Tennessee Lady Vols: Marta Suárez season-ending injury a huge loss

A huge part of the Tennessee Lady Vols’ rotation this season is gone. Marta Suárez, a 6’2″ wing who started 14 of 22 games last year and earned All-SEC Freshman honors for her efforts, is out for the season.

Kellie Harper confirmed at SEC Media Days that Suárez would be out for the year due to a foot injury. The timing is awful, as getting healthy with the return of Keyen Green, who missed all of last year, was a huge part of how UT could address the crucial loss of Rennia Davis.

Health was only part of it, though. Having multiple wings who can score from anywhere on the court and play multiple positions, complementing what Rae Burrell is going to have to do, was the other way the Tennessee Lady Vols were going to offset that loss.

Suárez is one of those players who can do that. Although she averaged just over four points and three and a half rebounds last year, she was in line to take on a larger role this year. This was her chance to turn into a breakout star.

One area Suárez was expected to help more was three-point shooting. Sure, she was just 8-of-27 from beyond the arc last year, but Harper’s inside-out game involves a couple of players who can score from anywhere but rely on elite three-point shooting.

Without Suárez, the Lady Vols have to turn to one of their freshmen, all of whom have potential but none of whom come with the star quality that would lead us to expect them to contribute immediately. So where is the production alongside Burrell going to come from?

Green’s return and the addition of transfer Alexus Dye can certainly help. Sara Puckett is a freshman who could play the role. However, the ideal situation was for Dye and Suárez to play on the wing, and that’s not happening now.

Experience with four of five returning starters was a huge reason for the hype behind the Tennessee Lady Vols this season despite the loss of Davis. Losing Suárez cuts down on that a good bit, and Harper has to offset it.

Beyond just finding contributors on the wing, the Lady Vols also need other sharpshooters to step up. Tess Darby should take a big leap her sophomore year, especially since she’s healthier, but another name is Jessie Rennie. Harper recruited Rennie to specifically be a sharpshooter, and she hasn’t lived up to the hype yet. Could this be the year she does so?

Taking all this into account, the Tennessee Lady Vols still have depth with Suárez’s injury. However, experienced depth on the wing was what they needed given the loss of Davis. As a result, losing Suárez is devastating to the program. It puts newfound pressure on Dye.