The Lady Vols will tipoff the 2020-21 season Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee was slated to open the season Friday against Florida A&M. Florida A&M announced that its women’s basketball program will opt out of the 2020-21 campaign.
Saturday’s contest against Western Kentucky will tipoff at 2 p.m. EST. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
Second-year Lady Vols’ head coach Kellie Harper met with media ahead of the first game. Below is a transcript provided by the University of Tennessee.
UT press release:
On what she has learned from her team over the past weeks as they prepare to start the season:
“I think one of the biggest things for us is that our returners are better. They have improved. I think our team chemistry has been good. We’ve been working hard on that. I think our newcomers are filing in some spots that we needed, so we’re really excited about their production as well. Everyone is very competitive, and they’re looking forward to playing basketball. I think it’s much needed. We’re excited about game week.”
On Rennia Davis’ next step and what she needs to do to prepare for the WNBA:
“I think Rennia has a very complete game. She can do everything. However, one thing we wanted to see her improve on is getting to the basket, getting to the paint, and maybe playing a bit more physical there. She makes free throws, she can knock down shots, and she is super in transition. We talked to her a lot about that this summer, and she has worked very hard on that. It’s giving her an added dimension to her game.”
On what she has seen and liked in practice so far:
“Our players are picking things up quickly. Our instincts have been good, our balance has been good. We’ve been able to score in a variety of ways offensively. We’ve been getting the ball to the post and getting the ball to the basket. Defensively, I like our focus. Are coaches ever satisfied on defense? Probably not. But when we are playing well, I think we can do some damage defensively. Again, with our length, we’re tall and can contest a lot of shots.”