Hoops Preview: No. 21/21 Lady Vols VS. No. 22/23 Georgia

Lady Vols G Jordan Horston / Credit: UT Athletics

Hoops Preview: No. 21/21 Lady Vols VS. No. 22/23 Georgia

Posted on February 20, 2021

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 21/21 Tennessee (13-5, 7-3 SEC) is back in action on Sunday, traveling to Athens to take on No. 22/23 Georgia (16-4/8-4 SEC) in a 12:02 p.m. ET matinee at Stegeman Coliseum.

Lady Vols G Jordan Horston / Credit: UT Athletics

It will mark the second meeting this season between the squads, with the Bulldogs erasing a 17-point, third-quarter deficit to walk away with a 67-66 decision in Knoxville back on Jan. 14.

The Lady Vols sit in third place in the SEC standings, followed by Georgia and Kentucky in fourth at 8-4, so postseason tournament top-four seedings are up for grabs on Sunday. UK, the other team in that equation, is at South Carolina. UT (7-3) is one of only three SEC teams with three losses or fewer in conference play (along with first-place South Carolina [12-1] and second-place Texas A&M [10-1]).

Tennessee continues on its most rigorous stretch of the season, facing its fourth-consecutive ranked opponent, including three of those contests taking place on the road at No. 20/18 Kentucky, at No. 6/5 Texas A&M and at No. 22/23 UGA. The home contest in that stretch was vs. No. 2/3 South Carolina, which the Lady Vols came from 16 down to beat on Thursday night in Knoxville, 75-67.

Making Tennessee’s schedule even more challenging of late is the fact that UK, A&M and UGA all have had open dates prior to playing Tennessee. Those vacancies came as a result of COVID cancellations or due to Vanderbilt opting out of its season.

Tennessee also is wrapping up an eight-day span that began with the Lady Vols starting a trip on last Saturday and expecting to travel to Texas A&M and Mississippi State for games on Sunday and Tuesday. After playing at A&M, UT made it as far as Houston before Winter Storm Uri wrecked plans and didn’t allow UT to return home until Tuesday night.

Both teams have won five of their past eight contests, with UT coming off a 75-67 win over No. 2/3 South Carolina on Thursday and UGA picking up a victory at Missouri last Sunday, 82-64.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

  • Sunday’s game will be televised by SEC Network with Tiffany Greene (PxP) and Steffi Sorensen (Analyst) on the call.
  • 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.
  • Institutions can produce for SEC Network+ (SECN+) any conference and non-conference games that are not otherwise televised. Those are available on the ESPN app and SECSports.com.
  • The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network radio stations and by audio stream, with Mickey Dearstone behind the microphone. Now calling the action for his 22nd season, Dearstone is joined by studio host Bobby Rader.
  • A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game’s Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.
  • For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on Vol Network Affiliates in the black bar at the top of the page.
  • Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.

