Kim Caldwell rightfully calls out her players after heartbreaking loss to Vandy

It's hard to imagine, but the Tennessee Lady Vols are only a few plays away from being 18-0 this season and among the top teams in the country. However, the team dropped to 15-3 over the weekend, suffering a heartbreaking 71-70 loss on the road to Vanderbilt.

It was a game the Lady Vols had in the bag, but Vandy was able to make the game-winning shot with less than a second to go, taking advantage of offensive rebounds late in the action to post the win. Head coach Kim Caldwell was quite frustrated after the defeat, making sure to light a fire under her players by calling them out for letting this one slip away:

Kim Caldwell was not happy with the Lady Vols after a 71-70 loss to Vandy

"We can't continue to just do the same thing and have quarters where we don't show up, get out-rebounded when it matters, have plays where we take them off - effort plays," Caldwell said on Sunday. "We show them every possession that costs us the game and we're either not good enough to fix it or we just don't think it matters."

It easy to see why Caldwell is pretty ticked off. Every single one of Tennessee's losses this season has been in a close meeting where her players weren't able to execute with the game on the line. In the team's three losses, they've lost by a combined four points - FOUR!

That's a pretty absurd stat and it's something Caldwell and her coaches want to get fixed as soon as possible. Against Vandy, Talaysia Cooper was solid with the ball in her hands, finishing with 20 points. That was great to see out of her, but it came in a losing effort.

Next up for the Lady Vols is a showdown with No. 7 Texas on Thursday night. It will be a primetime matchup between two SEC powerhouses. Fans are hoping Caldwell and Co. can post an upset win, but plenty of things will need to be cleaned up on the hardwood for that to happen.