Kim Caldwell wasn't on the Lady Vols' sideline, but the result remained the same.

No. 17 Tennessee came up short by the thinnest of margins in an 80-76 loss to No. 7 Texas.

Caldwell missed the game due to the birth of her child. Assistant coach Jenna Burdette filled in at the position in her replacement.

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The Lady Vols (15-4, 3-4 SEC) tied the game with 44 seconds to play but the Longhorns' (19-2, 5-1) Madison Booker hit a shot to ultimately win the game shortly after.

Tennessee got a shot off in response but it was off the mark and the Lady Vols fell to a third top-10 team in close fashion after game-sealing free throws.

Leading the way for Tennessee was Ruby Whitehorn. She finished with 21 points on an efficient 8-of-12 shooting. This came in 29 minutes on the floor.

Zee Spearman was the only other Lady Vol in double figures. She notched 14 with 10 coming in the first half.

As a team, Tennessee shot 50% from the field and 52.9% on 3-pointers. It turned the ball over 12 times.

Despite not having Caldwell on the bench, Tennessee controlled the first quarter. The Lady Vols didn't trail in the frame and used a Talaysia Cooper layup at the buzzer to take a two-point advantage into the short break.

Tennessee used its typical plan of emptying the bench in the first quarter. Texas didn't play that game, though. Instead, the Longhorns used six players with four playing all 10 minutes of the frame.

The Lady Vols also shied away from the 3-point line. Tennessee only took a pair of 3-pointers to open the game in the first quarter and managed to connect on both.

The third quarter featured Texas getting out to its first lead. After opening on a 6-0 run, the Longhorns grabbed a four-point advantage.

However, the Lady Vols quickly fired back. Tennessee traded some more blows with Texas before going on an 8-0 run to take a six-point lead. The Longhorns instantly responded with an 8-0 run of their own, though, to retake a narrow lead with under two minutes left in the half.

By the end of the frame, it was a 13-2 overall run by Texas to secure a 45-40 advantage. For the Lady Vols, it was Spearman leading the way with 10 points. Whitehorn was right behind at nine points.

Tennessee and Texas continued to go blow for blow in the third quarter. The Lady Vols won the period by four to go into the fourth quarter down just one point.

The fourth quarter was once again tightly contested. Neither team could create any meaningful separation which resulted in a tie game with 44 seconds to play. It was a Whitehorn bucket that notched the score.

However, Booker put up what would be the deciding shot. In the Lady Vols' effort to respond, Spearman missed a 3-pointer.

Texas would hit a pair at the line to clinch the game and win by four.

Things don't get any easier next. The Lady Vols will return to Knoxville to play No. 2 South Carolina on Monday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Then, Tennessee will travel to play unranked Missouri. The game on Feb. 2 is at 3 p.m. ET with a TV designation not yet decided.

The Lady Vols' schedule heats right back up, though, with Feb. 6 marking a meeting with arch-rival No. 6 UConn. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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