QUICK GLANCE AT THE LADY VOLS

  • Three regular-season games to go, and Tennessee is vying for a top-three seeding in the SEC Tournament.
  • UT tied for third in the SEC standings a year ago but was relegated to the No. 6 seed by virtue of tie breakers.
  • The Lady Vols also are in play for a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and may have pushed themselves into conversation for a No. 3 with their win over South Carolina.
  • Tennessee has posted four victories over ranked teams (No. 13/13 Arkansas, No. 15/15 Indiana, No. 12/12 Kentucky, No. 2/3 South Carolina), marking the most by the program in a season since 2017-18 when it had seven.
  • UT also suffered setbacks to three squads ranked at the time it played them: No. 3/5 UConn (67-61), No. 20/18 Kentucky (71-56) and No. 6/5 Texas A&M (80-70), with Rennia Davis missing the UK game due to medical reasons.
  • Tennessee’s other two losses are to a pair of teams who are now ranked: No. 19/24 West Virginia (79-73 OT) and No. 22/23 Georgia (67-66).
  • UT is paced in scoring in all games by junior guard Rae Burrell (13.2 ppg.) and senior forward Rennia Davis (15.6 ppg.), with sophomore center Tamari Key chipping in 9.2 ppg. and 5.3 rpg., and sophomore point guard Jordan Horston contributing 8.3 ppg. and 4.2 apg.
  • In SEC play, three Tennessee players are scoring in double figures, including Davis (18.8 ppg.), Burrell (17.8) and Key (11.6).
  • Against ranked foes, Davis and Burrell are putting up 20.0 and 19.1 ppg., respectively.
  • After missing the Kentucky game on Feb. 11, Davis has put up 24.5 ppg. and 8.0 rpg. while shooting 51.6 percent the past two games, firing in 25 with four rebounds vs. Texas A&M and posting 24 points (all in the second half) and 12 rebounds vs. South Carolina.
  • She is tied with Rae Burrell leading the team in scoring eight times and has put up 20 points on five occasions this season and 18 times in her career to rank No. 7 all-time at UT.
  • Davis now has seven double-doubles this season and 36 for her career, tying Glory Johnson for fourth all-time at Tennessee.
  • Burrell had 19 points vs. South Carolina, but she tallied 22 points vs. Kentucky last Thursday night, marking her eighth time leading UT in scoring in 2020-21 and fifth game this season with 20 or more points. It was the eighth 20+ game of her career.
  • UT has had 20+ scorers in its last five games, including Rennia Davis vs. Ole Miss (21), Tamari Key vs. Florida (23), Rae Burrell vs. Kentucky (22), Rennia Davis vs. Texas A&M (25) and Davis vs. South Carolina (24).
  • Davis now stands 14th on UT’s all-time scoring list with 1,666 points and is 15th on the rebounding list with 885.
  • Sophomore Tamari Key has broken into the Lady Vol career blocks top 10, swatting five shots vs. South Carolina to move past Isabelle Harrison in 10th and tie Teresa Geter for ninth with 135. Tamika Catchings is next up the list in eight with 136.
  • Over her last four games, Jordan Horston has dished out 19 assists compared to only three turnovers, going without a miscue in three of those four contests.
  • For the season, Horston has 76 assists vs. 46 turnovers, showing much improvement. Her assist average of 4.2 per game is tied for fifth in the SEC.
  • Jordan Walker continues to be a stat sheet stuffer, carding six points, four rebounds and three assists with a team-best +/- tally of 15 vs. South Carolina.

UT-GEORGIA SERIES NOTES

  • UT enters Thursday’s contest with a 52-18 advantage in the series. Tennessee has won 20 of the past 24, but UGA has claimed three of the past five meetings.
  • The Lady Vols are 23-5 in Knoxville and 15-3 at neutral sites all-time vs. the Lady Bulldogs. UT is only 14-10 vs. Georgia in Athens, including losses there in 2017 and 2019.
  • Tennessee is 1-3 vs. UGA in overtime games.
  • The Lady Vols have a 14-3 postseason record against Georgia after winning in the 2015 SEC quarterfinals.
  • This is the 55th match-up when both teams were ranked. They have met twice with neither team ranked and 14 times when only one squad was in the polls.
  • This is Kellie Harper‘s third meeting with UGA as a head coach. She was 6-2 vs. the Lady Bulldogs as a player (1995-99) and 1-1 as coach.
  • Tennessee and Georgia met in the 1996 NCAA Championship game in Charlotte, with the Lady Vols prevailing, 83-64, in the first of three straight national championship seasons.
  • Tennessee and Georgia rank No. 1 and No. 2 in SEC regular season championships, with the Lady Vols owning 18 and the Lady Bulldogs having seven.
  • Dawn Marsh dished out a Lady Vol record 18 assists vs. Georgia on March 6, 1988.

ABOUT GEORGIA

  • Georgia is led by 6-4 redshirt senior center Jenna Staiti, who is averaging 14.2 points and 7.7 rebounds while hitting 51 percent from the field.
  • Senior guards Gabby Connally (11.9) and Que Morrison (11.1) also average double digits for head coach Joni Taylor’s squad.
  • Taylor is in her sixth season as head coach of the Lady Bulldogs and has directed her charges to a 114-62 record during that span.
  • UGA returned four starters and 10 total letterwinners from last season (17-14 / 7-9, t9th SEC).

