KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee guard Zaay Green has been named the SEC Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Week, the league office announced on Tuesday.
In her second start of the season, Green tallied a career-high 17 points and added five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block, as the (then) No. 11/11 Lady Vols remained unbeaten (6-0) with a 76-63 road victory at previously-unbeaten Oklahoma State (6-1) on Sunday afternoon in Stillwater.
Playing in her first true road game as a collegian, the 6-footer from Duncanville, Texas, connected on seven of 15 shots from the field, nailing a three-pointer and hitting two of four free throws in her finest effort thus far. One of three UT players plagued by foul trouble, Green shrugged off that danger and was instrumental in the Lady Vols coming from three down at the half to win by 13.
Her defense contributed to an overall effort that effectively shut off OSU’s three-point shooting in the second half (6 of 10 first half / 1 of 7 second half) and held Cowgirls’ star Braxtin Miller to seven post-intermission points after she scorched the net for 22 in the first 20 minutes on 7-of-11 accuracy.
Green was instrumental in UT flipping the script offensively in the second half, hitting on four of seven attempts and helping the Lady Vols burst out of the locker room with an 8-0 run that turned into a 19-3 spree. She had five points early during that run to set the tone.
For the season, Green is Tennessee’s fifth-leading scorer at 9.5 points per game and is third in assists (2.3) and steals (2.2) per contest.
Green and the Lady Vols return to action on Wednesday, as Stetson comes to town for a 7 p.m. tilt. The game will be carried by SECN+.
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