Tennessee Lady Vols: Rae Burrell providing necessary spark coming off the bench

When she first came back from her injury, Rae Burrell was coming off the bench and easing into the rotation. Kellie Harper finally put her back in the starting lineup when the Tennessee Lady Vols dominated the Georgia Bulldogs, and all was right in the world.

However, then Keyen Green, the best player off the bench all year, was lost for the season. UT then lost three of four, including one to the worst team in the SEC, the Auburn Tigers, and two in blowout fashion to the Florida Gators and UConn Huskies.

It’s well-documented how much extra post work has been put on Tamari Key and Alexus Dye due to Green’s injury. What was underrated, though, was the fact that the Tennessee Lady Vols had no more spark off the bench.

Well, against UConn, Harper made the bold move to put Tess Darby back in the starting lineup over Burrell. It made sense, as Burrell only scored eight and nine points respectively in those first two road losses. Since moving to the bench, she’s been able to return to the All-American we all saw at the beginning of the year.

In each of the last three games, Burrell has scored double figures. On Sunday, against the Vanderbilt Commodores, she scored 15 points in that role. Meanwhile, UT has gotten back on track, dominating the Missouri Tigers and then Vandy.

With Jordan Horston as the primary scorer in the starting rotation, Harper clearly needs somebody on the second-team who can provide the same spark. Moving Burrell to that team allows her to thrive more, and it also creates more balance.

Burrell and Sara Puckett can complement each other on that unit, as Puckett is starting to emerge as a three-point specialist. Tess Darby can be the starting three-point specialist and clear things out for Horston to be able to drive to the basket. It’s the perfect setup.

Now, this doesn’t solve all the Tennessee Lady Vols’ issues. Keep in mind they still got blown out by UConn with Burrell coming off the bench. However, they looked much better than they did at Florida, and Harper has more flexibility with her rotations that way, which is crucial given the limitations down low.

The next step for Harper is finding somebody else to emerge in that post game. Emily Saunders has experience, and Karoline Striplin does bring potential as a freshman. It’s a bit shocking that neither has seen significant minutes since Green got hurt.

Until they do, though, this is the best rotation Harper can get. Brooklynn Miles, Burrell and Puckett are all valuable backups in different ways at this point. Obviously, given the minutes, Burrell is effectively a starter, but putting her in this role allows the Tennessee Lady Vols to always have a major threat on the court.