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Tennessee Lady Vols still go as SEC Player of the Week Rennia Davis goes

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee's Rennia Davis (0) gets a shot at the basket during the NCAA women’s basketball game against UNC Greensboro at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. on Sunday, December 20, 2020.Ut Ladyvols Uncg
Tennessee's Rennia Davis (0) gets a shot at the basket during the NCAA women’s basketball game against UNC Greensboro at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. on Sunday, December 20, 2020.Ut Ladyvols Uncg /
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Last week proved the Tennessee Lady Vols still go as the women’s basketball Volunteers senior goes.

After a strong finish to last season, junior wing Rae Burrell appeared to surpass Rennia Davis as the best Tennessee Lady Vols player early on this year with her rapid improvement. In her first four games, averaging 20.5 points a game while shooting 52.8 percent from the field, 50 percent from the three-point line and, in a dramatic improvement, 78.9 percent from the free throw line.

Meanwhile, Davis started out in a massive slump, averaging under 10 points a game while shooting 36.1 percent from the field and a dismal 9 percent from the three-point line. She bottomed out in a loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers, shooting 4-of-19 from the field, missing both three-point attempts and missing her only two free throws.

However, in the Tennessee Lady Vols’ past two games, Davis has come alive, once again proving that she is the heart and soul of the team. This is why she was able to earn SEC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week on Wednesday.

Davis finally found her form in a huge road upset for Kellie Harper’s team over the Indiana Hoosiers, ranked No. 15 at the time. She shot 9-of-16 from the field, 1-of-2 from the three-point line and led the team in scoring with 19 points. That alone proved that in the big moments she was still the top offensive option.

Scoring, though, wasn’t what earned Davis this award. After all, she only had nine points in UT’s 66-40 win over the UNC Greensboro Spartans. The ability to do everything else is what has made Davis continue to be this team’s top player.

Against Indiana, Davis had 15 rebounds, a block and two steals. She then came away with six rebounds, three assists and two blocks against UNCG. Also, while she only scored nine points in that game, she was 4-of-6 from the field, so she led the team with efficiency, defense, rebounding and unselfish play.

This has been the mark of Davis all year, even when her shot wasn’t falling early on. Sure, Burrell leads the team right now by averaging 17.7 points per game while Davis is only averaging 11.1 points per game.

On the other hand, Davis leads the team in rebounding at 7.7 per game, and when she is playing at her best, she’s also an elite distributor of the ball and a defensive specialist. There’s a reason Davis is the only player on the team with a double-double, and she has two of them.

Going forward, Burrell will still be valuable to this team, and she’s proven herself with her continued development that got her into the starting lineup at the end of last year. It’s not like she’s lost her touch with the emergence of Davis.

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What has happened over the past week, though, is that Davis’ value is once again put on display. The Tennessee Lady Vols go as she goes. As the only senior who is a starter, it’s pretty clear why that would be the case. With the SEC’s recognition this past week, it appears as if she’s just beginning to find her form once again.