Naomi White and Jada Eads had great performances in their Tennessee debut.

White, who said she’s always dreamed of playing in the SEC, filled the stat sheet in the Lady Vols’ 132-63 exhibition win over Florida A&M on Tuesday at Food City Center. She scored 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting from 3-point range and added six rebounds, a team-high seven assists and four steals without committing a turnover in 20 minutes.

Eads was just as efficient. She scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, hit two threes and added four assists and three steals with no turnovers in 16 minutes off the bench. Tennessee was plus-50 with her on the floor.

Both guards also got a lesson in what being a Lady Vol means. After the game, FAMU coach and Lady Vols great Bridgette Gordon stayed on the court to talk with Tennessee’s players, and she had a few extra words for White after spending the night trying to get in her head.

Here’s everything White and Eads said after the exhibition.

What did it mean to have Bridgette Gordon stay on the court and talk with you after the game?

Naomi White: “She was giving very encouraging words, just to be appreciative of each other and that we always will rep the Lady Vols, and to always rep that with pride and respect. She was also just giving us advice on how to be a great team and to make big strides.”

Jada Eads: “For her to come over and talk to us as a team, I’ve never really had a coach that came over and gave us so much advice and praise and told us how much she’s going to be cheering us on for the season. So to have that, it’s honestly eye-opening. We still have so many fans, and everyone is cheering us on and wants so much from us. So to hear that motivates us more to play as a team and what it means to be a Lady Vol.”

After months of work, how nice was it to finally put on a uniform and start your Lady Vol careers?

Jada Eads: “Honestly, it was so nice to be able to go out there and play with the group of girls that we’ve been going at it with for months. All the hard work and dedication that we put in, we’re just seeing it pay off. And now we’re going to keep going and put our foot down and continue to work and grind. To be able to go out there and play with the group of girls I’ve been playing with over the summer, coming back from an injury and having them there by my side, has also been great.”

Naomi White: “For me, it was really a blessing to just be out there. It was a very surreal moment for me. I’ve always dreamed of playing in the SEC, playing at a higher level. So just being out there with this group of girls and then having Coach Kim as my coach, she’s very great. I love her. She’s great, and she’s very understanding of a lot of things, and she just helped us get better. And like Jada said, people are coming off injuries, and it was just great to see them out there for the first time in a long time.”

What did you like from Kennedy [Fauntleroy] and Jada running the point in a difficult system?

Naomi White: “They always have great control. In practice, they control it very well too. They always have great pace. They’re always looking for the open man. And then just a plus, they can score too. They can get to the basket whenever they want, and then they always make the right reads off of that. So I think it’s just great having point guards like that.”

What stood out about the offensive flow once you settled in, especially in the half court?

Jada Eads: “Honestly, just looking to push the floor. Once we push the floor and we don’t see anything there, we get into sets and just move the ball around. We have so many weapons. Once you move the ball around, the floor is open. If somebody attacks, someone else is open. It feels nice to be able to play with a lot of weapons on the floor. It’s honestly a blessing to play with this group of girls, and to just be able to pass the ball around and fly around and play is nice.”

Between your summer with the former Lady Vols and Gordon’s message tonight, do you have a firm idea of what it means to carry on the Lady Vol name?

Jada Eads: “It was nice. It was eye-opening, honestly, what it means to be a Lady Vol. We had so many people come in that played before us, and they told us what it means to be a Lady Vol. But to have her come over and tell us right after the game, it means so much. While I’m here, I’m noticing what it means to be a Lady Vol and how important it is. So for me to throw on my jersey today and be able to play out on the court in front of the fans, it was a no-brainer. The Tennessee atmosphere here is important, and it’s a blessing, honestly.”

Naomi White: “I completely agree with Jada. I just think being here is such an amazing thing, and also the whole legacy around Tennessee. I just think it’s great. And for Bridgette to come up to us and have so many kind words to say to us and give us great advice so we could keep pushing and making moves forward, I think that was great for her to do, and I really appreciated it, because me and her did have a little conversation. So hearing from her and hearing all the things she had to say was great.”

What impressed you most about Naomi White’s game tonight?

Jada Eads: “Honestly, the way she passed the ball. She can score, get downhill, do whatever she wants. But the way she shared the ball, contributed and did everything on the floor really stuck out to me. So when she got the assist-to-turnover ratio award, I was just so happy for her. For her to have that type of versatility in her game, it stuck out to me. So I’m super happy for her.”

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