GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Tennessee has never failed to qualify for the women's NCAA Tournament.
Whether the Lady Vols make a 43rd consecutive appearance remains to be seen.
The program that coach Pat Summitt built into a national powerhouse has fallen on tough times, culminating in Thursday night's 76-64 loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Tournament — Tennessee's seventh straight defeat.
The Lady Vols (16-13) have lost 10 of their last 12 games under second-year coach Kim Caldwell — not exactly the type of closing momentum the NCAA Tournament selection committee typically looks for when choosing the field of 68.
Tennessee will have to rely on its strength of schedule — which included 15 quad-1 games — and early-season accomplishments to get in. The Lady Vols entered at No. 22 in the NET rankings and have wins over Stanford, Alabama and Kentucky.
Caldwell thinks her team deserves to make it.
“I think we have played the hardest schedule in the country and the majority of that came in February,” Caldwell said. “But we have significant wins. We hope to get in and try to continue to be a different team.”
If Tennessee does make it to March Madness, it would be more than a month since its last win.
The frustration for Tennessee began to boil over in the second half.
Leading scorer Talaysia Cooper was replaced with 6:37 left in the third quarter and did not return in what Caldwell called a “coach's decision.” She finished with four points on 1-of-4 shooting.
After the game, Cooper left the locker room with an assistant coach.
“It was a coach's decision and we just wanted to give her some air,” Caldwell said. “Emotions can get running and we wanted to get her outside with a staff member so she could breathe.”
Freshman guard Deniya Prawl did not make the trip to Greenville because she was in the concussion protocol.
The Lady Vols were never all that competitive against Alabama, a team they beat 70-59 on Jan. 18. They never led, fell behind 25-18 in the first quarter and trailed by 17 in the fourth before showing some life in the closing minutes by cutting the lead to 10.
“People weren’t ready," guard Nya Robertson said. “When we’re not ready it shows. We have to be the first one to punch.”
The Lady Vols have lost their last six games by at least eight points and Caldwell said her team will spend extra time at practice working on on-ball and weakside defense.
Two days earlier, guard Kaiya Wynn revealed she was leaving the program ahead of the SEC Tournament after she didn't play on senior night in her final home game.
Wynn, who saw limited action in her return from injury this season, played in 103 games for the Lady Vols from 2021-26.
“This decision was not made lightly or instantly,” Wynn wrote on social media. “For the past five years I have given my all for Tennessee and have not regretted doing so once. ... As someone who has never started a career game, l was hoping to start in my last appearance in Thompson-Boling (Arena). That obviously did not happen, and to be asked to check into the game with 15 seconds left while losing was not how I wanted to spend my final moments in my arena after five years. Although that was not the sole reason, it was the breaking point for me."
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