Tennessee’s Tamari Key has been named to the 15-player Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced on Tuesday.
Key, a 6-foot-6 center from Cary, N.C., leads the nation in blocked shots with 73 and in blocks per game at 3.842. Her total this season in only 19 games is already the eighth-highest in school history and marks her third appearance on the UT single-season list along with the No. 5 tally of 86 as a freshman and the No. 9 sum of 72 as a sophomore.
Her 3.892 season average for blocks per game currently ranks No. 1 in Lady Vol history. Her career average of 3.08 also ranks No. 1 in school annals, and she currently has the third-most swats ever by a UT woman, accumulating 231 thus far and standing 18 behind second-place Sheila Frost (249) and 44 behind career record-holder Candace Parker (275).
Key is a central figure in a Lady Vol defense that ranks No. 1 in field goal percentage defense (30.7) and 17th in scoring defense (54.5 ppg.). She has helped Tennessee hold all but one opponent to 36-percent shooting or lower, and 16 of 19 foes to 60 points or fewer.
She averages 9.9 points per game and shoots 62 percent from the field, and her 8.4 rebound average also contributes heavily on both ends, with UT out-rebounding every opponent but one this season and doing so by double digits on 15 occasions. UT continues to rank No. 1 nationally in rebounds per game (50.37) and defensive rebounds per game (33.2), thanks to her efforts.
In terms of team results, Key’s play has been instrumental in helping Kellie Harper‘s squad to an 18-1 overall record, 7-0 SEC mark and a No. 4 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25. The Lady Vols also are currently tracking toward a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
-UT Athletics
