For just the second time this season, Talaysia Cooper didn’t score in double figures.
Tennessee’s leading scorer had an off night against Kentucky, scoring only seven points on 3-for-15 shooting. Lady Vols basketball coach Kim Caldwell took part of the blame for an uncharacteristic night for the redshirt junior.
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“I think I’ve over-coached it, and I think she went in there and tried to do exactly what I asked, and it didn’t work,” Caldwell said. “I wanted her to take more shots and I think she did that. They weren’t the right shots, but again, that was the shots I told her to take, or the spots I told her to get to.
“She wasn’t getting all the way to the spot, she was shooting a little bit short. And so, I know she was frustrated, but again, I’ll take that one. That one’s on me.”
Cooper still impacted other areas of the game for the No. 17 Lady Vols (14-3, 6-0 SEC) in their second straight ranked win, logging five rebounds, five steals and three assists. One of her steals was on the final play of the game, sealing the 60-58 win over No. 12 Kentucky (17-4, 4-3) at Food City Center on Jan. 22.
But Cooper also had four fouls, and she sat most of the third quarter with three fouls as Tennessee’s 10-point lead slipped away. Cooper went 1-for-11 in the first three quarters with only two points. But in the fourth quarter, she scored five crucial points on 2-for-4 shooting.
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Caldwell was proud of Cooper for playing through the frustration, and said she’ll take “every single bit of her frustration” because she didn’t feel like she put her in the best position offensively.
“(I) yanked her out at the end of the game, she wasn’t happy about it. All of that was on me, and so I look at her and tell her to give us a stop,” Caldwell said. “Give us a stop, and she goes out there and she wins the game for us – and that’s the most Talaysia Cooper thing ever. That sums up our relationship. I’ll trust her, I’ll always trust her, and she’ll continue to get better.”
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: Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell takes blame for Talaysia Cooper off night
