KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 16/19 Tennessee (12-3, 6-1 SEC) travels to Lexington, where it will meet No. 20/18 Kentucky (13-5/6-4 SEC) on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.

The Lady Vols return to action after a two-game pause of team activities due to COVID-19 contact tracing within the program was announced on Feb. 3 and ended on Feb. 9. The team also endured a two-game pause earlier in the season from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4.

UT stands third in the league standings and is one of only three SEC teams with one loss or fewer in league play (along with 10-0 South Carolina and 9-1 Texas A&M). UK, meanwhile, is one of three squads (along with Georgia and LSU) tied for fourth at 6-4 and positioned three games behind the Lady Vols.

Tennessee enters Thursday’s contest on a three-game winning streak that began with a 70-53 home victory over Kentucky on Jan. 24 and followed with triumphs over Ole Miss (68-67) and Florida (79-65) in Knoxville on Jan. 28 and Jan. 31, respectively. The Lady Vols find themselves with an opportunity to improve to 7-1 in league play for the second season in a row.

Kentucky, meanwhile, was idle on Feb. 8 after suffering a 72-60 setback at Ole Miss on Feb. 4 and seeing a two-game winning streak halted by the Rebels.

The location of Thursday’s game at Rupp Arena marks the third time UT and UK have faced off there and the fourth occasion the Lady Vols have played a game at the venue. UT is 1-2 in the venue, including 1-1 vs. the host Wildcats.

No. 7/7 Tennessee defeated unranked Kentucky there on Jan. 31, 2017, by a 63-49 score. The unranked Wildcats upset the No. 1/3 Lady Vols in Rupp, 66-63, on Jan. 26, 2006, with (then) UK head coach Mickie DeMoss (former UT assistant and associate head coach) getting the best of her former boss Pat Summitt in that match-up. UT’s other appearance at Rupp came on March 28, 1986, as the Lady Vols fell to Cheryl Miller and USC, 83-59, in a Final Four semifinal game.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Thursday night’s game will be streamed via SECN+ with the UK Sports Network radio broadcast of play-by-play announcer Darren Headrick serving as the game’s audio.
• Institutions can produce for SEC Network+ (SECN+) any conference and non-conference games that are not otherwise televised. Those are available on the ESPN app and SECSports.com.
• 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.
• The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network radio stations and by audio stream, with Mickey Dearstone behind the microphone. Now calling the action for his 22nd season, Dearstone is joined by studio host Bobby Rader.
• 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.

QUICK GLANCE AT THE LADY VOLS

• Tennessee has posted three victories over ranked teams (No. 13/13 Arkansas, No. 15/15 Indiana, No. 12/12 Kentucky), marking the most by the program in a season since 2017-18 when it had seven.
• The Lady Vols have started a freshman (Marta Suárez), two sophomores (Jordan Horston, Tamari Key), a junior (Rae Burrell) and senior (Rennia Davis) for most of the season. Senior Kasiyahna Kushkituah stepped in for Suárez vs. Florida due to an injury suffered by the rookie.
• Tennessee has continued to thrive despite injuries to starting center Keyen Green (lost for season after four games), starting power forward Marta Suárez (missed Ole Miss and Florida games) and reserve power forward Jaiden McCoy (missed games count stands at 12).
• UT is led in scoring in all games by junior guard Rae Burrell (16.9 ppg.) and senior forward Rennia Davis (14.5 ppg.), with sophomore center Tamari Key chipping in 9.5 ppg. and 5.0 rpg., and sophomore point guard Jordan Horston contributing 8.3 ppg. and 4.1 apg.
• In SEC play, three Tennessee players are scoring in double figures, including Davis (17.1 ppg.), Burrell (17.0) and Key (13.1).
• Against ranked foes, Burrell puts up 18.8 ppg., while Davis fires in 17.8 ppg.
• Tennessee ranks No. 1 in the SEC in league games in both field goal percentage (48.6) and field goal percentage defense (36.5).
• Davis has climbed to 16th on UT’s all-time scoring list with 1,617 points and stands in 16th place on the rebounding list with 869.
• Sophomore Tamari Key has scored in double figures in six of the past seven contests (12/14/15/10/19/7/23).
• That 23-point effort vs. Florida was a career best for Key and came along with 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots to notch the fourth triple-double in school history. Her scoring average over the past seven games is 14.3 ppg. along with 6.6 rpg. and 69.8 percent shooting.
• The team’s 45.5 shooting percentage, which ranks fourth in the SEC, currently rates as UT’s highest since the 2013-14 squad knocked down shots at a 45.7 rate.
• The 46.6 per game rebound average that stands fifth nationally and second in the SEC, ranks as the second-best in school history at this point.
• Tamari Key ranks No. 1 in the SEC in field goal percentage in conference games (69.0), with Rennia Davis (5th, 51.6) and Rae Burrell (9th, 47.9) making the Lady Vols the only school to have three players ranked in the top 10 of that statistical category.
• Tennessee ranks No. 1 in the SEC in league games in assists at 16.7 per contest, and sophomore Jordan Horston is fifth at 4.4 per game.
• Horston is the only sophomore in the SEC averaging better than 3.0 apg. and she stands ninth among all players in assists/turnover ratio at 1.6.
• UT has three of the SEC’s best in shooting percentage in conference games, with Key ranking first (69.0), Davis fifth (51.6) and Burrell ninth (47.9).

