Hoops Preview: #13/10 Lady Vols vs. Vanderbilt

No. 13/10 Tennessee (20-4/9-2 SEC) faces off vs. in-state rival Vanderbilt (12-13/3-8 SEC) on Sunday at 12:02 p.m. ET in the annual #Play4Kay pink game at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Lady Vols and Commodores meet for the second time this season and for the 86th occasion since the series began on Jan. 18, 1976, with UT looking to improve its record to 76-10 all-time vs. VU. Kellie Harper‘s squad picked up a 65-51 triumph at Memorial Gym in Nashville the last time these teams convened on Jan. 13, giving Tennessee its third straight victory in the series and 13th “W” in the past 14 meetings.

The Big Orange women bring a seven-game home-court winning streak into Sunday’s contest and are 12-1 on The Summitt in 2021-22.

Vandy, meanwhile, carries a three-game losing streak to Rocky Top. The ‘Dores are 1-7 in road contests this season, including 0-5 at the venues of SEC foes.

The Lady Vols snapped a two-game losing skid of their own on Thursday night in Knoxville, barreling out to a 58-33 lead after three quarters and coasting to a 76-62 victory over Missouri.

The Commodores, meanwhile, fell at Texas A&M, 76-58, on Thursday night. Vandy trailed by nine entering the final frame, but the Aggies utilized a 23-14 final-quarter effort to carve out the decisive margin.

The 2021-22 season brought a brand new look to this rivalry, as former Lady Vol standout Kellie Harper, who is in her third year leading her alma mater, met first-year Vandy skipper Shea Ralph, a UConn alum, for the very first time as head coaches. The duo’s careers at UT and UConn overlapped from 1996-97 to 1998-99, with Harper (then known as Kellie Jolly) helping lead UT to the second and third of three-straight NCAA titles in 1997 and 1998, while Ralph contributed to a UConn crown in 1999-2000 after Harper had graduated. Harper was 4-2 as a player vs. UConn, including 3-1 in games when both were on the rosters of the respective programs.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Tiffany Greene (play-by-play) and Steffi Sorensen (analyst) will have the call for the SEC Network television broadcast.
• 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. He will be 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.
• Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.

GAME PROMOTIONS

• Sunday’s game is UT’s #Play4Kay game, with each team wearing pink as part of their uniform design to bring awareness to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund’s fight toward ending all forms of cancer affecting women.
• Uniting players, coaches and fans to do something for the greater good that far exceeds wins and losses on the court, the #Play4Kay initiative is the largest fundraiser and plays a major role in the success of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
• Free parking and shuttle service from the Ag Campus (Lot CF near Brehm & Food Science Bldgs.).
• For additional details and information, please call 865-974-1734 or visit the Fans tab on UTSports.com and click on the Fan Experience link.

UT NO. 12 OVERALL IN NCAA COMMITTEE BRACKET REVEAL

• The NCAA Committee shared its second projected women’s tournament bracket of 2021-22 on Feb. 10, highlighting the current top 16 seeds who can earn the right to host if they remain among those seeds when the official bracket is announced on Sunday, March 13.
• The Lady Vols were positioned at No. 12 overall, possessing a No. 3 seed in the Spokane Region in that bracket.
• Tennessee was slotted at No. 4 overall, holding a No. 1 seed in the Wichita Region in the first reveal (1/27).
• A final halftime reveal is scheduled for Feb. 28 (Baylor vs. Iowa State, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
• The first and second rounds take place on March 18-21, with First Four games slated for March 16-17.
• Tennessee is vying to host for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

