2020–21 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team

2020–21 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
NCAA tournament, second round
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 21
APNo. 13
Record17–8 (9–4 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Lacey Goldwire
  • Jon Harper
  • Jennifer Sullivan
Home arenaThompson–Boling Arena
Seasons
2020–21 SEC women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Texas A&M 13 1   .929 25 3   .893
No. 6 South Carolina 14 2   .875 26 5   .839
No. 13 Tennessee 9 4   .692 17 8   .680
No. 10 Georgia 10 5   .667 20 6   .769
No. 15 Arkansas 9 6   .600 19 8   .704
No. 18 Kentucky 9 6   .600 18 8   .692
Alabama 8 8   .500 16 9   .640
LSU 6 8   .429 9 13   .409
Mississippi State 5 7   .417 10 9   .526
Missouri 5 9   .357 9 13   .409
Ole Miss 4 10   .286 15 12   .556
Florida 3 11   .214 12 14   .462
Auburn 0 15   .000 5 19   .208
Vanderbilt 0 3   .000 4 4   .500
Vanderbilt suspended their season on January 18, 2021
2021 SEC tournament winner
As of March 21, 2021
Rankings from AP poll

The 2020–21 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2020–21 college basketball season. Led by former Lady Vol Kellie Harper,[1] entering her second year as head coach, the team played their games at Thompson–Boling Arena and are members of the Southeastern Conference.

Previous season

The 2019–20 team finished the season 21–10, 10–6 for a third-place tie in SEC play. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament to Kentucky.[2]

Preseason

SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on November 17, 2020 with the Lady Volunteers selected to finish in sixth place in the SEC.[3]

Media poll
Predicted finish Team
1 South Carolina
2 Kentucky
3 Texas A&M
4 Arkansas
5 Mississippi State
6 Tennessee
7 LSU
8 Alabama
9 Georgia
10 Missouri
11 Ole Miss
12 Florida
13 Vanderbilt
14 Auburn

Preseason All-SEC teams

Rennia Davis was selected to the preseason all-SEC team, her third-straight honor.

Roster

2020–21 Tennessee Lady Volunteers women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G/F 0 Rennia Davis 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Jean Ribault HS Jacksonville, FL
G 2 Destiny Salary 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Jonesboro HS Jonesboro, AR
G 4 Jordan Walker 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) RS Jr Western Michigan University Muskegon, MI
G 10 Jessie Rennie 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) So Bendigo Senior Secondary College Bendigo, AUS
C 11 Kasiyahna Kushkituah 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Sr St. Francis HS Atlanta, GA
G/F 12 Rae Burrell 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Jr Liberty HS Henderson, NV
F/C 13 Keyen Green Injured 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr Liberty University Philadelphia, PA
F 15 Jaiden McCoy Injured 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) RS Sr Northwest Florida State Knoxville, TN
C 20 Tamari Key 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) So Cary HS Cary, NC
G/F 21 Tess Darby 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Greenfield HS Greenfield, TN
G 25 Jordan Horston 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So Columbus Africentric Early College Columbus, OH
C 31 Emily Saunders 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) So Wyoming East HS Mullens, WV
G/F 33 Marta Suárez 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Joaquim Blume Institute Oviedo, Spain
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
APRVRVRVRVRVRV2325201816211414
CoachesRVRVRVRV24RV2219192120

^Coaches' Poll did not release a second poll at the same time as the AP.

