KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In a matchup between sibling head coaches, Kellie Harper‘s No. 15/12 Tennessee women’s basketball team bested Ross Jolly, Harper’s brother, and the Georgia College Bobcats, 108-44, in an exhibition at Thompson-Boling Arena on Wednesday night.

In a true team effort, every player scored and recorded at least one rebound in the contest. Five Lady Vols finished with double-figure scoring, led by senior Rae Burrell’s 18 points on an efficient 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Junior Jordan Horston posted an all-around performance with 14 points, eight boards, four assists and three steals.

Graduate Alexus Dye recorded six of her 12 points in the first quarter to jumpstart the Lady Vol offense early, while fellow graduates Jordan Walker and Keyen Green each recorded 11 points. Walker added four rebounds, three assists and three steals in the effort.

Tennessee’s freshmen finished with some impressive numbers in the game. Brooklynn Miles had a stat-stuffing performance with six points, a game-high five assists, a game-high five steals and four rebounds. Sara Puckett finished with a game-high nine rebounds to go along with five points and three assists, while Kaiya Wynn added seven points, six boards, three assists and two steals. Karoline Striplin rounded things out with six points, five rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block.

As a team, the Lady Vols shot 52 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond the arc, while assisting on 23 baskets. Defensively, the squad held Georgia College to 27 percent shooting and forced 25 turnovers, which led to 34 points for Tennessee. Five different players recorded multiple takeaways, as UT finished with 18 steals in the game. The team also added eight blocks, led by junior Tamari Key’s game-high three rejections.

The Lady Vols opened the game by knocking down their first six shots to take a 13-0 lead and forcing Georgia College to call a timeout. UT answered with a basket out of the break to begin the tilt on a 15-0 run before the Bobcats scored their first basket of the contest. Eight different players scored during the first quarter to give Tennessee an early 28-6 advantage.

All 12 active Lady Vols played during the first half, recording at least four minutes of action. Tennessee improved its lead to 50-19 entering halftime, behind 15 points from Burrell. Walker posted nine points in the half to go along with four rebounds, three steals and two assists. As a team, UT shot 48 percent from the field while holding Georgia College to just 25-percent shooting.

Tennessee came out with the hot hand to start the third period, going on an 18-4 run. Horston fueled the Lady Vols on both ends of the floor, tallying 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. The UT offense scored 28 points in the quarter to enter the final frame up 78-35.

Tennessee’s bench played the entire fourth quarter and kept the momentum in the Lady Vols’ favor, outscoring the Bobcats 30-9 to secure the wire-to-wire 108-44 victory. All seven reserves recorded a basket in the frame.

The Lady Vols begin their 2021-22 campaign next Wednesday, Nov. 10, at Thompson-Boling Arena with a matchup against Southern Illinois. The contest begins at 7 p.m. and will be televised on SEC Network and audio streamed on the Lady Vol Network.

FOUR POINTS, ONE REBOUND: With no drop off in production when Tennessee’s bench checked in the game, all 12 Lady Vols finished with at least four points and grabbed one rebound in the contest. The reserves tallied 47 points, including all 30 points in the fourth quarter, which marked the most points in a period during the game.

ATTACKING THE PAINT: Tennessee went to the paint early and often, outscoring the Bobcats 78-24 down low. The Lady Vols were also aggressive on the glass, finishing with a 64-33 advantage on the boards. UT’s 31 offensive rebounds led to 27 second-chance points.

Ross Jolly & Kellie Harper / Credit: UT Athletics

ECLIPSING THE CENTURY MARK: The Lady Vols put up 108 points, tying for the 12th-most ever scored by the Tennessee women in an exhibition game. It marked the 23rd time UT has reached the century mark in an exhibition contest.

UT ALL-TIME IN EXHIBITIONS: UT is 50-4 all-time in preseason exhibition games, with the only losses coming to the Soviet National Team (1979), Athletes in Action (1992) and the USA National Team (1995, 2007). Tennessee is 10-0 in preseason exhibition games in the post-Pat Summitt era, defeating Carson-Newman eight times (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) and both Georgia College (2021) and Coker (2012) on one occasion each. Kellie Harper is 2-0 at Rocky Top with wins in 2019 and 2021. No exhibition contest was held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

-UT Athletics