RECAPPING UGA’S LAST GAME

  • No. 24 Georgia picked up a dominant SEC win over Missouri, 82-64, on Feb. 14 at Mizzou Arena.
  • Senior Gabby Connally matched her season high with 29 points. It was the second time the guard has hit that mark this season, first doing so on Dec. 6, 2020, against Oklahoma. She also knocked in a career-best six 3-pointers in the win.
  • Seniors Que Morrison and Jenna Staiti closed the game with double-doubles. Staiti had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Morrison had 11 points and 10 boards. Morrison has scored in double figures in five straight games for the first time in her career.

THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET

  • Despite shooting a solid 49 percent from the floor, No. 23/24 Tennessee dropped its first SEC contest on Jan. 14, 2021, falling 67-66 to Georgia in Thompson-Boling Arena.
  • The Lady Vols led by as many as 17, but the Lady Bulldogs exploded for 29 points in the third quarter, claiming a lead they never relinquished.
  • UT (8-2, 2-1 SEC) was led by senior Rennia Davis with 15 points and four rebounds. Sophomores Tamari Key and Jordan Horston were also in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
  • Gabby Connally and Que Morrison were the top scorers for UGA (11-1, 3-1 SEC) with 17 each, and Mikayla Coombs chipped in 11.

LAST TIME IN ATHENS

  • A third-quarter UT shooting slump and Georgia’s second-half rally pushed the Bulldogs past the Lady Vols in Athens, 66-62, on Jan. 13, 2019.
  • Evina Westbrook led Tennessee (12-4, 1-3 SEC) in scoring with a game-high 23 points. Rennia Davis had six points and 12 rebounds, while Cheridene also added six points and 10 rebounds.
  • Caliya Robinson (16), Gabby Connally (13), and Taja Cole and Jenna Staiti (12) led UGA (12-5, 3-1 SEC).

WHAT’S NEXT

  • Tennessee has three remaining scheduled games during the regular season after Sunday, beginning with a 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET) Thursday road contest at Missouri that will be streamed on SECN+.
  • Georgia, meanwhile, plays host to Kentucky on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET (SECN+).

-UT Athletics

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Hoops Preview: No. 21/21 Lady Vols VS. No. 22/23 Georgia

Lady Vols G Jordan Horston / Credit: UT Athletics

Hoops Preview: No. 21/21 Lady Vols VS. No. 22/23 Georgia

Posted on February 20, 2021 by cemerson • 0 Comments

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 21/21 Tennessee (13-5, 7-3 SEC) is back in action on Sunday, traveling to Athens to take on No. 22/23 Georgia (16-4/8-4 SEC) in a 12:02 p.m. ET matinee at Stegeman Coliseum.

Lady Vols G Jordan Horston / Credit: UT Athletics

It will mark the second meeting this season between the squads, with the Bulldogs erasing a 17-point, third-quarter deficit to walk away with a 67-66 decision in Knoxville back on Jan. 14.

The Lady Vols sit in third place in the SEC standings, followed by Georgia and Kentucky in fourth at 8-4, so postseason tournament top-four seedings are up for grabs on Sunday. UK, the other team in that equation, is at South Carolina. UT (7-3) is one of only three SEC teams with three losses or fewer in conference play (along with first-place South Carolina [12-1] and second-place Texas A&M [10-1]).

Tennessee continues on its most rigorous stretch of the season, facing its fourth-consecutive ranked opponent, including three of those contests taking place on the road at No. 20/18 Kentucky, at No. 6/5 Texas A&M and at No. 22/23 UGA. The home contest in that stretch was vs. No. 2/3 South Carolina, which the Lady Vols came from 16 down to beat on Thursday night in Knoxville, 75-67.

Making Tennessee’s schedule even more challenging of late is the fact that UK, A&M and UGA all have had open dates prior to playing Tennessee. Those vacancies came as a result of COVID cancellations or due to Vanderbilt opting out of its season.

Tennessee also is wrapping up an eight-day span that began with the Lady Vols starting a trip on last Saturday and expecting to travel to Texas A&M and Mississippi State for games on Sunday and Tuesday. After playing at A&M, UT made it as far as Houston before Winter Storm Uri wrecked plans and didn’t allow UT to return home until Tuesday night.

