JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Lady Vols staved off a tenacious ETSU squad on Tuesday night, opening the Kellie Harper era with a gritty 72-68 win in front of a crowd of 5,881 at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tenn.

Tennessee (1-0) was paced by junior Rennia Davis and freshman Tamari Key who each notched double-doubles. Davis ended the evening with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Key recorded 11 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Zaay Green led UT in scoring with 17 points.

ETSU (0-1) was led by Erica Haynes-Overton who poured in a commanding 41 points while pulling down 10 boards and snagging seven steals. E’Lease Stafford was also in doubles figures for the Bucs with 13.

Redshirt junior Jaiden McCoy got things started for the Lady Vols, posting up and spinning for a layup from the left block to score the first official points of her Tennessee career less than a minute into the season opener. UT then hit a scoring slump, going nearly four minutes without a bucket while ETSU jumped out to a 7-2 lead. Freshman Jordan Horston broke the drought, driving the full length of the floor to lay the ball in for two points. Redshirt senior Lou Brown and freshman Tamari Key would combine for six unanswered points to tie the game at 10-all with three minutes left in the quarter before Horston struck again to reclaim the lead for UT at 12-10. Tennessee went on to take a 19-15 lead into the second stanza.

The teams traded baskets through the first three and a half minutes of the second quarter before Green scored six straight points to fuel an 11-4 run that put UT up 34-24 with just under three and a half minutes remaining in the half. Micah Sheetz answered with a long-range three for Bucs, but UT kept the pressure on and took a 40-30 lead into the break.

Green struck first in the second half, draining a three to put UT up 43-30 a minute into the quarter. E’Lease Stafford answered a minute and a half later, cutting Tennessee’s lead to eight at 45-37. Both teams picked up the pace on offense as the quarter progressed, but Tennessee outpaced the Buccaneers, outscoring them 16-13 to close out the third with a 61-50 lead.

With just under seven minutes remaining in the game, Haynes-Overton sank a three then followed it up with a steal and layup to cut UT’s lead to single digits at 63-56. Davis answered with a three of her own to put the Lady Vols back up by 10 with just over five minutes remaining. The Bucs rallied back though, cutting the lead to three off the handiwork of Overton-Hayes and Stafford with just over a minute to play. Overton-Haynes then converted on one of two free-throws to further shrink the deficit to two with 34.1 seconds remaining. Green responded by knocking down back-to-back free throws on the other end to extend UT’s lead to 70-66 with 26.9 to play. Haynes-Overton again answered, knocking down a 10-foot jumper on the baseline, but Davis and Burrell each hit free throws to put the game out of reach, and UT went on to win 72-68.

Up Next: The Lady Vols have a quick turnaround, returning home to host Central Arkansas on Thursday at 7 p.m. That game features UT’s Knox County Schools night, and fans donating two school supply items will receive a complimentary ticket. Fans can also tune in online on SECN+.

Newbies Getting Things Started: Tennessee’s first 17 points were scored by four Lady Vols playing in their first game (McCoy-2, Horston-4, Brown-9, Key-2). That quartet helped UT’s bench outscore ETSU’s 33-2.

Transfers Making Waves: Jaiden McCoy started the game for UT, becoming just the second transfer student to start in her debut. Shannon Bobbitt was the first in 2006. Meanwhile, Lou Brown came off the bench to pour in 11 points, making her one of just five transfers to score in double digits during her first game in orange.

TK Coming In Hot: Freshman Tamari Key made her presence known, pulling down 10 boards in the first half en route to a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds in her Lady Vol debut. She became the eighth Lady Vol to record a double-double in her debut. She is only the sixth Lady Vol ever to record 10+ rebounds in her debut with only one other (Tiffani Johnson, 17) having ever recorded more than her 12.

Double-Double Davis: Junior Rennia Davis logged 13 points and 10 rebounds to record her first double-double of the season and the 19th of her career. She is now tied with Jaime Nared for 19th all-time in career double-doubles.

