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 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

Vanderbilt women's basketball beat the Tennessee Lady Vols for the first time in five years with Mikayla Blakes' layup just before time expired.

Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball vs Tennessee Lady Vols on Jan. 19, 2025, at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tennessee

Tennessee's women's college basketball team needs to shake off the Vanderbilt loss quickly. The Lady Volunteers lost a heartbreaker on Sunday, as the Vanderbilt Commodores hit a game-winning tip in under a second to upset Tennessee.

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,