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Tennessee Lady Vols dominate WKU 87-47 in opener: Three takeaways

By Caleb Calhoun

Nov 28, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Western Kentucky Lady Toppers guard Ally Collett (3) drives between Tennessee Lady Vols guard Destiny Salary (2) and center Emily Saunders (31) during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Western Kentucky Lady Toppers guard Ally Collett (3) drives between Tennessee Lady Vols guard Destiny Salary (2) and center Emily Saunders (31) during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Tennessee Lady Vols torched the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers.

A 12-0 run to open the second quarter, a 10-0 run late in the third quarter and another 9-0 run from the end of the third quarter into the fourth quarter helped propel the Tennessee Lady Vols to an 87-47 win over the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena. It was the eight straight season-opening win for Rocky Top.

Beginning its second year under Kellie Harper after a 21-10 debut season before the pandemic canceled all postseason play, UT led 17-13 at the end of the first quarter but took complete control in the second, winning the quarter 21-7. They outscored the Lady Toppers every quarter and never trailed in the game. This was the opener for WKU as well.

Initially, the Tennessee Lady Vols were supposed to open the season Friday against the Florida A&M Rattlers, but FAMU decided to shut down the season due to the pandemic. Up next for them is a home matchup with the ETSU Bucs on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Here are three things we learned about UT from this victory.

Newcomers made a splash, but familiar names led the way.

Liberty Flames transfer Keyen Green was the one starter at forward and had four points. Western Michigan Broncos transfer Jordan Walker started at guard and had 13 points and four assists. Freshman Marta Suarez of Spain also started and scored 11 points. Meanwhile, Freshman Destiny Salary had 10 points, six rebounds and three steals off the bench.

Simply put, newcomers were a huge part of this team. However, Rae Burrell and Rennia Davis, last year’s leading scorers, were still the stars. Burrell led the way with 18 points, and she also led the team in assists with seven. Davis had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Instead of both on the wing, Harper ran Davis more in the post in this game and Burrell as a true guard.

Defense was dominant.

While the scoring distribution stood out, defense was clearly the story. Rocky Top did not let Western Kentucky do much, forcing 21 turnovers on the day and coming away with 13 steals. They also held them to 25.5 percent shooting from the field.

Salary and Jaiden McCoy were the stars, as they each forced three steals. All five starters had a steal as well. However, in the post, Tamari Key did her part of the bench, coming away with four blocked shots.

Last year’s freshmen need to show more development.

While the newcomers were stars, there wasn’t much to show from last year’s freshmen. Off the bench, the veterans played solid in McCoy and Kasiyahna Kushkituah, but Key and Jordan Horston were supposed to be this year’s superstars for the Tennessee Lady Vols. Harper had both of them come off the bench, though, and despite her blocks, Key only had five points and two rebounds.

Horston, who is still an elite combo guard, was supposed to take over with Jazmine Massengill and Zaay green gone. However, she had three turnovers and was 0-for-six from the field. Jessie Rennie, recruited as a three-point specialist, missed both three-point attempts. Emily Saunders also only had three points.