Lady Vols handle Ole Miss on Senior Night
The Lady Vols played in their last home game of the 2019-2020 season on Thursday night.
Seniors Lou Brown, Kamera Harris, and the Lady Vols (19-9, 9-6 SEC) cruised to a win over Ole Miss (7-21, 0-15) by a score of 77-66 on Senior Night.
The Lady Vols were able to give Brown and Harris a win in their last collegiate home games, respectively. Head coach Kellie Harper, who once went through this ceremony as a player herself, was reminiscent about how special of a moment this can truly be for an athlete.
“You’re just reminded of how emotional it can be when those two players come out onto the court,” Harper said. “You’re just reminded of how special this place is. It’s our one day to celebrate those seniors.”
Rae Burrell was the engine for Tennessee’s offense early on as she scored the first seven points for the Lady Vols.
After allowing Ole Miss to take an early advantage, coach Harper went with Key and Horston off the bench.
The dividends immediately paid off, with Key scoring eight quick points and also altering several shots on the defensive end.
Tennessee’s bench opened the game up once they took the floor. Tennessee led 33-13 at one point in the second quarter.
Ole Miss wouldn’t go away, though, as they ended the second quarter with a 7-0 run, and went into the break only down nine points.
After finishing with only two points in the first half of action, junior Rennia Davis took over in the third, rattling off 11 of her team-high 19 points in the quarter, including a long-range three to beat the buzzer. She also finished with a team-high 11 rebounds.
Davis continues to be a force despite being at the top of every team’s defensive gameplan. As a result, it opens up opportunities for her teammates.
“I thought they focused a lot more on me on defense,” Davis said. “Apparently, that was the gameplan. That’s how I felt out there. I thought my teammates did a good job of hitting shots.”
Down the stretch, Tennessee was able to hold off Ole Miss’s last few efforts at trying to make a comeback.
Freshman Tamari Key was a big contributor finishing the night with 17 points and seven rebounds, proving to be a problem for Ole Miss down in the post.
Burrell also had a productive night with 14 points and four rebounds.
Tennessee will hit the road Sunday as they travel to take on Auburn in their regular season finale.
Tip-off is set for 3:05 p.m. ET.
Photo courtesy of Tennessee Athletics