Category: Lady Vols

Top-ranked Stanford topples Lady Vols, 78-51

Stanford topples Lady Vols, 78-51.

PALO ALTO — The Lady Vols made a long trip to Stanford Wednesday night to take on the top-ranked Cardinal and they had a long night on the hardwood.

Tennessee dropped a 78-51 decision at Maples Pavilion.

The Lady Vols (8-2) got off to a fast start and led 12-10 before Rennia Davis picked up her second foul midway through the first quarter.

When she exited the game, the Cardinal (10-0) scored the final 10 points of the opening frame and opened a 20-12 advantage.

For the Lady Vols, it was all downhill from there.

Davis was the only Tennessee player to score in double figures. She had 14 points. Jordan Horston added nine and Rae Burrell also finished with nine.

Stanford’s Kiana Williams scored 19 points to lead all scorers. Lexie Hull added 11 and Ashten Prechtel finished with 10.

Time change for Lady Vols’ SEC-opening game to avoid conflict with Gator Bowl

Time change for Lady Vols’ SEC-opening game to avoid conflict with Gator Bowl.

KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee announced that the Lady Vols’ SEC-opening basketball game vs. Missouri on Jan. 2 will now tip at 5 p.m. ET.

The change is to avoid conflict with Tennessee’s football game against Indiana in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

UT press release:

The Lady Vols’ SEC-opening basketball game vs. Missouri in Thompson-Boling Arena on Jan. 2 will now tip at 5 p.m. ET, the UT Athletics Department announced on Friday.

The game was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, but to avoid a head-to-head conflict with the Tennessee football team’s TaxSlayer Gator Bowl contest at that same time, UT administrators inquired about shifting the tip-off for the women’s basketball game two hours earlier. The coaching staff and administration at Mizzou were agreeable to that change, as were officials at the league office and SEC Network.

The UT-MU game can be seen live and in its entirety on SECN+ at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 2. SECN+ games are online broadcasts and are available only on WatchESPN via computers, smartphones and tablets. 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.

Lady Vols bounce back, beat CSU

Lady Vols bounce back, beat CSU.

KNOXVILLE — The Lady Vols hit the floor a little more than 72 hours after suffering their first loss of the season and showed that they had a little resilience when they routed Colorado State, 79-41, Wednesday night a Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee (8-1) lost at home to Texas on Sunday afternoon and assured that there would be no repeat performance against the Rams (5-6).

The Lady Vols will have a week off before hitting the road and heading west to Northern California to tangle with top-ranked Stanford on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at Naples Arena.

Tennessee clamped down defensively after opening a 15-10 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Colorado State relies on its outside game, but the Rams only went 8-for-43 from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Lady Vols also struggled from outside early, but they were able to turn their stingy defense into a potent offense via their transition game.

UT had four players score in double figures. Rennia Davis and Jordan Horston each had a double-double.

Davis scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. She also scored her 1,000th career point in the third quarter. Horston finished with 10 and a career-high 14 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Tamari Key added 11 points and Jazmine Massengill also had a career-high 16 points. She also had five rebounds and three assists.

Texas knocks Lady Vols from ranks of unbeaten

Texas knocks Lady Vols from ranks of the unbeaten.

KNOXVILLE — The Lady Vols faced their first real test of the 2019-2020 season on Sunday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena and things didn’t go well for Tennessee, which suffered its first loss of the season to a Texas team that has been inconsistent as it has played a tough schedule.

The Lady Vols came up on the short end of a 66-60 decision against the Longhorns (5-4).

It was Kellie Harper’s first loss as Tennessee’s head coach.

The Lady Vols (7-1) trailed by as many as 12 points Sunday and battled from behind for much of the game, but they took a 53-50 lead early in the fourth quarter and proceeded to commit three consecutive turnovers. Texas cashed in on the miscues and went on an 8-0 run to put the game away.

The Lady Vols were their own worst enemy at times, settling for outside shots despite the fact that Texas post players Joyner Holmes and Charli Collier were in foul trouble all day.

Constant foul trouble rendered that duo ineffective, but the Longhorns’ guards stepped up. Lashann Hicks and Alecia Sutton scored 19 points each and Jada Underwood added 13 for Texas which led 42-36 at halftime thanks to a 3-pointer from Tennessee’s Rennia Davis as time expired in the second stanza.

Davis led the Lady Vols with 15 points. Jazmine Massengill added 10 for Tennessee, which hosts Colorado State Wednesday night.

Lady Vols welcome Texas to Big Orange Country

Lady Vols welcome Texas to Big Orange Country.

KNOXVILLE — When the Lady Vols welcome Texas to Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday afternoon, it will mark the 41st meeting between two of the most tradition-rich women’s college basketball programs in the country.

