Why Lady Vols guard was benched vs Alabama

Talaysia Cooper sat on the bench for the final 16:27 of Lady Vols basketball‘s loss to Alabama in the SEC Tournament on Thursday in what coach Kim Caldwell called a coach’s decision.

Cooper was the first Lady Vol to leave the locker room and did not address the media following the 76-64 exit for Tennessee in its first game in Greenville, South Carolina.

“We just wanted to give her some air,” Caldwell said. “I think your emotions can get running and just wanted to get her outside and with a staff member, so she could breathe.”

Cooper finished with two points on 1-for-4 shooting. She played two minutes in the second half with an assist and a turnover before checking out to never return.

When pressed why Cooper didn’t play the final 16-plus minutes, Caldwell reiterated it was coach’s decision. 

“Who knows if it was the right call, but trying to find combinations that work,” Caldwell said.

Alabama led by 10 points at halftime Thursday and rolled to a double-digit win, handing Tennessee (16-13) its seventh straight loss.

Cooper has been the Lady Vols’ most prolific player by the stat sheet. Entering the tournament, the second-team All-SEC selection led the team in scoring with 16.1 points per game. She led the team in assists with 100 and steals with 73. 

Tennessee will return home to await the NCAA Tournament selection show on March 15 (8 p.m. ET). Going into Thursday’s game, the Lady Vols were projected as a No. 7 seed. When asked following the SEC Tournament loss, Caldwell said her team was very much deserving on a trip to the big dance. 

“Yeah, I do,” Caldwell said. I think we’ve played the hardest schedule in the country. I think the majority of that came in February, but we have significant wins. … We hope to get in and continue to try to be a different team.”

Cooper’s second-half absence and quick departure postgame is another story in what has been a loud week for the program. Senior Kaiya Wynn left the program Tuesday following her final game at Food City Center in which she didn’t start or play in a moment she called the “breaking point”. 

On Wednesday on WMNL radio, athletics director Danny White made it clear he believed in his second-year coach whose team has lost 10 of its past 12 games. Opponents have averaged more than 80 points per game and have shot 50% from the field in that stretch. 

Freshman Deniya Prawl didn’t travel with the team to the tournament. Caldwell said she was in concussion protocol after getting hit in the head on the practice floor.