ABOUT THE LADY VOLS

• Tennessee has dealt with more than its fair share of injuries in 2021-22. While the Lady Vols were able to overcome some of their misfortunes, they are trying to move past another setback.
• The latest injury occurred on Jan. 23 at Georgia, when reserve forward/center and team leader Keyen Green (7.0 ppg., 3.2 rpg.) was lost for the year due to a knee injury.
• While UT was able to hold on and defeat the Bulldogs in that game, they subsequently dropped three out of four games by substantial margins, revealing just how vital Green was to the team. UT was able to finally get back on the winning track on Thursday vs. Missouri and hopes to continue in a positive direction on Sunday.
• Marta Suárez, a 6-2 guard/forward (4.1 ppg., 3.6 rpg.), another glue-type player for this program, already was sitting out the year due to an injury, so Green’s loss even more severely affected Tennessee’s depth.
• UT’s top returnee, preseason All-SEC pick Rae Burrell, suffered a knee injury in game one and missed 12 games before gradually working her way back into the lineup. Her 10.3 ppg., 2.9 rpg. stat line, however, is shy of last season’s 16.8 ppg., 4.6 rpg. productivity.
• All of that said, the Lady Vols still stand at 20-4 overall and 9-2 in SEC play as they prepare to close out the regular season with three of the final five contests on their home court.
• Tennessee picked up its fifth victory over a ranked team this season on Jan. 23, as the Lady Vols came from nine down to defeat No. 13/13 Georgia in Athens, 63-55. UT recorded four wins over ranked foes the entire 2020-21 campaign and had only one ranked win in 2019-20.
• The Big Orange women also have victories over No. 23/22 South Florida (52-49), No. 12/21 Texas (74-70 OT), No. 25/23 Texas A&M (73-45) and No. 19/20 Kentucky (84-58) to their credit and beat RV/RV Virginia Tech (64-58) and RV/RV Ole Miss (70-58) on the road this season.
• Tennessee is led statistically by Jordan Horston, a dynamic 6-2 junior guard, who paces the team in scoring (16.4 ppg.), rebounding (9.5), assists (3.8 apg.) and steals (1.5) in a breakout season for the five-star player who came out of high school ranked No. 2 overall and the No. 1 guard in the 2019 espnW HoopGurlz 100.
• Horston, who has made the top 10 list for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award and the midseason list for the Naismith Trophy, leads the Lady Vols with 11 double-doubles and has topped UT in scoring 14 times. She has seven games of 20 or more points, including four of the past five contests.
• Senior All-SEC First Team preseason pick Rae Burrell (10.3 ppg., 2.9 rpg.) has seen action the past 11 games after missing the previous 12 contests due to a leg injury suffered in the opener vs. Southern Illinois. She has hit double figures in six of the past eight games, hitting 10+ for the first time since Nov. 10 with 11 at Vanderbilt on Jan. 13 and carding a season-high 21 vs. Arkansas on Jan. 31. Over her last four games, Burrell is putting up 13.0 ppg. and 3.4 rpg.
• Tamari Key, a 6-6 junior center, is putting up 9.7 ppg. and 8.0 rpg. to go along with 3.7 bpg. She had a triple-double of 10 points, 18 rebounds and 10 blocks in UT’s 74-70 OT victory over No. 12/21 Texas.
• Key, rated No. 47 as a prep by espnW, is second on the team with seven double-doubles thus far and has scored in double figures in 12 games for the Lady Vols. She leads the nation in blocked shots (88) and is second in bpg. (3.7), sitting in UT’s single-season top 10 for the third time at No. 5 with 88 swats in 24 contests. The member of the Lisa Leslie Award Top 10 also ranks sixth (86, 2019-20, 31 games) and ninth (72, 2020-21, 25 games) on that list.
• Alexus Dye, a 6-0 forward, is fourth among UT players in scoring at 9.0 ppg. She is third in rebounding at 7.2 rpg and has three double-doubles, including a 13/10 effort vs. Arkansas most recently. The graduate transfer from Troy, who is among the Katrina McClain Award Top 10, has scored in double figures 11 times, including an 11-point effort vs. Missouri.
• Graduate guard Jordan Walker, who had 17 points vs. Auburn, is Tennessee’s fifth-highest scorer, putting up 7.5 ppg., while tallying 3.9 rpg. and 3.0 apg. to rank fourth and second for UT in those categories. Walker is tied for third on the team with Tamari Key at 9.4 ppg. in SEC games and grabs 4.2 rpg.
• Freshman guard/forward Sara Puckett is UT’s sixth-leading scorer. The No. 43 espnW prospect coming out of high school is putting up 7.2 ppg. and is shooting 48.3 percent from the field, 33.9 percent on threes and 75.0 percent on free throws and has scored in double figures six times, including a critical 10-point, 10-rebound double-double in the win over Arkansas on Jan. 31.
• Sophomore Tess Darby has emerged this season as Tennessee’s leading long-distance threat, connecting on 36 of 96 attempts (37.5 pct.). Sara Puckett (33.9) and Jordan Walker (32.8) have hit 20 treys each. Darby, after going 4-for-7 vs. Missouri on Thursday is 20 of 42 in SEC play for 47.6 percent.
• Jordan Horston is putting up 17.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 10 home games.
• Rae Burrell (13.4), Tamari Key (10.3) and Alexus Dye (10.1) are tallying double-figures point production in contests played at Thompson-Boling Arena.
• Tennessee is outscoring opponents 76.3 to 57.0 at home, outshooting them 42.5 percent to 32.0 and out-rebounding them 51.8 to 34.8.
• UT is averaging 7.0 blocks per contest at home, led by Tamari Key at 4.6 bpg.
• The Lady Vols average 15.2 turnovers at home and 20.1 on the road this season.

