For the second time this season, the Lady Vols pushed 1-seed Texas to its limit but again fell short in the Sweet 16 with a 67-59 loss.
Tennessee had Texas on the ropes with the lead early in the fourth quarter, but things slowly fell apart for the Vols as Texas put continuous pressure on both ends of the court, forcing turnovers and bad shots.
The Lady Vols scored 20 points to open the second half and seemingly had enough momentum to carry them through the fourth quarter if they could play clean, sound basketball.
Tennessee proceeded to have its sloppiest quarter of the entire NCAA Tournament, giving away turnovers, sending Texas to the free throw line, and missing shots they have made all season on their way to scoring only nine fourth-quarter points.
Tennessee committed 18 turnovers, allowed more points off turnovers, and committed more fouls than Texas.
Pair that with an abysmal 19.2 shooting percentage from three-point range, and you have the formula for the Lady Vols' Sweet 16 loss.
Tennessee shoots many three-point shots, which continued with 26 shot attempts from beyond the arc in this game, but they were only able to make five of those 26 shots.
While it wasn't the Lady Vols' best performance, paired with a rough fourth quarter riddled with missed three-point shots and sloppy turnovers, Tennessee still had a chance to win.
That effort shows the players' buy-in to Kim Caldwell's system and play style. It led to Tennessee winning 24 games and a Sweet 16 run in Caldwell's first season on Rocky Top, setting a strong foundation for the future.
The Texas loss is disappointing. It's another heartbreaking loss for the Lady Vols against one of the best teams in the country.
If Caldwell can build on her success this year, the Lady Vols basketball program could be gearing up for another dominant multi-year run.