Both teams have won five of their past eight contests, with UT coming off a 75-67 win over No. 2/3 South Carolina on Thursday and UGA picking up a victory at Missouri last Sunday, 82-64.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

  • Sunday’s game will be televised by SEC Network with Tiffany Greene (PxP) and Steffi Sorensen (Analyst) on the call.
  • 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.
  • Institutions can produce for SEC Network+ (SECN+) any conference and non-conference games that are not otherwise televised. Those are available on the ESPN app and SECSports.com.
  • The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network radio stations and by audio stream, with Mickey Dearstone behind the microphone. Now calling the action for his 22nd season, Dearstone is joined by studio host Bobby Rader.
  • A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game’s Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.
  • For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on Vol Network Affiliates in the black bar at the top of the page.
  • Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.

QUICK GLANCE AT THE LADY VOLS

  • Three regular-season games to go, and Tennessee is vying for a top-three seeding in the SEC Tournament.
  • UT tied for third in the SEC standings a year ago but was relegated to the No. 6 seed by virtue of tie breakers.
  • The Lady Vols also are in play for a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and may have pushed themselves into conversation for a No. 3 with their win over South Carolina.
  • Tennessee has posted four victories over ranked teams (No. 13/13 Arkansas, No. 15/15 Indiana, No. 12/12 Kentucky, No. 2/3 South Carolina), marking the most by the program in a season since 2017-18 when it had seven.
  • UT also suffered setbacks to three squads ranked at the time it played them: No. 3/5 UConn (67-61), No. 20/18 Kentucky (71-56) and No. 6/5 Texas A&M (80-70), with Rennia Davis missing the UK game due to medical reasons.
  • Tennessee’s other two losses are to a pair of teams who are now ranked: No. 19/24 West Virginia (79-73 OT) and No. 22/23 Georgia (67-66).
  • UT is paced in scoring in all games by junior guard Rae Burrell (13.2 ppg.) and senior forward Rennia Davis (15.6 ppg.), with sophomore center Tamari Key chipping in 9.2 ppg. and 5.3 rpg., and sophomore point guard Jordan Horston contributing 8.3 ppg. and 4.2 apg.
  • In SEC play, three Tennessee players are scoring in double figures, including Davis (18.8 ppg.), Burrell (17.8) and Key (11.6).
  • Against ranked foes, Davis and Burrell are putting up 20.0 and 19.1 ppg., respectively.
  • After missing the Kentucky game on Feb. 11, Davis has put up 24.5 ppg. and 8.0 rpg. while shooting 51.6 percent the past two games, firing in 25 with four rebounds vs. Texas A&M and posting 24 points (all in the second half) and 12 rebounds vs. South Carolina.
  • She is tied with Rae Burrell leading the team in scoring eight times and has put up 20 points on five occasions this season and 18 times in her career to rank No. 7 all-time at UT.
  • Davis now has seven double-doubles this season and 36 for her career, tying Glory Johnson for fourth all-time at Tennessee.
  • Burrell had 19 points vs. South Carolina, but she tallied 22 points vs. Kentucky last Thursday night, marking her eighth time leading UT in scoring in 2020-21 and fifth game this season with 20 or more points. It was the eighth 20+ game of her career.
  • UT has had 20+ scorers in its last five games, including Rennia Davis vs. Ole Miss (21), Tamari Key vs. Florida (23), Rae Burrell vs. Kentucky (22), Rennia Davis vs. Texas A&M (25) and Davis vs. South Carolina (24).
  • Davis now stands 14th on UT’s all-time scoring list with 1,666 points and is 15th on the rebounding list with 885.
  • Sophomore Tamari Key has broken into the Lady Vol career blocks top 10, swatting five shots vs. South Carolina to move past Isabelle Harrison in 10th and tie Teresa Geter for ninth with 135. Tamika Catchings is next up the list in eight with 136.
  • Over her last four games, Jordan Horston has dished out 19 assists compared to only three turnovers, going without a miscue in three of those four contests.
  • For the season, Horston has 76 assists vs. 46 turnovers, showing much improvement. Her assist average of 4.2 per game is tied for fifth in the SEC.
  • Jordan Walker continues to be a stat sheet stuffer, carding six points, four rebounds and three assists with a team-best +/- tally of 15 vs. South Carolina.

