2019–20 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team

The 2019–20 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represents the University of Tennessee in the 2019–20 college basketball season. Led by former Lady Vol Kellie Harper, entering her first year as head coach, the team play their games at Thompson–Boling Arena and are members of the Southeastern Conference.

2019–20 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
2019–20 record	21–10 (10–6 SEC)
Head coach	Kellie Harper (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Lacey Goldwire Jon Harper Jennifer Sullivan
Home arena	Thompson–Boling Arena

2019–20 SEC women's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 South Carolina†	16	–	0		1.000			32	–	1		.970
No. 9 Mississippi State	13	–	3		.813			27	–	6		.818
No. 24 Arkansas	10	–	6		.625			24	–	8		.750
No. 16 Kentucky	10	–	6		.625			22	–	8		.733
No. 19 Texas A&M	10	–	6		.625			22	–	8		.733
Tennessee	10	–	6		.625			21	–	10		.677
LSU	9	–	7		.563			20	–	10		.667
Alabama	8	–	8		.500			18	–	12		.600
Georgia	7	–	9		.438			17	–	14		.548
Florida	6	–	10		.375			15	–	15		.500
Missouri	5	–	11		.313			9	–	22		.290
Vanderbilt	4	–	12		.250			14	–	16		.467
Auburn	4	–	12		.250			11	–	18		.379
Ole Miss	0	–	16		.000			7	–	23		.233
† 2020 SEC Tournament winner As of August 14, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll

In the December 12 win against Colorado State, junior Rennia Davis scored her 1,000th career point.[1] She finished the night with 1,007, and the 45th Lady Vol to surpass the mark.[2]

The Lady Vols ended the regular season and received a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament, defeated Missouri in the second round, but lost to Kentucky in the quarterfinals.[3]

Previous season

The 2018–19 team finished the season 19–13, 7–9 for a seventh-place tie in SEC play. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament to Mississippi State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they lost to UCLA in the first round.[4] At the completion of the season, Holly Warlick was fired as head coach.[5] Harper, who was a point guard during Tennessee's three-peat from 1996 to 1998, was hired as her replacement on April 8, 2019.[6]

Preseason

SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on October 15, 2019, with Tennessee predicted to finish sixth.[7]

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team
1	South Carolina
2	Texas A&M
3	Mississippi State
4	Kentucky
5	Arkansas
6	Tennessee
7	Auburn
8	LSU
9	Missouri
10	Georgia
11	Alabama
12	Florida
13	Ole Miss
14	Vanderbilt

Preseason All-SEC team

The Lady Vols had one player selected to the preseason all-SEC team, junior guard-forward Rennia Davis, who was selected for second team.

Roster

2019–20 Tennessee Lady Volunteers women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G/F 0 Rennia Davis 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr Jean Ribault HS Jacksonville, FL F 5 Kamera Harris 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr Dutchtown HS Hampton, GA G 10 Jessie Rennie 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Bendigo Senior Secondary College Bendigo, AUS C 11 Kasiyahna Kushkituah 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Jr St. Francis HS Atlanta, GA G/F 12 Rae Burrell 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Liberty HS Henderson, NV G 13 Jazmine Massengill 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Hamilton Heights Christian Academy Chattanooga, TN G 14 Zaay Green  6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Duncanville HS Duncanville, TX F 15 Jaiden McCoy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) RS Jr Northwest Florida State Knoxville, TN C 20 Tamari Key 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Fr Cary HS Cary, NC F 21 Lou Brown 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr Australian Institute of Sport Melbourne, AUS G 25 Jordan Horston 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Columbus Africentric Early College Columbus, OH C 31 Emily Saunders 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Fr Wyoming East HS Mullens, WV	Head coach Kellie Harper (Tennessee) Assistant coach(es) Lacey Goldwire (East Central) Jon Harper (Auburn) Jennifer Sullivan (Memphis) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Rankings

Main article: 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	23	20	17	23	23	22	22	23	24	23	22	23	25	RV	RV
Coaches	RV	RV		25	19	24	24	24	23	24	25	22	23	25	RV	RV

^Coaches' Poll did not release a second poll at the same time as the AP.

