KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s two biggest women’s basketball programs meet Thursday night when Middle Tennessee rolls into Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center to face a Lady Vols team that has been lighting up scoreboards. The ball goes up at 6:30 Eastern time, which is 5:30 in Middle Tennessee.
Tennessee (3-0) is shooting its way into the national stat leaders. The Lady Vols lead the country in made threes at 15 per game and attempts at more than 40 per game, rank 10th in scoring at 96.7 points a night and sit seventh in rebounding. Their last outing was an 83-40 rout of Division II New Haven in front of a season-high crowd of 10,343.
Kaylene Smikle leads the way at 19.7 points per game, with Gabby Minus adding 12.7 and Aaliyah Moore 12.0. Fats Janneh is pulling down 10.7 rebounds a game. A win would give Tennessee a 4-0 start for only the fourth time in eight seasons. The Lady Vols were picked eighth in the SEC preseason poll.
Middle Tennessee (1-1) beat Saint Louis 91-84 in overtime to begin its 52nd season, then lost 47-38 on the road at Memphis. Sophomore Blair Baugus was named Conference USA Player of the Week after averaging 19 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals. She and senior transfer Mya Kone made the CUSA preseason all-conference team.
The Blue Raiders are playing their first season under Matt Insell, a Shelbyville native who took over when his father, Rick Insell, retired after 2025-26. The younger Insell, a former Ole Miss head coach, had spent four seasons as associate head coach. Last year Tennessee won 85-41 at a packed Murphy Center.
The game doubles as Tennessee’s Salute to Service night. Current military members, veterans and first responders who show qualifying ID at the arena ticket windows get in free with immediate family, and free parking with shuttle service runs from the UT Ag Campus. The game streams on SEC Network+.
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