Hoops Preview: #15 Lady Vols vs. Georgia College – Exhibition Game

No. 15 Tennessee (0-0) will hit the court for its first contest of the 2021-22 season, facing off against Georgia College (0-0) in an exhibition game on Wednesday at 6:32 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.

The match-up will feature a head coach showdown between siblings Kellie (Jolly) Harper and her younger brother, Ross Jolly. Both coaches, who grew up in Sparta, Tenn., and attended White County High School, are in their third seasons in their current positions and are meeting one another on the court for the first time as leaders of programs.

Tennessee begins the season with much anticipation after placing third in the SEC the past two seasons and returning nine letterwinners, including five active players with starting experience.

Excitement also is high, as attendance restrictions in place last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic are no longer required, meaning a return to normalcy for Tennessee as it welcomes one of the nation’s most passionate fan bases.

The Lady Vols will officially open their campaign a week from Wednesday, as Southern Illinois visits Rocky Top for a 7 p.m. battle that will be televised by SEC Network. Georgia College, meanwhile, is at Chattanooga for another exhibition tilt on Friday before getting its regular-season slate underway on Nov. 12 and 13 vs. Barton and Southern Wesleyan, respectively, at the Conference Challenge in Augusta, Ga.

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

Opponent: Georgia College
Date: Weds., Nov. 3
Tipoff: 6:32 p.m. ET
Venue: Thompson-Boling Arena
Watch: SEC Network
Radio: Lady Vol Network
Online: Live Audio, Live Stats

TENNESSEE

Roster Schedule Game Notes (PDF)

GEORGIA COLLEGE

Roster Schedule Game Notes

THE LATEST FROM THE LADY VOLS

Lady Vols Open At #15 in AP Preseason Poll | Women’s Hoops Second In SEC Media Poll | Lady Vol Media Day Videos & Transcript | Coaches Pick Burrell, Key For Preseason All-SEC Team | Burrell Selected As USA TODAY Preseason All-American | Burrell Named To Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List | Dye Named To Katrina McClain Award Preseason Watch List | Tamari Key Named To Lisa Leslie Award Preseason Watch List | Horston On 2022 Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award Preseason Watch List

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Michael Wottreng (play-by-play) and VFL Steve Hamer (analyst) will have the call for the SECN+ live stream.
All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) 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 23rd 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.

GAME PROMOS/TICKETS

For the latest game promotions or for information about parking or UT’s clear bag policy, be sure to go to the Fan Experience game day page under the Fans tab on UTSports.com.
Single game tickets are on sale. Go to AllVols.com to purchase.

EARNING NOTICE IN PRESEASON POLLS

In various preseason polls, Tennessee is ranked No. 15 by AP and Sports Illustrated, No. 16 by USA TODAY and College Sports Madness, and No. 19 by Lindy’s Sports Preseason Top 25.
The Lady Vols were picked second in the SEC Preseason Media Poll and No. 3 in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll, marking their best positions since 2015-16 and 2016-17, respectively.

FIVE RETURNEES WITH STARTING EXPERIENCE

Tennessee returns five active players with starting experience from a year ago, including three who were in the starting lineup at season’s end on a squad that finished 17-8 overall and 9-4 in SEC play with a third-place league finish and NCAA Second Round appearance.
Rae Burrell, a 6-foot-1 senior (16.8 ppg., 4.6 rpg.), was the only Lady Vol last year to start all 25 games.
Burrell is joined by fellow returning starters in Tamari Key, a 6-6 junior center (8.9 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 2.9 bpg.), and Jordan Walker, a 5-8 graduate point guard (5.4 ppg., 4.5 rpg., 2.3 apg.). Key and Walker started 21 and 13 games, respectively.
Jordan Horston, a 6-2 junior guard (8.6 ppg., 4.2 apg., 3.9 rpg.) carded 13 starts a year ago and has 35 total under her belt after appearing at the jump circle 22 times as a rookie in 2019-20.
Keyen Green, a 6-1 graduate forward/center (6.8 ppg., 3.0 rpg.) started the first four games as a graduate transfer from Liberty a year ago before suffering a season-ending injury. She has 95 total career starts.
Marta Suárez, a 6-2 sophomore guard/forward (4.1 ppg., 3.6 rpg., 16 mpg.), started 14 games as a rookie. She was averaging 6.4 ppg., 5.6 rpg. and 21.8 mpg. through 13 starts before a lower leg injury limited her ability to practice and play and, ultimately, ended her season early. She was expected back in 2021-22, but Kellie Harper announced on Oct. 28 that the second-year performer would sit out this season due to injury.

