Hoops Preview: Lady Vols Season Opener vs. Western Kentucky.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — #RV/RV Tennessee (0-0) will play host to Western Kentucky (0-0) on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena in the 2020-21 opener for both schools. UT opens the campaign receiving votes for the second straight season.

The Lady Vols were slated to pop the top on the campaign Friday night vs. Florida A&M, but FAMU announced on Nov. 23 that it was opting out of the season due to concerns about the coronavirus (COVID-19) global health crisis.

UT is coming off a campaign in which it posted a 21-10 record and tied for third in the SEC with a 10-6 record during the first year of the Kellie Harper era.

WKU, meanwhile was 22-7 a year ago, tying for second in Conference USA with a 14-4 mark under now third-year coach Greg Collins. The Hilltoppers had an impressive RPI of 31 at the end of last season.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Saturday’s game will be live streamed by SECN+ with Michael Wottreng (PxP) and LVFL Andraya Carter (Analyst) on the call.
• The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network radio stations and by audio stream, with Mickey Dearstone calling the action for the 22nd season and Bobby Rader serving as the studio host.
• A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game’s Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.
• For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on Vol Network Affiliates in the black bar at the top of the page.
• Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
• SECN+ games are online broadcasts and are available only on WatchESPN via computers, smartphones and tablets.
• All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) and the SEC Network will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

LADY VOLS IN OPENERS

• The Lady Vols are 42-4 in season openers over the past 46 years, including 8-1 on the road, 26-3 at home and 8-0 at neutral sites.
• UT has won its last seven season openers and 19 of its last 20.
• Tennessee has a 43-3 all-time record in its first home contest of the year and a 39-7 mark in its first road game of the season.
• UT has won five straight while playing the team’s first road game of a season.
• Kellie Harper is 5-0 while coaching a Power 5 school (4-0 at NC State, 1-0 at Tennessee) in season openers after defeating ETSU last season.

HOME SWEET HOME

• This is the 34th season that the Tennessee women’s and men’s basketball teams have called Thompson-Boling Arena their home, and the Lady Vols own an incredible 465-48 mark (.906) in the venue.
• The Lady Volunteers have built a combined 618-72 (.896) home record in contests played at Thompson-Boling Arena, Stokely Athletics Center and Alumni Gym.
• Kellie Harper is 13-3 overall and 6-2 in SEC play in games played on The Summitt.

UT RETURNS MOST OF ITS FIREPOWER

• Tennessee returns five of its top six scorers and rebounders from 2019-20, including the top four in each category.
• Kellie Harper welcomes back 80.8 percent of her scoring, 76.4 percent of rebounds, 78.6 percent of blocks, 71.0 percent of steals and 64.8 percent of assists from a year ago.
• The Big Orange women also return 80.6 percent of their field goals, including 73.3 percent of their three-pointers, and 84.8 percent of free throws from last season.

FOUR STARTERS ARE BACK

• Tennessee returns four players who were in the starting lineup during the 2019-20 season. That group includes senior Rennia Davis, junior Rae Burrell and sophomore Tamari Key. Sophomore Jordan Horston earned 22 starts before giving way to Burrell in the final nine contests.
• Davis is Tennessee’s top returnee. The 6-foot-2 guard/forward was a first-team All-SEC choice a year ago and an All-America honorable mention recipient from AP, the USBWA and WBCA. She averaged 18.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 2019-20 while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 80.2 percent from the free throw line.
• Burrell is a 6-1 guard/forward who averaged 10.5 ppg. and 5.5 rpg. while knocking down 21 three-pointers. The team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, she was the top reserve for the first 22 games before starting the final nine contests of the season. She averaged 12.3 ppg. and 5.7 rpg. during that end-of-year stint in the first five.
• Key is a 6-5 center who averaged 7.3 ppg., 4.7 rpg. and 2.8 bpg. while shooting 56 percent from the field. She finished No. 1 in the SEC in blocked shots (86) and blocks per game (2.8) and ranked 11th and 13th in the NCAA in those categories, respectively.
• Horston, a 6-2 point guard, averaged 10.1 ppg., 5.5 rpg. and 4.6 apg. in 2019-20. She ranked first on the team in assists (143) and steals (39), second in blocks (25) and three-pointers made (27), and third in points scored (313) and rebounds (170) en route to SEC All-Freshman honors.
• Her 143 assists and 4.6 assist average both ranked second all-time among freshmen at Tennessee, and she was fourth in the SEC for assist average.