Owning The Glass: The Lady Vols out-rebounded the Bucs 62-29 and outscored them 19-2 in second-chance points via 25 offensive boards.

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Behind four double-figure scorers, Tennessee grabbed a 78-63 opening-night victory over UNC Asheville Tuesday in Thompson-Boling Arena.

After the Bulldogs (0-1) scored on their first possession of the second half, the Vols (1-0) proceeded to go on a 15-1 run to extend their lead to 20 points. UNC Asheville was held without a field goal for 5:31, as they were 0-of-5 from the field during the stretch.

Lamonte Turner helped Tennessee close out its first win of the season with 10 of his game-high 17 points coming in the second half. He also led the Vols with six assists.

Fellow upperclassman Yves Pons posted a career-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting while also tying his career-high with three blocks. He helped Tennessee control the glass, snagging seven rebounds.

Pons was one of five Vols who collected six or more rebounds in the game, as the team finished with 49 boards, including 17 offensive rebounds. John Fulkerson tallied a game-high nine rebounds, as he nearly finished with a double-double (10 points).

One of those players who finished with six or more rebounds was Jalen Johnson, who like Pons had a career night against the Bulldogs. Johnson finished the game with a career-high eight points, career-high six rebounds and he tied his career-high with a pair of assists.

Tuesday’s lid-lifter was a one-possession game through the first six minutes of action, then the Vols clamped down defensively as UNC Asheville was held without a point for a stretch of 5:36. During that time, Tennessee went on a 9-0 run, taking an 18-10 lead with 11:09 left in the first half.

Tennessee extended the lead to as many as 14 points in the first half before taking a 36-28 advantage into the locker room.

Vols freshman Oliver Nkamhoua emphatically closed out the half when he received a pass from Fulkerson along the baseline and threw it down with two hands as the final seconds ticked off the clock in the first half.

CLEANING THE GLASS: Tennessee finished the game with a 49-29 rebounding edge, the largest single-game rebounding margin (+20) of the Rick Barnes era. On the defensive glass, the Vols were +14, as they tallied 32 defense rebounds to UNC Asheville’s 18.

OPENING-NIGHT DEBUTS: Freshmen Josiah-Jordan James, Olivier Nkamhoua and Davonte Gaines all made their Tennessee debuts.

Gaines led the newcomers in scoring with nine points and also grabbed three rebounds. Nkahouma had seven points and seven rebounds, while James started and scored two points, grabbed six rebounds and had two assists.

CAREER NIGHTS: Yves Pons and Jalen Johnson both had career-highs in points in the season-opener, while Pons also tied a career-best mark in blocks.

In his 14th career start, Pons had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting with three blocks. Propelled by two 3-pointers, Johnson had eight points in a career-high 23 minutes played.

UP NEXT: Before traveling to Toronto for the James Naismith Classic, where the Vols face Washington, the Vols host Murray State on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 9 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena. The game will air on SEC Network.

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Philadelphia – Tennessee defensive back Bryce Thompson was named the Bednarik Award Player of the Week following his three-interception performance Saturday night in the Vols’ 30-7 Homecoming win over UAB, the Maxwell Football Club announced Tuesday.

The sophomore picked off three passes to tie a single-game program record as the Vols kept the Blazers scoreless until late in the fourth quarter. All of Thompson’s takeaways came in the first half as he became the ninth Vol to record three interceptions in a game. His first pick of the year came on the game’s first offensive play with Thompson intercepting Blazers’ quarterback Tyler Johnston III and returning it to the UAB 19-yard line to set up a Tennessee field goal.

Thompson is the first player since Deon Grant against Auburn on Oct. 2, 1999 to record thee interceptions in a single game.

The Irmo, S.C., native was named to the PFF College National Team of the Week and earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

He is the first Vol to win the Bednarik Award Player of the Week honor since Darrell Taylor on Nov. 13, 2018.

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