four assists, two blocks and a steal. “First of all as a freshman, but also, there’s so many people that doubted her because of her size. For her to go out there (fearlessly) and just do what she does, and do it at the highest (level), I’m just so proud of her.”
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Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: subscribe.knoxnews.com/offers
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Mia Pauldo’s performance led Tennessee to win at Mississippi State