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
10/29/2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+		Carson–Newman	W 70–44		20 – Davis	9 – Burrell	2 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (3,335) Knoxville, TN
Regular season
11/5/2019* 7:00 pm		at ETSU	W 72–68	1–0	17 – Green	12 – Key	6 – Horston	Freedom Hall Civic Center (5,881) Johnson City, TN
11/7/2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+		Central Arkansas	W 63–36	2–0	17 – Horston	5 – Tied	3 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (7,278) Knoxville, TN
11/11/2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN2		at No. 15 Notre Dame	W 74–63	3–0	33 – Davis	13 – Massengill	9 – Massengill	Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,801) South Bend, IN
11/14/2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+		Tennessee State	W 73–43	4–0	14 – Burrell	10 – Davis	3 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (7,213) Knoxville, TN
11/19/2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+	No. 23	Stetson	W 73–46	5–0	15 – Davis	11 – Burrell	7 – Horston	Thompson–Boling Arena (7,246) Knoxville, TN
11/26/2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+	No. 20	Arkansas–Pine Bluff	W 92–51	6–0	17 – Davis	11 – Davis	5 – Horston	Thompson–Boling Arena (7,521) Knoxville, TN
12/1/2019* 2:00 pm, SECN	No. 20	Air Force	W 81–54	7–0	18 – Davis	9 – Davis	6 – Massengill	Thompson–Boling Arena (8,032) Knoxville, TN
12/8/2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 17	Texas Big 12/SEC Women's Challenge	L 60–66	7–1	15 – Davis	9 – Kushkituah	5 – Horston	Thompson–Boling Arena (9,371) Knoxville, TN
12/11/2019* 7:00 pm, SECN+	No. 23	Colorado State	W 79–41	8–1	23 – Davis	14 – Horston	6 – Horston	Thompson–Boling Arena (7,024) Knoxville, TN
12/18/2019* 10:00 pm, P12N	No. 23	at No. 1 Stanford	L 51–78	8–2	14 – Davis	7 – Kushkituah	2 – Tied	Maples Pavilion (4,676) Stanford, CA
12/21/2019* 5:00 pm, Pluto TV	No. 23	at Portland State	W 88–61	9–2	21 – Burrell	13 – Davis	10 – Massengill	Viking Pavilion (1,748) Portland, OR
12/29/2019* 2:00 pm, SECN+	No. 22	Howard	W 88–38	10–2	18 – Burrell	12 – Burrell	6 – Horston	Thompson–Boling Arena (9,269) Knoxville, TN
1/2/2020 5:00 pm, SECN	No. 22	Missouri	W 77–66	11–2 (1–0)	19 – Davis	12 – Davis	12 – Massengill	Thompson–Boling Arena (7,814) Knoxville, TN
1/5/2020 4:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 22	at No. 13 Kentucky	L 76–80	11–3 (1–1)	27 – Davis	8 – Kushkituah	9 – Horston	Memorial Coliseum (5,516) Lexington, KY
1/9/2020 8:00 pm, SECN+	No. 23	at Ole Miss	W 84–28	12–3 (2–1)	17 – Davis	10 – Key	7 – Horston	The Pavilion at Ole Miss (1,373) Oxford, MS
1/12/2020 1:00 pm, SECN	No. 23	Georgia	W 73–56	13–3 (3–1)	17 – Davis	7 – Massengill	7 – Horston	Thompson–Boling Arena (10,036) Knoxville, TN
1/16/2020 6:00 pm, SECN+	No. 24	at Florida	W 78–50	14–3 (4–1)	18 – Davis	9 – Key	8 – Massengill	O'Connell Center (1,629) Gainesville, FL
1/20/2020 7:00 pm, SECN	No. 23	Alabama	W 65–63	15–3 (5–1)	19 – Horston	10 – Key	4 – Horston	Thompson–Boling Arena (8,537) Knoxville, TN
