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Tennessee Lady Vols beat ETSU Bucs 67-50: Three takeaways

By Caleb Calhoun

Dec 1, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; East Tennessee State Lady Buccaneers guard Courtney Moore (10) drives to the basket against Tennessee Lady Vols center Tamari Key (left) and center Kasiyahna Kushkituah (right) during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 1, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; East Tennessee State Lady Buccaneers guard Courtney Moore (10) drives to the basket against Tennessee Lady Vols center Tamari Key (left) and center Kasiyahna Kushkituah (right) during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Tennessee Lady Vols beat the East Tennessee State Buccaneers, moving the women’s basketball Volunteers to 2-0.

Two games into the season, the Tennessee Lady Vols have yet to trail. Kellie Harper’s team defeated the ETSU Bucs on Tuesday 67-50 at Thompson-Boling Arena, three days after their 87-47 win over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

UT jumped out to an early lead, and while ETSU tied it at nine in the first quarter as Rennia Davis had two early fouls, Big Orange Country finished that quarter on a 9-2 run. They kept expanding on that lead, building it to a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter, before calling off the dogs.

With the win, Rocky Top improves to 2-0 on the year, and ETSU falls to 1-1. Up next for UT is a two-game road trip against the West Virginia Mountaineers on Sunday, Dec. 6 in the SEC/Big 12 challenge and then the Texas Longhorns on Sunday, Dec. 13. Before looking ahead to those, here are three things we learned from the Tennessee Lady Vols in this victory.

1. Defense and rebounding keep telling the story.

Pat Summitt would be proud once again. UT hasn’t let any team score more than 50 points this year so far, as ETSU scored right at 50. The Lady Vols held the Bucs to 32 percent from the field and forced 22 turnovers on the night. That included 16 steals, five of which were from Jordan Horston and three of which were by Rae Burrell and Jessie Rennie each.

On the interior, Tamari Key added another two blocks on the bench. Center Kasiyahna Kushkituah also had two blocks, and Jordan Horston added one block. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Lady Vols outrebounded ETSU 43-31 despite nobody being in double digits in rebounding.

2. Experienced scoring guards led the way.

Once again, Rae Burrell and Rennia Davis continue to be the best players on the court. Davis got in foul trouble early, so Burrell had to lead the way, and she finished with 20 points. Most importantly, she was 80 percent from the line.

In the second half, though, Davis got going and finished with 15 points. Meanwhile, Jordan Horston made up for a rough opener, as she scored 12 points in addition to her five steals off the bench. These three led the way last year in scoring, so they’ll be crucial this year. Tuesday was a good start.

3. Turnovers were an issue.

There’s nothing to celebrate about having twice as many turnovers as assists. UT finished the day with 12 assists and 24 turnovers, two more turnovers than ETSU. This plagued the Tennessee Lady Vols last year with so much young talent.

However, Marta Suárez is the only freshman starting this year, and while she had issues with six turnovers, it wasn’t all on her. Rennia Davis, the star, had five turnovers despite being limited in the first half. Jordan Horston still had three off the bench. This can’t continue when they begin to take on more elite teams.