Schedule

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
11/27/2020*
1:00 pm, SECN+
Florida A&M Thompson–Boling Arena 
Knoxville, TN
11/28/2020*
2:00 pm, SECN+
Western Kentucky W 87–47  1–0
 18  Burrell   11  Davis   7  Burrell  Thompson–Boling Arena (2,239)
Knoxville, TN
12/1/2020*
7:00 pm, SECN+
ETSU W 67–50  2–0
 20  Burrell   8  Suarez   3  Tied  Thompson–Boling Arena (2,156)
Knoxville, TN
12/6/2020*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at West Virginia
Big 12/SEC Women's Challenge
L 73–79 OT 2–1
 18  Burrell   9  Green   6  Davis  WVU Coliseum (142)
Morgantown, WV
12/10/2020*
7:00 pm, SECN+
Furman W 90–53  3–1
 26  Burrell   8  Suarez   7  Burrell  Thompson–Boling Arena (2,137)
Knoxville, TN
12/13/2020*
5:00 pm, ESPN
at No. 23 Texas Frank Erwin Center 
Austin, TX
12/17/2020*
4:00 pm
at No. 15 Indiana W 66–58  4–1
 19  Davis   15  Davis   6  Horston  Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, IN
12/20/2020*
Noon, SECN
UNC Greensboro W 66–40  5–1
 13  Kushkituah   7  Suarez   5  Tied  Thompson–Boling Arena (2,114)
Knoxville, TN
12/28/2020*
7:00 pm, SECN+
Lipscomb W 77–52  6–1
 19  Davis   11  Davis   4  Tied  Thompson–Boling Arena (2,141)
Knoxville, TN
1/7/2021
6:30 pm, SECN
No. 13 Arkansas W 88–73  7–1
(1–0)
 26  Tied   11  Davis   5  Tied  Thompson–Boling Arena (2,143)
Knoxville, TN
1/10/2021
2:00 pm, SECN+
at LSU W 64–63  8–1
(2–0)
 18  Burrell   9  Davis   2  Tied  Maravich Center (762)
Baton Rouge, LA
1/14/2021
6:30 pm, SECN
No. 23 Georgia L 66–67  8–2
(2–1)
 15  Davis   7  Kushkituah   4  Horston  Thompson–Boling Arena (2,167)
Knoxville, TN
1/17/2021
3:00 pm, SECN+
No. 23 at Alabama W 82–56  9–2
(3–1)
 21  Davis   10  Davis   7  Horston  Coleman Coliseum (914)
Tuscaloosa, AL
1/21/2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 25 No. 3 UConn
Rivalry
L 61–67  9–3
 18  Burrell   9  Tied   5  Walker  Thompson–Boling Arena (3,553)
Knoxville, TN
1/24/2021
2:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 25 No. 12 Kentucky
Rivalry
W 70–53  10–3
(4–1)
 19  Key   20  Davis   7  Horston  Thompson–Boling Arena (2,609)
Knoxville, TN
1/28/2021
7:00 pm, SECN+
No. 20 Ole Miss W 68–67  11–3
(5–1)
 21  Davis   8  Kushkituah   4  Salary  Thompson–Boling Arena (2,167)
Knoxville, TN
1/31/2021
2:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 20 Florida W 79–65  12–3
(6–1)
 23  Key   12  Kushkituah   4  Tied  Thompson–Boling Arena (2,409)
Knoxville, TN
2/11/2021
7:00 pm, SECN+
No. 16 at No. 20 Kentucky
Rivalry
L 56–71  12–4
(6–2)
 22  Burrell   9  Walker   3  Horston  Memorial Coliseum (1,683)
Lexington, KY
2/14/2021
3:00 pm, ESPN
No. 16 at No. 6 Texas A&M L 70–80  12–5
(6–3)
 25  Davis   10  Key   7  Horston  Reed Arena (500)
College Station, TX
2/16/2021
5:00 pm, ESPNU
at Mississippi State Postponed due to weather concerns. Humphrey Coliseum 
Starkville, MS
2/18/2021
7:00 pm, SECN
No. 21 No. 2 South Carolina W 75–67  13–5
(7–3)
 24  Davis   12  Davis   5  Horston  Thompson–Boling Arena (2,512)
Knoxville, TN
2/21/2021
Noon, SECN
No. 21 at No. 22 Georgia L 55–57  13–6
(7–4)
 22  Davis   13  Kushkituah   1  Tied  Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, GA
2/25/2021
8:00 pm, SECN+
No. 20 at Missouri W 78–73  14–6
(8–4)
 26  Davis   10  Walker   6  Horston  Mizzou Arena (1,828)
Columbia, MO
2/28/2021
2:00 pm, SECN
No. 20 Auburn W 88–54  15–6
(9–4)
 23  Davis   11  Davis   9  Horston  Thompson–Boling Arena 
Knoxville, TN
SEC tournament
March 5, 2021
8:30 pm, SECN
(3) No. 14 vs. (11) Ole Miss
Quarterfinals
W 77–72  16–6
 33  Davis   14  Davis   5  Horston  Bon Secours Wellness Arena 
Greenville, SC
March 6, 2021
6:30 pm, ESPNU
(3) No. 14 vs. (2) No. 7 South Carolina
Semifinals
L 52–67  16–7
 11  Tied   6  Tied   3  Burrell  Bon Secours Wellness Arena 
Greenville, SC
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2021
2:00 pm, ABC
(3 RW) No. 13 vs. (14 RW) Middle Tennessee
First Round
W 87–62  17–7
 24  Davis   14  Tied   6  Horston  Frank Erwin Center 
Austin, TX
March 23, 2021
 ABC
(3 RW) No. 13 vs. (6 RW) No. 16 Michigan
Second Round
L 55–70  17–8
 12  Davis   9  Key   2  Walker  Alamodome 
San Antonio, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
RW=River Walk regional.
All times are in Eastern Time.
2020–21 Schedule

References

  1. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (April 8, 2019). "Sources: Lady Vols to hire Harper as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  2. ^ Too much Rhyne Howard dooms Tennessee Lady Vols vs. Kentucky in SEC Tournament
  3. ^ "Gamecocks tabbed as 2021 SEC Women's Basketball champs".