A NEWCOMER WITH 41 CAREER DI STARTS

UT also welcomes a top-drawer graduate transfer and awards candidate in 2021 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Alexus Dye (16.6 ppg., 12.6 rpg.), a 41-game starter over the past two seasons at Troy.
ESPN ranks her as the No. 14 impact transfer in the country heading into 2021-22.
Dye started all 28 games for the Trojans and led the NCAA in double-doubles (23) and total rebounds (352) in 2020-21.
The extremely-active 6-0 forward averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds in games vs. SEC teams Texas A&M and Mississippi State last season.

FOUR EARN PRESEASON RECOGNITION

Rae Burrell was named to the Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List, USA TODAY Preseason All-America Third Team and the Coaches Preseason All-SEC First Team.
Tamari Key was named to the Lisa Leslie Award Preseason Watch List and Coaches Preseason All-SEC Second Team.
Jordan Horston was named to the Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award Preseason Watch List.
Alexus Dye was named to the Katrina McClain Award Preseason Watch List.

SIX OF TOP EIGHT CONTRIBUTORS RETURN

Tennessee returns six of its top eight scorers and rebounders from last season, with five of them active with the injury to Suárez.
The Lady Vols welcome back the No. 2 (Burrell/16.8), No. 3 (Key/8.9), No. 4 (Horston/8.6), No. 5 (Green/6.8), No. 7 (Walker/5.4) and No. 8 (Suárez/4.1) scorers by average.
They also welcome back the No. 3 (Key/5.6), No. 4 (Burrell/4.6), No. 5 (Walker/4.5), No. 6 (Horston/3.9), No. 7 (Suárez/3.6) and No. 8 (Green/3.0) rebounders by average.
Including Suárez, a total of 1,155 of 1,797 points (64.3%) and 592 of 1,139 rebounds (52.0%) return from 2020-21.
Also, UT returns 115 of 137 blocks (83.9%), 84 of 112 three-pointers (75%), 253 of 366 assists (69.1%), 113 of 165 steals (68.4%), 187 of 293 free throws (63.8%) and 442 of 696 field goals (63.5%).

NINE LETTERWINNERS AND 14 PLAYERS STRONG

All told, Tennessee has nine total letterwinners returning and welcomes five newcomers, providing the Big Orange with its largest roster since 2014-15 (14 players).
Sophomore guard/forward Tess Darby (2.3 ppg., 0.6 rpg., 8.0 mpg.), junior center Emily Saunders (0.8 ppg., 1.1 rpg., 4.3 mpg.) and junior guard Jessie Rennie (0.7 ppg., 0.7 rpg., 0.7 apg., 8.0 mpg.) round out list of the returnees.

IMPRESSIVE FRESHMAN CLASS

The freshman class was rated No. 9 overall/No. 2 SEC by ProspectsNation.com and No. 15 overall/No. 3 SEC by espnW.
It includes 6-2 guard/forward Sara Puckett (Muscle Shoals, Ala./Muscle Shoals H.S.), the Gatorade Player of the Year in Alabama and recipient of WBCA All-America Honorable Mention and Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School All-America Honorable Mention honors. She was ranked No. 28 by ProspectsNation.com and No. 43 by espnW.
Winning Miss Basketball in Alabama over Puckett was Karoline Striplin (Hartford, Ala./Geneva Co. H.S.), a 6-3 forward who earned WBCA All-America Honorable Mention. She was ranked No. 39 by ProspectsNation.com and No. 45 by espnW.
Kaiya Wynn, a 6-0 guard (Richmond, Texas/Foster H.S.), was the state’s 5A Player of the Year in talent-rich Texas in her first season there after moving from Tennessee. She played in the PassThaBall Who’s NXT All-American Game and the TABC and VYPE GHAGBA All-Star Games. She was ranked No. 39 by Blue Star, No. 46 by All-Star Girls Report and No. 62 by espnW.
Brooklynn Miles, a 5-4 point guard (Frankfort, Ky./Franklin Co. H.S.), was Gatorade State Player of the Year and Miss Basketball in Kentucky. She was ranked No. 75 by All-Star Girls Report and No. 89 by ProspectsNation.com.
All five newcomers spent the entire summer in Knoxville getting up to speed.

