The Lady Vols passed the test against the first power conference opponent of the season with a 79-77 win over Florida State thanks to clutch fourth quarter shots by Talaysia Cooper and Lazaria “Zee” Spearman.

Cooper, an elite talent, had been under wraps for a year after transferring to Tennessee from South Carolina. Because she entered the portal outside the transfer window in 2023 following her freshman season, Cooper had to sit out in 2023-24 and watch from the sidelines. Her practice performances during that time showed everyone what the Lady Vols were missing.

Cooper nearly came to Tennessee after graduating from East Clarendon High School in tiny Tuberville, South Carolina, in 2022 but opted for her home state school. Within a year, she reverted to orange. In the “what if” category, had Cooper chosen Tennessee initially, she would have played one season with now WNBA players Jordan Horston and Rickea Jackson. What a loaded lineup that could have been.

But the Lady Vols’ loss then is now Tennessee’s gain as the 6-0 redshirt sophomore guard will have two more years of eligibility after this season. Cooper is thriving in coach Kim Caldwell’s accelerated offensive system and pressure defense and leads the team with 19.7 points per game. She also is first in steals at 18 and blocks at five.

Cooper’s block against Florida State – a video clip is below – caused Tennessee’s bench and the crowd of 9,086 to erupt.

Cooper and Spearman were responsible for all 22 of Tennessee’s points in the fourth quarter. The Lady Vols led by 20 early in the third quarter and then the Seminoles wiped it out and tied the game at 57-57 by the end of the quarter.

Caldwell, who doesn’t need to call many timeouts because she has frequent interactions with her players with the rapid rotations, walked halfway onto the court during the third quarter to emphatically call one after a steal and score by Florida State.

“Our lack of urgency on defense and the fact that we were just turning the ball over and not hustling back,” Caldwell said when asked what irritated her the most about the third quarter. “We just kind of quit a little bit there, and you can’t do that against a team that can score like they can.”

Lazaria “Zee” Spearman, No. 11, and Talaysia Cooper celebrate. (Avery Bane/Tennessee Athletics)

Cooper, whose energy and ability can set the tone for Tennessee, got an earful from Caldwell as they walked to the huddle.

“I don’t like to get yelled at, but I know how to take it, and it fueled me,” Cooper said. “That shows me that she cares and that I know I can play better.”

Cooper changed the game in the fourth quarter with considerable help from Spearman, a junior transfer from Miami who is getting better each game.

It was Spearman who swished the game winner with 24 seconds left to secure the victory before one more defensive stop by Tennessee. Florida State put the game in the hands of the gifted Ta’Niya Latson – she scored 38 points with an uncanny ability to finish shots – but her drive to the basket didn’t fall.

Spearman, who is now averaging 10.8 points per game, became the offensive counterpart to Cooper in the final 10 minutes with some advice from Caldwell.

“She was telling me basically just be calm,” Spearman said. “Don’t rush into your shot. Don’t overthink it. Just be calm and play your game. And that’s exactly what I did.”

The Lady Vols will get the second test of the week this Saturday, Dec. 7, with a trip to Brooklyn, New York, for a matchup with No. 17 Iowa, which is 8-0, in the Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. at the Barclays Center, and the game will be televised on FOX.

Tennessee started 5-0 with games against teams from mid-major conferences. Wednesday’s game answered a persistent question from those outside the program: Can Caldwell’s style of play win in the power conferences? The answer was yes.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the Lady Vols won’t take some hits. While several teams have elevated a bit above the pack, such as UCLA, UConn, South Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, Southern Cal, Notre Dame, Maryland, Duke and LSU, every team is being tested and upsets are rising.

The SEC is loaded with Texas and Oklahoma now added to the conference. The likelihood of any team getting unscathed in the regular season is lower than ever. Early predictions have at least 10 SEC teams earning NCAA bids because of the strength of the conference.

Alyssa Latham has been a boost for the Lady Vols this season. (Kate Luffman/ Tennessee Athletics)

Alyssa Latham is another newcomer for Tennessee after transferring from Syracuse. The 6-2 forward from Glenwood, Illinois, is relentless on rebounds, especially cleaning the offensive glass to give Tennessee more possessions – something Caldwell especially values.

While just a sophomore, Latham shows maturity on the court and with the media. She is quickly becoming a player that media want in post-game press conferences because of her ability to break down the game and provide up-front answers, such as being asked about Florida State’s surge to tie the game.

“We have to understand that teams are going on their runs, but we have to continue to stay locked in,” Latham said. “We can’t give up. We can’t put our heads down. We have to stay together, keep playing our game, and the game will come to us.”

Tennessee is just six games into the season, and a lot of challenges await. But the direction of the program, the team’s chemistry and the willingness of the players to adapt to a system they basically never played before in high school or college – especially the high rotations – bodes well for the future of the Lady Vols.

Maria M. Cornelius, a senior writer/editor at MoxCar Marketing + Communications since 2013, started her journalism career at the Knoxville News Sentinel and began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press.