KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Kaylene Smikle hit 11 of 13 shots from the field, including five of six from beyond the arc, to fire in 31 points and spark the Tennessee women’s basketball team to a 109-62 victory over Duquesne on Monday night in front of 9,662 at Food City Center.
The 6-foot, fifth-year guard produced 17 of her points in the opening quarter and helped the Lady Vols tally their highest score in an opener since 1989, when UT hit 112 in a victory over Stetson. Her personal total of 31 for the game ranked as the second most in a Lady Vol debut behind Patricia Roberts’ 51 in 1976.
Smikle had all kinds of help in the scoring column, with five other UT players hitting double figures. Freshman Gabby Minus and senior Rylie Theuerkauf had 13, junior Jada Eads tossed in 12 and junior Naomi White and sixth-year Aaliyah Moore contributed 11 each. Senior Fats Janneh pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, while Eads dished out six assists.
The Dukes were paced by Carla Viegas, who knocked down seven three-pointers en route to 24 points. Nadia Moore added 16.
Smikle scored the season’s first points on a three-pointer, and a Theuerkauf layup in transition via a dime from Janneh gave the Lady Vols an early 5-2 lead before the Dukes worked to within 5-4 by the 6:53 media timeout. UT came out of the break on fire, scoring nine straight points and forcing a DU timeout after Smikle hit her second trey to make it 14-4 with 5:33 to go. The Big Orange pushed the lead to 16-4 before the visitors began to heat up and tighten the game to 19-17 with 2:48 left and 22-20 with 1:34 to go. A three from Eads, a layup from Minus and a fifth three over the opening 10 minutes by Smikle, though, closed the first stanza with the hosts leading by six, 30-24.
Tennessee pushed the gap to 15, 40-25, with 6:31 to go in the second stanza, with Smikle scoring four points in between a pair of Eads threes. After the Dukes drained a deep ball, Smikle scored on a floater to send her team into the 4:09 media timeout with a 42-28 lead. The Lady Vols built their advantage to a (then) game-high 19 at 49-30 with 2:55 remaining after pairs of free throws by Moore and Janneh and a three-ball from Theuerkauf. Duquesne outscored the Big Orange, 6-2, over the final stretch to trim their deficit to 15, 51-36, by the intermission.
The Big Orange bolted to an 11-0 run at the outset of the third frame to build a 60-36 gap with 7:02 remaining, doing so with a jumper from Theuerkauf, a three from Moore, a jumper from Smikle and a pair of free throws from Theuerkauf. Duquesne, though, cut into that lead by outscoring UT, 8-1, heading into the 4:56 media break to pull within 63-44. DU scored first out the timeout, but Tennessee used an 18-6 blitz over the final 4:45, capped by a period-ending three from Naomi White to close out the quarter with its biggest lead of the night, 81-50.
The Lady Vols got a pair of threes from Naomi White and another from Janneh to roll into the 3:44 media timeout in the fourth frame with the game well in hand at 97-62. They closed out the proceedings by outscoring the Dukes, 10-5, the rest of the way to claim victory for the 27th straight time in their first appearance of the season at Food City Center.
NEXT UP
Tennessee will hit the road for its next game, traveling to Baltimore, Md., to take on Coppin State at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday at CSU’s Physical Education Complex Arena. The contest between the Lady Vols and the Eagles will be available for streaming via the MEAC Network.
LADY VOLS IN SEASON OPENERS
With the victory, the Lady Vols improved to 47-6 all-time in season openers, including 31-3 at home in the modern era (1974-present). UT has now been in the win column in its first appearance of the season at Food City Center 27 straight times. Coach Kim Caldwell is no different on opening day, improving her record to 9-2 in the opening game of a campaign.
PUTTING FOUR TOGETHER
Tennessee had more than 20+ points (1st, 30; 2nd, 21; 3rd, 30; 4th, 28) in every quarter against the Dukes, including two 30-point frames. UT had only one 30-point quarter the entire 2025-26 season, getting a 39-point burst in the second stanza vs. Winthrop.
CONNECTING FROM THE JUMP
The Big Orange were feeling it in their season-opener, racking up 109 points versus Duquesne. That effort marks the second-most points UT has ever had in a lid-lifter behind a 112-39 result against Stetson at home on Nov. 26, 1989.
IMPACT FRESHMAN
Gabby Minus earned the first start of her career in her first collegiate game to become the 25th freshman in program history to start in her debut game. Minus made a huge impact, tying for second on the team with 13 points and adding six rebounds and three assists with no turnovers.
KK WENT OFF
Kaylene Smikle’s 31 points marked the third time in her career she has scored over 30 and the 75th time she has hit double figures. Smikle tied her career-high for three-pointers made in a game with five. KK started off hot with 17 points in the first quarter, shooting five-for-five from beyond the arc. Smikle is the first Lady Vol this season with 10+ points in a quarter. UT had four different players with double-digit quarters in 2025-26, and 17 would have ranked atop the performances a year ago.
DEBUT HISTORY
The 31 points in Kaylene Smikle’s first Tennessee game put her in the record books, ranking second in program history for Lady Vol debuts behind Patricia “Trish” Roberts’ 51 against Kentucky on Nov. 13, 1976.