LADY VOL STAFF CHANGES

The coaching staff has two new faces. To go along with returning assistant Jon Harper, Kellie Harper added veteran aides Samantha Williams and Joy McCorvey to her program.
Williams, who features impressive career stops at DePaul, Duke and Louisville, came to UT after two seasons as head coach at Eastern Kentucky.
McCorvey, meanwhile, joined UT after serving the past three years at Florida State and also possessing six years’ experience at Michigan and another at St. John’s. She served in the role of associate head coach a year ago at FSU, underscoring the valuable experience possessed by the new additions to Harper’s staff.
Williams and McCorvey replace Lacey Goldwire and Jennifer Sullivan. Sullivan was named head coach at Florida Atlantic, while Goldwire is back at Arkansas following a two-year stint at UT.
Basketball support members who are new this season include Bryan Tatum, director of women’s basketball sports performance; Liza Fruendt, director of recruiting operations; and Zion Sanders, graduate assistant. Josh Theis, a former G.A., is now director of video and creative content.

HARPER ATTACKS YEAR THREE AT UT

Kellie Harper is in her third season at Tennessee and in her 18th year as a head coach, featuring an overall record of 323-226 and a mark of 38-18 during her time in Knoxville.
Last season, she became one of only two coaches to guide four different Division I women’s programs to the NCAA Tournament. She has done so at Western Carolina, NC State, Missouri State and Tennessee.
Harper has directed her teams to 13 postseason appearances (six NCAA, 7 WNIT) and would have had No. 14 if the 2020 NCAA Tournament hadn’t been canceled.
She has guided UT to back-to-back third-place SEC finishes, defeating four ranked teams in 2020-21, including the highest ranked foe of her career (#2/3 South Carolina). That triumph was UT’s biggest since an 82-75 home win over No. 2/4 Texas on Dec. 10, 2017.
Tennessee finished No. 14 in the AP Poll and No. 16 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll in 2020-21, suffering their fewest season losses (8) and fewest SEC setbacks since 2014-15. The inclusion in the final AP Poll was UT’s first appearance there since the end of the 2017-18 campaign.

THREE FINAL FOUR TEAMS ON SCHEDULE

Tennessee’s schedule, one its most challenging in several years, features 12 games against teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the 2021 AP Poll, including three squads in last year’s NCAA Final Four.
Among those teams were Final Four squads No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 UConn and No. 3 Stanford, as well as No. 13 Kentucky, No. 21 South Florida, No. 23 Texas A&M, No. 24 Virginia Tech and No. 25 Texas.
Georgia, LSU, Arkansas and Oklahoma State are in the receiving votes category.
UT’s six Power 5 non-conference regular-season opponents are the most since six in 2016-17.

ABOUT GEORGIA COLLEGE

Georgia College is located in Milledgeville, which is located about 30 miles northeast of Macon.
Three former Lady Vols — Tasha Butts, Valerie Freeman and Lisa Webb — all called Milledgeville home and attended Baldwin County High School.
GC is a member of the NCAA Division II Peach Belt Conference, which is headquartered in Augusta, Ga., and consists of schools from Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.

ABOUT THE BOBCATS

Georgia College is coming off a season in which it carded a 1-13 record.
The abbreviated 2020-21 season was highlighted by the first All-Peach Belt honoree for Ross Jolly, with Harper Vick earning a spot on the third team.
Vick averaged 14.9 ppg. last year, firing in 34 points vs. Clayton State on Feb. 3 while hitting all 14 of her free throw attempts to tie a PBC record.
The redshirt junior is one of only four players returning from last season’s squad.
Joining Vick among the returnees are senior Alexis Figures and redshirt freshmen Cassidy Markle and Jada Warren, both of whom played but get to count 2020-21 as a “COVID year.”
GC has only three players standing 6-0 or taller, including a redshirt freshman (6-0) and two true freshmen (6-3, 6-1).
This year’s team features seven true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen among its 14 players.

ABOUT ROSS JOLLY

Ross Jolly, the younger brother of UT’s Kellie (Jolly) Harper begins season number three at the helm of the Bobcat women’s basketball program.
Jolly joined Georgia College after spending three seasons as assistant women’s basketball coach at Division I Radford University in Virginia.
He became the seventh head coach in GC women’s basketball history, filling the vacancy left by Maurice Smith’s departure to Flagler College.
A native of Sparta, Tennessee, Jolly earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga in 2011.
In addition to sister Kellie’s hoops pursuits, Ross Jolly’s older brother Brent as well as their late father, Kenneth, and mom, Peggy, played basketball collegiately at Tennessee Tech.
Brent also is a former assistant basketball coach, previously working with the men’s program at Chattanooga.

-UT Athletics