The Lady Vols are no longer perfect under Kim Caldwell.

No. 15 Tennessee fell 87-86 to No. 9 Oklahoma in Knoxville for its first loss in the Caldwell era.

The top-15 matchup was the Lady Vols' (13-1, 1-1 SEC) toughest test yet with the Sooners (13-2, 1-1) marking the second ranked team Tennessee has faced this season.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

The game looked to get out of hand in the third quarter with Oklahoma grabbing a 19-point lead but the Lady Vols reapplied pressure down the stretch to get within a single point.

Tennessee had a shot with under 10 seconds remaining but Sara Puckett's shot rattled off to hand the Lady Vols the loss.

Jewel Spear built off her great stretch heading into conference play. She scored 28 points in the game including nine points in the fourth quarter.

Behind her, Talaysia Cooper, Samara Spencer and Ruby Whitehorn were also in double figures.

Oklahoma shot 54% from the field in the game but turned the ball over 31 times resulting in 30 points.

The Lady Vols took a 4-0 lead out the gate off the back of consecutive Cooper buckets, but surrendered the lead instantly after. From there, Oklahoma went to work building its lead.

By the end of the quarter, the Sooners had taken a lead of as much as 11. However, Tennessee didn't go away. An impressive final minute to the frame put the Lady Vols behind by just six points.

Despite stealing some of the momentum headed into the second quarter, Tennessee couldn't take advantage. Oklahoma and the Lady Vols traded baskets for the beginning of the quarter With the Sooners' lead fluctuating between nine and five.

The final mark at the half was 46-39 in the favor of Oklahoma. Tennessee was led by Spear at 11 points with Cooper right behind at 10.

The third quarter was just about as bad as it could've been, though. The Lady Vols trailed by as much as 19 in the quarter and went into the final frame down 16.

The Sooners shot 64.7% from the field and 4-of-8 on 3-pointers in the frame to produce an impressive 29 points. On the other side, Tennessee turned it over eight times resulting in 10 Oklahoma points.

The Lady Vols still wouldn't go away, though. Tennessee clawed back within 10 points at the under five timeout.

The Lady Vols continued to fight and got the lead down to one point as time continued to tick away. The Sooners turned their attention to draining the clock with their lead dwindling.

However, largely behind clutch plays by Spear and Cooper, Tennessee managed to get with a single point with just seconds remaining. However, Puckett settled for an open 3-pointer which did not fall.

The Lady Vols were unable to foul in time and lost by one.

Tennessee will now turn the page to another highly-ranked SEC foe. The Lady Vols will host No. 6 LSU on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will air on SECN+.

Then, Tennessee will return to the road. The Lady Vols will travel to play Arkansas on Jan. 12 at 1 p.m. ET on SECN.

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.