Tess Darby and Sara Puckett are unique in this stage of college athletics.
Both committed to the Lady Vols under Kellie Harper and played for her, going to the Sweet 16 twice but never past that round. When Kim Caldwell came in, the pair stayed and wanted to push further.
“They’re selfless players and they wanted to do it for Tennessee,” Caldwell said. “They wanted to make it to the Elite Eight because it’s something that hasn’t been done since they’ve been here.”
Tennessee was a solid fourth quarter away from advancing to its first Elite Eight since 2016. Instead, it turned the ball over nine times, resulting in the end of the season — and seven careers.
Puckett felt it with 13 seconds to go. Texas made two free throws to go up eight, and Caldwell called timeout.
“We’ve scored very quickly before, but I don’t know, you just have that gut feeling,” Puckett said. “I had to mentally prepare myself to not cry before the end of the game.”
Before her career ended, the Muscle Shoals native got one more chance to play in her home state. She didn’t score but picked up three rebounds in a game where the Lady Vols needed every bounce off the glass.
“Having that Lady Vol for Life title is going to be big,” Puckett said. “I’m going to stand out to people just for that, and I’m never going to not take pride in that.”
After Saturday’s game, Darby tied Shanna Zolman for the second-most career games played in program history. She finishes her time wearing orange after participating in 146 contests, just two short of Chamique Holdsclaw who holds the record for most all-time.
Darby’s journey through basketball has been a long one, one that ended after Saturday’s loss. That loss won’t define all the memories she made both this season and over her five years in Knoxville.
“I’m just filled with gratitude and gratefulness right now that I got to be on this path, be with this group of girls,” Darby said. “This sport has given me so much, so I can’t let one bad game like this put an ending on my career.”
Darby and Puckett weren’t the only Lady Vols to finish memorable careers. Samara Spencer took a leap to play under Caldwell and hasn’t had this much fun playing since her days in AAU.
“I think we did something special and I really think we put Tennessee back on the map,” Spencer said. “I’m glad our group to do it for her first year and I’m excited to see what the future holds for them.”
Jewel Spear came to Knoxville for Harper’s last season and stayed to finish her career in Knoxville. She scored 20 or more points six times, including a season-high 28 points in a key win over Ole Miss.
Jillian Hollingshead came to Tennessee after one year at Georgia and was a key player down low, especially when Tamari Key couldn’t play. Alongside Zee Spearman and Alyssa Latham, she set the standard that other Tennessee forwards under Caldwell will look to match.
After the game, Caldwell went to the locker room and addressed the team that just saw its time together come to an end. It was a time that saw Caldwell become a mother and get her first taste of power-conference basketball.
That first season is now over, and that first group has seen its time come and go. It’s a group that Caldwell will never forget.
“I told them to keep their heads up,” Caldwell said. “I told them that I am proud of them, that I am thankful for them. I know for a fact that God put this team together because this is the team that we needed to have. These are the people that I needed to have in my life, and we needed each other.”