TENNESSEE NOTES DURING SEC PLAY

• Kellie Harper‘s squad holds down second place in the SEC standings, trailing No. 1/1 South Carolina (10-1) by a game at 9-2.
• UT is scoring 69.9 ppg. and allowing 61.3 ppg., while shooting 41.5 percent from the field and holding opponents to only 34.7 percent on field goals.
• Tennessee is out-rebounding SEC teams 48.5 to 35.9 for a +12.6 margin.
• The Lady Vols have limited SEC foes to shooting only 24.0 percent from the three-point arc, including games vs. noted three-ball teams Arkansas (twice), Texas A&M and Missouri.
• UT has worked to elevate its free-throw shooting. It shot 59.2 vs. non-conference foes and has raised it to 67.3 percent in 11 SEC games.
• Jordan Horston (16.7 ppg., 9.7 rpg. and 3.7 apg.) leads the team statistically against league competition, followed by Rae Burrell (10.0 ppg., 3.1 rpg.), Tamari Key (9.4 ppg., 7.0 rpg.) Jordan Walker (9.4 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 3.0 apg.) and Alexus Dye (8.4 ppg., 6.5 rpg.).
• Key is shooting 56.7 percent from the floor vs. SEC foes and has blocked 44 shots already for a 4.0 blocks per game average.
• Also worth noting, Tess Darby (6.4 ppg.) is 20 of 42 on threes (47.6) during league play, while Jordan Walker is nine of 24 (37.5), Rae Burrell is nine of 26 (34.6) and Jordan Horston is nine of 29 (31.0).
• Jordan Walker (78.6), Alexus Dye (76.9) and Tamari Key (71.4) have been much improved at the charity stripe during league play.
• Freshmen Sara Puckett (20.1) and Brooklynn Miles (18.0) are seeing significant minutes per game in SEC play for Tennessee.

LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME

• Bouncing back into the win column, the No. 13/10 Tennessee women’s basketball team raced to a 58-33 lead after the first three quarters and coasted to victory over Missouri, 76-62, Thursday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.
• The Lady Vols (20-4/9-2 SEC) grabbed their 20th win of the season, the 44th time in 48 years that the program has reached that total. Missouri fell to 16-8, 5-6 in league play, as Kellie Harper‘s squad moved to 4-0 over the Tigers under her leadership.
• UT spread the scoring around on offense with four players finishing in double figures. Junior Jordan Horston led the Big Orange attack with 21 points, followed by sophomore Tess Darby with 12 points and graduate Alexus Dye and senior Rae Burrell adding 11 each.
• Horston was all over the floor, notching her 11th double-double of the season by adding 13 rebounds along with five assists.
• Tamari Key was a brick wall around the bucket, swatting away seven shots. In Lady Vol history, there have been 17 games where an individual has blocked seven or more shots, Key owns six of those games.

NOTABLES FROM OUR LAST GAME

• ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON: With the win over Missouri, Tennessee improved its record to 20-4 and reached 20 wins for the 44th time in 48 years.  Kellie Harper now has recorded nine 20-win seasons as a head coach, including two of her three at the helm of the Lady Volunteers, with last year’s 17-win campaign coming because of reduced game totals due to COVID cancellations. 
• HORSTON HAS IT:  Jordan Horston finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, carding her team-leading 11th double-double of the season and her seventh 20-point effort of the year. For the junior, it was her fourth 20-point performance in the past five games.
• KEY RACKING UP BLOCKS: Junior center Tamari Key tallied seven blocked shots on the night, marking her third effort of seven blocks or more on the season. She now has 88 swats for the 2021-22 campaign, moving her past her own total of 86 in 2019-20 and the 86 of Candace Parker in 2005-06 into fifth place on the UT season list. She now has 246 for her career, trailing second-place Sheila Frost (249) by only three and school record-holder Candace Parker (275) by 29.
• T3SS FOR THR33: Sophomore Tess Darby finished with 12 points and carded her fourth game this season in double figures, connecting on four of seven three-point attempts. She is now 20 of 42 from long range in SEC play for 47.6 percent and is 36 of 95 for the year for a 37.9 percentage.
• RAE IN DOUBLE FIGURES AGAIN: Rae Burrell finished with 11 points vs. Missouri and turned in her sixth double-figure scoring effort in the last eight games after working her way back from an early-season injury. In the other two games, Burrell was just shy of 10, with eight and nine, respectively.
• TAKING BACK THE BOARDS: After coming up short vs. Florida and tying UConn in total rebounds, the Lady Vols outworked the Tigers 46-31 on the boards Thursday night. Tennessee now has won the rebounding battle in 21 of 24 contests and has had a double-digit advantage in 18 of those 24. UT’s 18 offensive boards led to a 13-4 edge in second-chance points.