It is also a meeting between two schools looking to return to past glory on the hardwood as part of the 2019 SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. and the game will be the fifth of six consecutive home games for the Lady Vols, who enter action with a perfect 7-0 record and ranked in the Top-20.

The Longhorns are 4-4 and unranked this season. Texas enters the game on the heels of having dropped two out of three games in Hawaii at the Rainbow Wahne Showdown over Thanksgiving Weekend.

The Longhorns closed out tournament play with a loss to the host Rainbow Warriors 73-60 on Sunday, Dec. 1. Texas opened tournament play with a 84-73 loss to North Carolina State before defeating North Texas 63-57 in a consolation semifinal.

The Longhorns are one of Tennessee’s longstanding non-conference rivals. The Lady Vols hold a 25-15 advantage in the all-time series.

 

 

Lady Vols defeat Air Force 81-54 to remain unbeaten

Lady Vols defeat Air Force 81-54 to remain unbeaten.

KNOXVILLE — The Lady Vols overcame a sluggish offensive start to keep their perfect record intact with a 81-54 victory over Air Force Sunday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee (7-0) missed its first six field goal attempts and started 1-for-8 from the floor and struggled offensively.

But the Lady Vols came ready to play defensively as they forced the Falcons into 22 turnovers and they had six blocked shots. Tennessee also held Air Force (1-7) to 29 percent shooting (21-for-71).

The Falcons did outrebound the Lady Vols 40-39, but Tennessee had 15 steals.

Offensively, UT boasted a balanced scoring attack with Rennia Davis and Rae Burrell scoring 18 points each and were two of five Lady Vols to post double figures in the scoring column.

Kasiyhna Kushkituah added 13 points. Jazmine Massengill had 11 and Tamari Key finished with 10.

Tennessee will now have a week off. The Lady Vols will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 8 when they host longtime rival Texas at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tipoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. (EST).

Women’s Basketball Profile: Rennia Davis

Women’s Basketball Profile: Rennia Davis

KNOXVILLE — The Lady Vols basketball team has gotten off to a scorching start this season, thanks in large part to the play of Rennia Davis.

Hailing from Jacksonville, Fla., Davis been a leader for this Tennessee squad reminiscent of Rocky Top legend Candace Parker. The 6-foot-2 junior swingwoman has been a tugboat for the team in her two-plus seasons, logging over 30 minutes per game during that stretch, and providing both a scoring punch and a presence on the glass.

Davis played high school ball at Jacksonville’s Ribault High School starting in 2014, where she earned numerous accolades. She was named to the FABC 4A All-State First Team all four years she played, and led her squad to state titles in both her junior and senior seasons; she participated on three total championship teams at Ribault. She averaged 20.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game her junior year, and for her senior season, Davis elevated her scoring game to post 26.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, and was named a McDonald’s All-American and MaxPreps First-Team All-American, among many other distinctions. It should also be noted that she was a superlative student, graduating 14th in her class and earning a dual-enrollment AA degree, while also being named to the National Honor Society.

Before beginning her collegiate career, Davis played in the 2016 USA Women’s U17 World Championship Team Trials with the AAU club Essence. She averaged 12.3 points over seven games, scoring double digits in five of those matches and sporting a high mark of 20 points, while also averaging 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game over the same stretch.

Davis came out of the gates on fire for the Lady Volunteers, averaging 12.0 points and 7.6 rebounds in her debut season, while starting 32 of 33 games on the year. She finished sixth all-time in rebounds per game by a Lady Vol freshman with 7.6, ranking No. 11 in rebounding in the SEC and second among conference freshmen. She shot .483 from the field, .329 on three-pointers — her 25 treys were the fourth-most on the team. She also notched nine double-doubles to tie Tamika Catchings for fifth-most double-doubles ever recorded by a Lady Vol freshman.

Her sophomore year was an impressive step forward that earned her a 2019 All-SEC Second Team selection as well as a WBCA All-America Honorable Mention selection. She led the Lady Vols in scoring (14.9), rebounding (7.7) and free throw percentage (.856) in just her second season in Knoxville. Her free throw mark was an SEC-best, while her rebounding and scoring numbers placed her eighth and twelfth in the conference, respectively. She continued her tear as a double-double machine, matching her freshman season output of nine — the seventh-most double-doubles ever by a UT sophomore and the sixth-most by an active player in the SEC. She also scored in double figures a team-leading 26 times, with 16 games of 15-plus points and six of 20 or more.

Expectations have been high for Davis entering her junior year after being named to numerous watch-lists, including the Wooden Award Preseason Top 30, the Citizen Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List, and the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 30. So far, she has lived up to the hype, recording double-doubles in four of her first six games, and already receiving one SEC Player of the Week award after she exploded for a career-high 33 points against a then No. 16-ranked Notre Dame squad. She’s averaging 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game so far, making 18 of 22 free throws for a healthy 82 percent mark.