FOUR MORE LETTERWINNERS ARE BACK

• In addition to returning Davis, Burrell, Key and Horston, the Lady Vols welcome back four more letterwinners.
• Regulars off the bench include 6-4 senior center Kasiyahna Kushkituah (5.4 ppg., 4.4 rpg., 49% FG, 31 games played), 5-8 sophomore guard Jessie Rennie (2.7 ppg., 25 3FGs, 46% 3FG, 30 games played) and 6-3 redshirt senior forward Jaiden McCoy (2.7 ppg., 1.8 rpg., 26 games played).
• Rennie became UT’s three-point shooting ace as the season wore on, connecting on 25 of 54 attempts for an impressive 46.3 percent accuracy and the second-best season percentage in UT history. Rennie was even better in league play, knocking down 54.2 percent (13-24) of her tries.
• At 6-5, sophomore center Emily Saunders saw action in only 10 games but averaged 3.7 ppg., 2.2 rpg. and 1.0 bpg. while shooting 71% on field goals.

TWO GRAD TRANSFERS OF IMPACT

• Tennessee welcomes a pair of highly-productive graduate transfers in Keyen Green from Liberty and Jordan Walker from Western Michigan. Walker graduated after three years at WMU and redshirted her second season there due to a knee injury, so she has two years of eligibility remaining.
• An All-MAC guard, Walker brings quickness and depth to the UT backcourt. The 5-8 redshirt junior averaged 16.0 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 2.5 apg. and 2.1 spg. while knocking down 66 three-pointers in 2019-20.
• Green, a first-team All-ASUN forward/center, should bolster UT’s inside presence. The 6-1 redshirt senior averaged 13.9 ppg. and 7.5 rpg. and shot 59 percent from the field. She was the Big South Player of the Year in 2017-18 and a three-time all-league performer.
• ESPN picked Green No. 15 in its 2020-21 preseason Newcomer Impact Rankings.
• Green and Walker are the third and fourth grad transfers for UT, following in the footsteps of Schaquilla Nunn (2016-17) and Lou Brown (2018-20).

FRESHMAN TRIO

•  UT’s three-member rookie class includes 6-0 guard Destiny Salary (four-star prospect, #57 by espnW HoopGurlz), 6-1 guard/forward Tess Darby (#86 by Blue Star Media, four-star prospect by ProspectsNation.com, three-star prospect by espnW HoopGurlz) and 6-2 guard/forward Marta Suárez (a four-star prospect by Blue Star Europe).
• Salary, Darby and Suárez should provide the Lady Vols options for length and versatility at guard and wing.
• Darby was a four-time all-state selection (16.7 ppg., 6.3 rpg. as a senior), while Salary was a three-time all-state pick (21.0 ppg., 7.0 rpg., 4.0 apg. as a senior).
• Suárez was the leading scorer for Segle XXI Barcelona in Spain’s LF2 League, averaging 12.7 ppg. and adding 5.6 rpg. while shooting 46 percent from the field, 44 percent on threes and 81.5 percent at the free throw line.

ABOUT WESTERN KENTUCKY

• The Hilltoppers return five players, including three starters from a squad that finished 22-7 overall and 14-4 in C-USA play a year ago.
• Western is picked fifth in the C-USA poll.
• WKU welcomes back Raneem Elgedawy, a 6-4 senior forward from Alexandria, Egypt, who led the team in scoring and rebounding last season at 17.6 ppg. and 11.0 rpg. She was an All-Conference USA First Team selection.
• Elgedawy is on the 20-player Katrina McClain Watch List for the nation’s best power forwards and also is on the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year watch list.
• A WKU press release on Nov. 12 said Elgedawy “is currently in her home country and could rejoin the Lady Toppers at a later time.”
• The other returning starters are 5-11 junior guard Meral Abdelgawad (8.3 ppg., 3.7 rpg.) and 5-7 senior guard Sherry Porter (6.3 ppg., 2.2 rpg.), although Porter announced she is opting out this season due to COVID-19 concerns.
• The Hilltoppers welcome seven newcomers, including six true freshmen. One of those is 5-10 freshman guard Jenna Kallenberg of Maryville. She attended William Blount High School.
• The Lady Toppers defended Diddle Arena, going a perfect 13-0 on their home court in 2019-20.
• WKU was one of only 10 NCAA Division I teams to complete an undefeated home slate in 2019-20.

UT-WKU SERIES HISTORY

• Tennessee is 7-1 all-time vs. Western Kentucky, including 5-0 at home, 1-0 on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites.
• Tennessee and Western Kentucky last met on March 16, 1998, when the No. 1-ranked Lady Vols defeated the #15/18 Hilltoppers, 82-62, in Knoxville in the NCAA Second Round.
• Kellie (Jolly) Harper was Tennessee’s point guard in that game and piloted her team to four more victories that season en route to the 1998 NCAA title, the Lady Vols’ third in a row.
• Harper had five points, seven assists and two steals vs. Western Kentucky in that contest.
• The Lady Vols’ only loss to the Hilltoppers came on March 26, 1992, in West Lafayette, Ind., when No. 15 WKU upset No. 2 Tennessee, 75-70, in the NCAA Mideast Regional Sweet 16.
• Saturday’s meeting will mark the first time the Lady Vols and Hilltoppers have met in a regular season game since 1990.
• The schools clashed during the NCAA Tournament the last four times they’ve met, including 1991, 1992, 1995 and 1998.

-UT Athletics