UT-GEORGIA SERIES NOTES

  • UT enters Thursday’s contest with a 52-18 advantage in the series. Tennessee has won 20 of the past 24, but UGA has claimed three of the past five meetings.
  • The Lady Vols are 23-5 in Knoxville and 15-3 at neutral sites all-time vs. the Lady Bulldogs. UT is only 14-10 vs. Georgia in Athens, including losses there in 2017 and 2019.
  • Tennessee is 1-3 vs. UGA in overtime games.
  • The Lady Vols have a 14-3 postseason record against Georgia after winning in the 2015 SEC quarterfinals.
  • This is the 55th match-up when both teams were ranked. They have met twice with neither team ranked and 14 times when only one squad was in the polls.
  • This is Kellie Harper‘s third meeting with UGA as a head coach. She was 6-2 vs. the Lady Bulldogs as a player (1995-99) and 1-1 as coach.
  • Tennessee and Georgia met in the 1996 NCAA Championship game in Charlotte, with the Lady Vols prevailing, 83-64, in the first of three straight national championship seasons.
  • Tennessee and Georgia rank No. 1 and No. 2 in SEC regular season championships, with the Lady Vols owning 18 and the Lady Bulldogs having seven.
  • Dawn Marsh dished out a Lady Vol record 18 assists vs. Georgia on March 6, 1988.

ABOUT GEORGIA

  • Georgia is led by 6-4 redshirt senior center Jenna Staiti, who is averaging 14.2 points and 7.7 rebounds while hitting 51 percent from the field.
  • Senior guards Gabby Connally (11.9) and Que Morrison (11.1) also average double digits for head coach Joni Taylor’s squad.
  • Taylor is in her sixth season as head coach of the Lady Bulldogs and has directed her charges to a 114-62 record during that span.
  • UGA returned four starters and 10 total letterwinners from last season (17-14 / 7-9, t9th SEC).

RECAPPING UGA’S LAST GAME

  • No. 24 Georgia picked up a dominant SEC win over Missouri, 82-64, on Feb. 14 at Mizzou Arena.
  • Senior Gabby Connally matched her season high with 29 points. It was the second time the guard has hit that mark this season, first doing so on Dec. 6, 2020, against Oklahoma. She also knocked in a career-best six 3-pointers in the win.
  • Seniors Que Morrison and Jenna Staiti closed the game with double-doubles. Staiti had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Morrison had 11 points and 10 boards. Morrison has scored in double figures in five straight games for the first time in her career.

THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET

  • Despite shooting a solid 49 percent from the floor, No. 23/24 Tennessee dropped its first SEC contest on Jan. 14, 2021, falling 67-66 to Georgia in Thompson-Boling Arena.
  • The Lady Vols led by as many as 17, but the Lady Bulldogs exploded for 29 points in the third quarter, claiming a lead they never relinquished.
  • UT (8-2, 2-1 SEC) was led by senior Rennia Davis with 15 points and four rebounds. Sophomores Tamari Key and Jordan Horston were also in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
  • Gabby Connally and Que Morrison were the top scorers for UGA (11-1, 3-1 SEC) with 17 each, and Mikayla Coombs chipped in 11.

LAST TIME IN ATHENS

  • A third-quarter UT shooting slump and Georgia’s second-half rally pushed the Bulldogs past the Lady Vols in Athens, 66-62, on Jan. 13, 2019.
  • Evina Westbrook led Tennessee (12-4, 1-3 SEC) in scoring with a game-high 23 points. Rennia Davis had six points and 12 rebounds, while Cheridene also added six points and 10 rebounds.
  • Caliya Robinson (16), Gabby Connally (13), and Taja Cole and Jenna Staiti (12) led UGA (12-5, 3-1 SEC).

WHAT’S NEXT

  • Tennessee has three remaining scheduled games during the regular season after Sunday, beginning with a 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET) Thursday road contest at Missouri that will be streamed on SECN+.
  • Georgia, meanwhile, plays host to Kentucky on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET (SECN+).

-UT Athletics