KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee women’s basketball sophomores Rennia Davis and Evina Westbrook have been named to the Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team, the Southeastern Conference office announced on Tuesday.
Davis, a 6-foot-2 guard/forward from Jacksonville, Fla., was named to the first team, while Westbrook, a 6-0 point guard from Salem, Ore., was selected for the second unit.
The coaches also made their predictions for the 2018-19 season and projected the Lady Vols to finish fourth in the league standings. Defending champion Mississippi State tops the order of finish, with South Carolina and Georgia picked ahead of Tennessee. Missouri, Texas A&M and Kentucky round out the top half of the league. The bottom half is comprised of Auburn, LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss.
The Lady Vols, who were recently picked third in the media’s preseason poll, return three starters from last year’s squad that finished 25-8 overall and 11-5 in the SEC with a tie for fourth place. Davis and Westbrook, who were UT’s third and fifth-leading scorers a year ago, respectively, were 2018 SEC All-Freshman honorees.
Davis, who is on the Cheryl Miller Award preseason watch list, averaged 12.0 points and 7.6 rebounds as a freshman, starting 32 of 33 games. She was twice named SEC Freshman of the Week, Davis finished the 2017-18 season ranked No. 11 in rebounding in the conference. She posted the sixth-best rebounds-per-game average ever by a Lady Vol freshman at 7.6, leading the team on the boards six times during the 2017-18 season. She shot .483 from the field, .329 on three-pointers and .740 from the free throw line, knocking down 25 threes to rank fourth on the team.
The Ribault High School graduate notched nine double-doubles to tie Tamika Catchings for the fifth-most double-doubles recorded by a Lady Vol freshman. Tennessee players ahead of her on the list are Chamique Holdsclaw (16), Sheila Frost (11), Bashaara Graves (10) and Candace Parker (10).
Westbrook, who is on the Nancy Lieberman Award preseason watch list, started all 33 games as a freshman and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. She averaged 8.4 points, 4.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game in 2017-18, with an assist average that ranked second-best all-time by a Lady Vol rookie. Her 12 assists against Troy also tied the school’s freshman record for assists in a game and ranked seventh all-time.
Westbrook recorded three or more assists in 26 games and scored 10+ points on 12 occasions. She finished first in assists (143), second in blocks (23) and tied for the second most three-pointers among Lady Vols, knocking down 27. Her 143 assists were the second-most ever by a UT rookie.
Tennessee plays its lone exhibition game on Monday night at 7 p.m., welcoming Carson-Newman to Thompson-Boling Arena. The Lady Vols host their regular-season opener on Nov. 11, as Presbyterian comes to town for a 2 p.m. contest. Both contests will be streamed live on SECN+. Tickets are available at AllVols.com or by calling (865) 656-1200 during business hours.
Preseason Coaches’ Predictions
Order of Finish
1. Mississippi State
2. South Carolina
3. Georgia
4. Tennessee
5. Missouri
6. Texas A&M
7. Kentucky
8. Auburn
9. LSU
10. Alabama
11. Arkansas
12. Florida
13. Vanderbilt
14. Ole Miss
Player of the Year
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
First Team All-SEC
Caliya Robinson, Georgia
Maci Morris, Kentucky
Anriel Howard, Mississippi State
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri
Tyasha Harris, South Carolina
Rennia Davis, Tennessee
Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M.
Second Team All-SEC
Malica Monk, Arkansas
Janiah McKay, Auburn
Unique Thompson, Auburn
Taylor Murray, Kentucky
Ayana Mitchell, LSU
Shandricka Sessom, Ole Miss
Amber Smith, Missouri
Alexis Jennings, South Carolina
Evina Westbrook, Tennessee
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