The women’s team has gotten off to a tremendous start this season winning their first six games out of the gate, and Rennia Davis is one of the biggest factors in their success. The talent and potential has always been there, and fans are now witnessing one of Tennessee’s best players blossom right before their eyes. With Rennia Davis holding the reins, the possibilities for the Lady Vols are endless.

Lady Vols basketball tame Golden Lions

KNOXVILLE – The Tennessee Volunteers women’s basketball team continued their winning ways on Tuesday night, manhandling the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions, 92-51. The Lady Vols were led by double-double machine Rennia Davis, who scored 17 points …

KNOXVILLE — The Tennessee Volunteers women’s basketball team continued their winning ways on Tuesday night, manhandling the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions, 92-51.

The Lady Vols were led by double-double machine Rennia Davis, who scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, along with four assists. Rae Burrell came off the bench to add 17 points of her own, as well as six rebounds in an outstanding sixth-women effort. Kasiyahna Kushkituah also added 15 points and six rebounds off the pine to round out the Volunteers in double figures.

Tennessee never trailed in the match, taking their first lead two minutes in on a Lou Brown layup. UT’s largest lead of the game as the final margin, which steadily built up over the course of the match, as the Golden Lions never threatened. Remarkably, the Lady Vols nearly shut out their opponent in the second quarter, allowing UAPB’s first score at the one minute mark and only allowing four total points before the halftime buzzer.

Despite the impressive final margin of victory, the Lady Vols committed 19 turnovers along with 19 personal fouls, and they also missed all 10 of their three-point attempts — all numbers that can be improved upon. Otherwise, the girls looked great, shooting 55 percent from the field overall and making two-thirds of their free throws.

The win moves the Lady Vols to 6-0 on the season, taking their first three road games along with the trio of home matches they have played thus far on their six-game homestand. It also elevates the women’s home record at Thompson-Boling Arena to an astounding 456-45 record over the years.

The Lady Vols next take on Air Force at home on Sunday, December 1. Tip-off is schedule for 2 p.m. ET and can be watched on SECN and listened to on affiliated Vols networks.

Lady Vols basketball trounce Stetson

Lady Vols basketball trounce Stetson.

KNOXVILLE — The Tennessee Volunteers women’s basketball team defeated the Stetson Hatters on Tuesday night, 73-46, in their 500th game at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Lady Vols were led by Rennia Davis, who scored 15 points, along with five rebounds and two assists. Jordan Horston scored 11 points in the first quarter, including three three-pointers, en route to a 14 point performance in support; she also grabbed five boards and dished out seven assists. Three other players — Jazmine Massengill, Kasiyahna Kushkituah and Rae Burrell — also posted double-digit points.

The Volunteers came out of the gates making three buckets from beyond the arc on three straight possessions, missing the fourth consecutive attempt to break the streak. The Lady Vols never trailed and reached their biggest lead of 27 at the 1:52 mark of the fourth quarter, which ultimately was the final margin of victory.

Tennessee shot 43 percent from the field with a 38 percent mark from three-point range after a hot start, and they posted a 65 percent free throw average on 23 attempts — all numbers that indicate another solid performance by the squad. Their 13 turnovers to Stetson’s 11 suggest that the game was well-executed on both sides.

The win improved the program to an incredible 455-45 record at Thompson-Boling Arena in their second game of a six-game homestand. It also marks head coach Kellie Harper’s first 5-0 start of her career.

The Volunteers will next host the Arkansas-Pine Bluffs Golden Lions next Tuesday, November 26, heading into the Thanksgiving break. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

Lady Vols throttle Tennessee State

Lady Vols throttle Tennessee State.

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KNOXVILLE — The Lady Vols basketball team remains perfect on the year after handily defeating the Tennessee State Tigers at home, 73-43.

The Volunteers never trailed in the game — the last time the match was tied came at the 3:36 mark of the first quarter, after which Tennessee steadily pulled away. UT’s largest lead of 32 points came at the 6:09 mark in the fourth quarter, and from there they drifted to a 30-point margin for the final score.

Sophomore swingwoman Rae Burrell led all scorers, notching 14 points off the bench while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out three assists. Junior swingwoman and SEC Player of the Week Rennia Davis added 12 points of her own along with 11 rebounds for her third double-double in four games to open the season. Junior center Kasiyahna Kushkituah was the only other Vol in double digits, scoring 11 points along with seven rebounds coming off the pine.

The Lady Vols shot 42 percent from the field, including a paltry 26 percent from behind the arc. Tennessee’s 19 turnovers were also a bit of a blemish, but they outrebounded State 60-38 — 18 of which were of the offensive variety. UT shot 62 percent from the charity stripe, showing some continued improvement in that department, but still with some room to grow.

The next game is on Tuesday, November 19, against the Stetson Hatters at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.