RECAPPING UT’S LAST GAME

• Sophomore Tamari Key turned in a triple-double to lead No. 20/22 Tennessee to a 79-65 win over Florida in Thompson-Boling Arena on Jan. 31.
•  Key totaled 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks, setting career highs in both points and blocks. It marks just the fourth triple-double in Lady Vol history, and the first since Jordan Reynolds notched one against UNCW on Dec. 29, 2016. Junior Rae Burrell also eclipsed the 20-point scoring mark for Tennessee (12-3, 6-1 SEC) with 21, while senior Rennia Davis finished with 14.
•  Florida (9-8, 2-7 SEC) was led by Kiara Smith and Lavender Briggs who each had 23. Smith added 10 rebounds to her point total to record a double-double.

UT-KENTUCKY SERIES NOTES

• This marks the 71st edition of Tennessee vs. Kentucky, with the Lady Vols leading the series, 56-14.
• UT has faced only one other team as many times as the Wildcats – Vanderbilt in 84 meetings.
• The Lady Vols have won seven of the last 11 games in the series after snapping a three-game Kentucky series win streak on Jan. 24.
• Tennessee is 21-9 vs. Kentucky in Lexington and 10-1 at neutral sites. The Lady Vols are 9-1 in postseason tournament games.
• Tennessee is 20-8 all-time at Memorial Coliseum and 1-1 in Rupp Arena (RA). where the teams will meet on Feb. 11.
• The teams are 2-2 in their last four meetings in Lexington.
• The Lady Vols own a 25-4 mark against UK in games played in Knoxville, with the Wildcats winning on Rocky Top in 1983, 1985, 2014 and 2019.
• UT is 3-1 in overtime games vs. Kentucky, including 3-0 in Lexington and 0-1 in Knoxville, with the last OT contest coming in 1994.

ABOUT KENTUCKY

• In SEC play, Kentucky has been led by junior Rhyne Howard (22.6 ppg., 7.7 rpg.) and senior Chasity Patterson (10.4 ppg., 3.3 apg.).
• UK is 4-1 at home in SEC play, but is 2-3 on the road with losses at Texas A&M, Tennessee and Ole Miss.
• The Wildcats started out 9-1 but are 4-4 in their last eight contests.

RECAPPING THE CATS’ LAST GAME

• Rhyne Howard scored 26 points, but 15th-ranked Kentucky was upset by Ole Miss, 72-60, on Feb. 4 at the Pavilion at Ole Miss.
• Chasity Patterson was the only other UK player in double figures, scoring 14 in the game.
• The Wildcats (13-5, 6-4 SEC) made just 21 of their 66 shots from the floor (31.8 percent), including six of 26 (23.1 percent) from behind the arc. Kentucky did have 25-12 second-chance points edge, but the Rebels won the rebounding battle, 48-34, and dominated points in the paint, 42-20.

THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET

• The No. 25 Lady Vols rolled to a commanding victory over No. 12 Kentucky on Jan. 24, winning 70-53 in Thompson-Boling Arena and holding the Wildcats to 28.6 percent shooting from the floor while knocking down 47.5 percent themselves.
• Tennessee (10-3, 4-1 SEC) was led in scoring by sophomore Tamari Key, who posted a (then) career-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Senior Rennia Davis turned in a double-double with 15 points and a career-high 20 rebounds. Junior Rae Burrell and senior Kasiyahna Kushkituah were also in double digits with 13 and 11, respectively.
• Chasity Patterson was the high scorer for Kentucky (11-4, 4-3 SEC) with 15 points, and Rhyne Howard was close behind with 14, though UT’s stifling defense relegated the 2020 SEC Player of the Year to a 3-for-16 shooting day from the field.

LAST TIME IN RUPP

• No. 7/7 Tennessee improved to 13-0 overall and 1-0 in the SEC on Dec. 31, 2017, defeating Kentucky (8-7, 0-1 SEC) 63-49 in front of 8,921 at Rupp Arena.
• The victory was UT’s first in the venue in three tries. The Big Orange women lost to the Wildcats during the 2005-06 season and fell to USC there in the 1986 NCAA Final Four semifinals.
• Senior Mercedes Russell had 16 points, while freshman Rennia Davis tallied 11 boards and nine points.

WHAT’S NEXT

• On a date that was originally filled with a home game vs. Vanderbilt (VU opted out of the season), the Lady Vols will now play a twice-rescheduled game at Texas A&M at 3 p.m. ET (2 CT) on Sunday, Feb. 14. ESPN will televise the contest.
• UK, meanwhile, plays host to LSU on Monday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. ET in a tilt streamed by SECN+

-UT Athletics