Lady Vols Rocket Up Five Spots in Latest AP Poll
The Tennessee Lady Vols have had their struggles this season, but Kellie Harper's squad is trending in the right direction after a thrilling 74-70 win over then-No. 12 Texas. With the win, the Lady Vols improve to 4-0, having won their last two against ranked opponents and the last three without star senior forward Rae Burrell.
Tennessee has beaten Southern Illinois, UCF, USF and Texas. Ten or fewer points have decided all four games, and three have seen the Lady Vols make a comeback in the fourth quarter to win.
The resiliency and grit of the Lady Vols have been noted multiple times by Kellie Harper, and Tennessee's ability to continue winning games has them knocking on the door of the top ten in the AP Poll Top 25.
Tennessee comes in at No. 11 on the list and No. 10 in the coaches' poll in the link above. The Lady Vols are ahead of fellow SEC schools Kentucky and Texas A&M, who come in at No. 20 and No. 23. No. 1 South Carolina is the only ranked SEC team ahead of Tennessee on the poll.
The Lady Vols will travel to Las Vegas this weekend for a pair of post-Thanksgiving matchups against Big 12 schools in Kansas and Oklahoma State. Neither team is ranked, but Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper is well aware of the challenge they present for the Lady Vols.
On Friday, November 26, Tennessee and Kansas tip-off at 6:30 p.m. ET in South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Below are the scoring leaders for the Lady Vols heading into their cross-country matchup.
Jordan Horston/Junior/Guard: 31.7 MPG (minutes per game), 22 PPG (points per game), 11.7 RPG (rebounds per game)
Alexus Dye/Senior/Forward: 28.8 MPG. 9 PPG, 8.5 RPG
Jordan Walker/Senior/Guard: 27.3 MPG, 7.5 PPG, 8 assists (second on team), Three three-pointers made (ties team-high)
Tamari Key/Junior/Center: 27.3 MPG, 7.3 PPG, 10 RPG, 19 Blocks *Key recorded a triple-double against Texas.*
Sara Puckett/Freshman/Forward: 26.5 MPG, 5.3 PPG, three three-pointers made (ties team-high)
At the moment, the Lady Vols have six ranked opponents remaining on their schedule in South Carolina (No.1), UConn (No. 3), Stanford (No. 7), Kentucky (No. 20), Texas A&M (No. 23) and Virginia Tech (No. 24).
Head coach Kellie Harper's entire Tuesday media availability ahead of Kansas and Oklahoma State is in the video above.
For highlights of the Lady Vols' most recent win, click here.
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