UT-VANDERBILT SERIES NOTES

• The Lady Vols are 75-10 all-time vs. Vanderbilt, including 34-1 vs. the Commodores in Knoxville, 31-7 in Nashville and 10-2 at neutral sites, with those being postseason games.
• UT has won 13 of the past 14 games in the series and the last seven times in Nashville.
• These squads have been to overtime on one occasion, with Tennessee seizing a 92-79 decision in Nashville on Jan. 19, 1997.
• Including that OT game in ’97, Kellie (Jolly) Harper was 9-0 vs. VU as a Lady Vol point guard, and she is 3-0 as head coach at Tennessee.
• Harper was 0-1 vs. VU as head coach at Western Carolina and 1-1 while at NC State.

ABOUT THE COMMODORES

• The Commodores are led by senior forward Brinae Alexander (15.4 ppg., 44 3FGs) and sophomore guard Iyana Moore (11.9 ppg., 57 3FGs).
• Vandy has held foes to 62.0 points per game on the season, but it has given up 69.6 in league play.
• VU’s SEC wins have come over Arkansas, Kentucky and Auburn, all in Memorial Gym.

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

• Vanderbilt is led by first-year head coach Shea Ralph.
• Ralph, a UConn alum, spent 13 seasons on the staff of the Huskies. She also carded five years as an assistant at Pitt from 2003-08 between her playing career and return to Storrs as a coach.

LAST TIME VU PLAYED

• Vanderbilt fell to Texas A&M 76-58 on Thursday evening at Reed Arena in College Station.
• The Commodores (12-13, 3-8 SEC) were led by the senior duo of Jordyn Cambridge and Brinae Alexander in double figures with 13 and 12 points.
• Texas A&M utilized a 32-18 points-in-the-paint advantage throughout the game and a 23-14 final quarter differential to take the victory.

WHEN UT AND VANDY LAST MET

• No. 5/6 Tennessee remained perfect in SEC play, defeating Vanderbilt in Memorial Gymnasium on Jan. 13, 2022, 65-51.
• UT (16-1, 5-0 SEC), which was off to its best league start since opening at 13-0 in 2014-15, was led by junior Jordan Horston. The 6-foot-2 guard stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and a career-high-tying four blocks. Senior Rae Burrell and junior Tamari Key were also in double figures with 11 and 10, respectively.
• Iyana Moore was the high scorer for Vanderbilt (10-7, 1-2 SEC) with 16, and Brinae Alexander was close behind with 15.

LAST MEETING BETWEEN THESE TWO TEAMS IN KNOXVILLE

• Tennessee held off in-state rival Vanderbilt on Feb. 23, 2020, winning in Knoxville, 67-63.
• Rennia Davis led Tennessee (18-9, 8-6 SEC), posting a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Jordan Horston was close behind with 16 points, while sophomore forward Rae Burrell finished with 12.
• Chelsie Hall and Mariella Fasoula were the high scorers for Vanderbilt (13-14, 3-11 SEC) with 20 and 18, respectively.

UP NEXT: ON THE ROAD FOR TWO

• After two at home, the Lady Vols hit the road for their last two road contests of the regular season.
• UT faces Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT/7 ET (SECN+).
• Tennessee then faces a Sunday matinee at No. 1/1 South Carolina. The TV network and tip time have changed to ABC and 1 p.m. ET. at Colonial Life Arena. ESPN GameDay will be live in Columbia from noon to 1 p.m. ET.

-UT Athletics