Tag: Rae Burrell

2022 WNBA Draft Recap: 5 under-the-radar picks that you should be excited about

Looking at five of the most under-the-radar picks of the 2022 WNBA Draft.

Monday night’s 2022 WNBA Draft was a doozy.

It was the first in-person draft since 2019 (pre-pandemic) and the hype around the event didn’t disappoint. Thirty-six players came off the board — some predictable, others not so much. And now that the dust has settled, I’m ready to talk about some of the picks outside of the Top 3 that could potentially be big in the long run.

Let’s run through a list of my five favorite picks of the W’s 2022 draft and break down what has me excited about these rookies’ potential fits on their new teams.

All odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook.

2022 WNBA draft: Rae Burrell selected by Los Angeles Sparks

Lady Vols’ basketball player Rae Burrell drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks.

Rae Burrell was selected in the first round of the WNBA draft Monday.

Burrell, a guard and forward, was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks with the No. 9 overall pick.

She is the 44th Lady Vols’ player to be selected in the WNBA draft. Burrell is the third player to be drafted who played for Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper. Harper completed her third year at Tennessee during the 2021-22 season.

Burrell is the 19th Lady Vol to be selected in the first round in the history of the WNBA draft.

Burrell, a native of Las Vegas, Nevada, finished her four-year career at Tennessee with 1,131 points and ranks 36th on the school’s all-time scoring list.

She was one of 12 prospects to attend the WNBA draft despite missing several games during the 2021-22 season. Burrell suffered a leg injury during the Lady Vols’ season opener against Southern Illinois.

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UT News: December 23, 2019

UT News: December 23, 2019

It’s almost Christmas Eve! As Santa is getting ready to bring presents to the Vols fans and spread coal around the rest of the SEC, I hope you are gearing up for the start of a wonderful holiday season. Enjoy the time with your family if you have it!

In the sports world, the big news is that UT men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes collected his 700th win. By now that really isn’t news, but it is worth a big congratulations. From me, sure, but it means a lot more from those involved in a video shared by Volunteer basketball on Twitter.

Rae Burrell led the Lady Vols to an 88-61 win over Portland State over the weekend. She scored a career high 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds, missing a double-double by just a hair. They will play again when Howard visits UT on Dec. 29.

That’s all I have for you. Have a safe and happy holiday! And once again, you don’t just have to take my word for it.

 

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UT News: November 27, 2019

UT News: November 27, 2019

We have reached the middle of the week — and also the day before Thanksgiving — which means football is in the air, as the Volunteers gear up for their final regular-season game against the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Vols have been on a roll in the athletics realm, but they have also excelled in the classroom as well. Speaking of doing well, the Lady Vols basketball team continues to roll along after defeating the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions last night, and their coach had a few things to say about the hot start. The hottest of them all might be quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, but let us discuss the academic accolades first.

Record four Vols make academic all-district team

The Tennessee Volunteers have scored big in the classroom, with four football players earning CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team honors — the most among Power 5 programs.

Redshirt senior offensive lineman Brandon Kennedy, redshirt junior offensive lineman Ryan Johnson, junior defensive lineman Matthew Butler and sophomore punter/kicker Paxton Brooks were selected by CoSIDA in District 3 this month for their combined excellence both in athletics and academics. The four are also eligible for Academic All-American honors as well.

Johnson received his second consecutive selection — only the third Vol ever to earn the feat, with Parker Henry and Peyton Manning being the only other two. Overall, Tennessee now has 32 all-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.

NEXT: Coach Harper breaks the Lady Vols down

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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.