1/23/2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 23	at No. 3 UConn Rivalry	L 45–60	15–4	16 – Davis	8 – Davis	5 – Massengill	XL Center (13,659) Hartford, CT
1/26/2020 1:00 pm, SECN	No. 23	LSU	W 63–58	16–4 (6–1)	30 – Davis	8 – Davis	9 – Horston	Thompson–Boling Arena (10,230) Knoxville, TN
1/30/2020 9:00 pm, SECN	No. 22	at Vanderbilt	W 78–69	17–4 (7–1)	22 – Davis	7 – Davis	5 – Horston	Memorial Gymnasium (3,429) Nashville, TN
2/2/2020 1:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 22	at No. 1 South Carolina	L 48–69	17–5 (7–2)	18 – Davis	10 – Davis	3 – Horston	Colonial Life Arena (13,735) Columbia, SC
2/6/2020 6:30 pm, SECN	No. 23	No. 8 Mississippi State	L 55–72	17–6 (7–3)	20 – Burrell	10 – Burrell	3 – Horston	Thompson–Boling Arena (8,124) Knoxville, TN
2/13/2020 7:30 pm, SECN+	No. 25	at LSU	L 65–75	17–7 (7–4)	19 – Davis	7 – Horston	3 – Massengill	Maravich Center (1,966) Baton Rouge, LA
2/16/2020 3:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 25	No. 16 Texas A&M	L 71–73	17–8 (7–5)	19 – Burrell	7 – Burrell	6 – Tied	Thompson–Boling Arena (12,738) Knoxville, TN
2/20/2020 7:00 pm, SECN		at No. 22 Arkansas	L 75–83	17–9 (7–6)	21 – Burrell	9 – Burrell	4 – Horston	Bud Walton Arena (3,023) Fayetteville, AR
2/23/2020 12:00 pm, ESPN2		Vanderbilt	W 67–63	18–9 (8–6)	18 – Davis	10 – Tied	5 – Horston	Thompson–Boling Arena (9,636) Knoxville, TN
2/27/2020 7:00 pm, SECN+		Ole Miss	W 77–66	19–9 (9–6)	19 – Davis	11 – Davis	7 – Horston	Thompson–Boling Arena (8,255) Knoxville, TN
3/1/2020 3:05 pm, SECN		at Auburn	W 56–55	20–9 (10–6)	22 – Davis	10 – Davis	5 – Massengill	Auburn Arena (2,410) Auburn, AL
SEC Tournament
3/5/2020 8:30 pm, SECN	(6)	vs. (11) Missouri Second Round	W 64–51	21–9	16 – Burrell	9 – Davis	2 – Tied	Bon Secours Wellness Arena (4,215) Greenville, SC
3/6/2020 8:30 pm, SECN	(6)	vs. (3) No. 16 Kentucky Quarterfinals	L 65–86	21–10	24 – Horston	7 – Brown	5 – Massengill	Bon Secours Wellness Arena (5,749) Greenville, SC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. 2019–20 Schedule

References

1. "Davis eclipses 1,000 career points for Lady Vols". ESPN. December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
2. "Lady Vols Run Past Rams, 79-41". UT Sports. December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
3. Too much Rhyne Howard dooms Tennessee Lady Vols vs. Kentucky in SEC Tournament
4. "Tennessee Lady Vols' first-round NCAA Tournament loss a lot like the whole season". Knoxville News Sentinel. March 23, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
5. Henley, Gene (March 27, 2019). "Lady Vols part ways with Holly Warlick". timesfreepress.com. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
6. Voepel, Mechelle (April 8, 2019). "Sources: Lady Vols to hire Harper as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
7. "South Carolina tabbed as 2020 SEC women's hoops champs". SEC Sports. October 15, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.