The No. 15 Lady Vols lost another heartbreaker, falling 71-70 to Vanderbilt. It was an uphill battle to erase the 11-point lead at halftime that Vanderbilt (15-4, 2-3 SEC) had built. Tennessee had one of its worst shooting games of the season, going 6-for-26 from 3-point range, and the way the game was called was not in its favor.

Tennessee is entering the game ranked 15th with only two losses as the Commodores enter this game unranked with four losses. Tennessee on SI provided their full predictions on the

The mistakes that Lady Vols basketball works to correct in practice came out in the game against Vanderbilt, especially in the second quarter.

Tennessee guard Talaysia Cooper (55) and Tennessee forward Zee Spearman (11) celebrate a play during a women's college basketball game between the Lady Vols and LSU at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. / Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Lady Vols dropped in the AP poll after losing their third game of the season. Tennessee lost by one point at Vanderbilt on Sunday.

A day after a late rally by the UT men wasn't quite enough — the sixth-ranked Volunteers missed a chance to force overtime while falling 76-75 on Saturday — the No. 15 Lady Vols suffered a similar finish as Vanderbilt freshman guard Mikayla Blakes capped her game-high 23 points by tipping in a missed shot at the buzzer,