Tag: Lady Vols

UT News: January 6, 2019

UT News: January 6, 2019

I think we are all breathing normally again after the Taxslayer Gator Bowl win over Indiana. What a game! With football season now officially in the rear view mirror, other sports are in full swing.

The big event over the weekend was the Tennessee Diving Invitational. The Vols had a solid weekend at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center with several divers performing well. Junior Keegan Richardson took a sixth place finish, scoring a total of 287.95 points. The other notable finish from the men’s team came from freshman Nick McCann, who secured a top 20 finish with 210 points.

The Lady Vols diving team competed as well. Freshman Kara Holt was the standout performer for them, placing seventh with 229.7 points. Junior Ana Celaya Hernandez took a 12th place finish at the event, scoring 214.55 points over the weekend.

It’s the first Monday of 2020, which sounds daunting enough. To help you get through it, here’s some more Taxslayer Gator Bowl hype, courtesy of the Volunteer Football Twitter account.

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Former Tennessee high school stars lead Kentucky past Lady Vols

Former Tennessee high school stars lead Kentucky past Lady Vols.

LEXINGTON — A Tennessee native helped Kentucky give the Lady Vols their first Southeastern Conference loss Sunday afternoon at Memorial Coliseum.

Bradley Central graduate and sophomore Rhyne Howard scored a career-high 37 points to lift the No. 13 Wildcats past No. 22 Tennessee, 80-76.

Howard, the reigning National Freshman of the Year also had nine rebounds and five assists to lead Kentucky (12-2 overall, 1-1 SEC) to victory and she wasn’t the only former Tennessee high school star to help the Wildcats bounce back from Thursday night’s loss to South Carolina.

Junior forward KeKe McKinney, a Knoxville native and Fulton High School graduate, scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds for the Wildcats, who trailed 35-33 at halftime.

For Tennessee (11-3, 1-1) Rennia Davis scored had 27 points and six rebounds and Rae Burrell scored 16 points and had five rebounds.

Jordan Horstonn, a freshman, had 13 points, nine assists and four rebounds.

Sabrina Haines added 11 points for the Wildcats.

 

Lady Vols open SEC play with win over Missouri

Lady Vols open SEC play with win over Missouri.

KNOXVILLE — The Lady Vols opened the Southeastern Conference portion of their schedule on a winning note Thursday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee was victorious as it nabbed a 77-66 comeback over Missouri. The Lady Vols got off to a slow start as they trailed 21-16 after the first quarter. They, however, used a 16-7 run in the second stanza to pull ahead.

UT (11-2 overall, 1-0 SEC) boasted a balanced attack as it had three players post double figures in the scoring column.

Rennia Davis led the way with 19 points. She also grabbed nine rebounds. Tamari Key added 16 points for the Lady Vols, who travel to Lexington to face 14th-ranked Kentucky on Sunday.

Jordan Horston scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds.

Tennessee, which is ranked 22nd, also got nine points and five rebounds from Lou Brown. Rae Burrell scored eight points and Jazmine Massengill scored seven points and dished out 12 assists for the Lady Vols.

Missouri’s Amber Smith led all scorers with 22 points as the Tigers dropped to 3-11 overall and 0-1 in the SEC.

Despite recent losses, Vols and Lady Vols remain ranked

Vols and Lady Vols remain ranked.

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee’s men’s and women’s basketball teams got off to hot starts this season, but both have hit recent rough patches.

The Volunteers (7-3) and the Lady Vols (8-2) will both return to the hardwood on Saturday, and both squads are coming off of road losses.

The Vols, in their first true road game of the year, dropped a 78-66 decision to Cincinnati and a few hours later, the Lady Vols were routed by top-ranked Stanford, on the road, 78-51.

The Tennessee men return home Saturday afternoon to take on Jacksonville State (4-7) at 1 p.m., as the Lady Vols continue their West Coast trip when they tangle with Portland State in Oregon at 5 p.m. The Vikings enter Saturday’s tilt with a 6-3 record.

Despite hitting hard times lately, both the Vols and Lady Vols are both ranked in the Top-25.

The Vols are at No. 21, while the Lady Vols are perched at No. 23. Tennessee is one of 11 schools to have both basketball ranked in Top-25.

The other schools are Gonzaga, Arizona, Baylor, Florida State, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon and West Virginia.

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.

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 โ€” 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 McDonaldโ€™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 Womenโ€™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 โ€” 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 โ€” 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.