The Tennessee women’s basketball team will face off against Furman on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Lady Vols will look to improve upon their 2-1 record while Furman looks to improve to 2-2.
The Lady Vols are coming off of a 79-73 overtime loss against West Virginia. Tennessee was led by Rae Burrell, who had 18 points, six rebounds and two steals. Keyen Green was active on the boards, as she grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while also adding 12 points. Jordan Horston provided a spark off of the bench with 13 points, three steals,and two blocks.
The Mountaineers saw all five of their starters score at least 10 points. WVU was paced by Kysre Gondrezick who finished with a game-high 27 points, while also tallying five assists and five steals. Madisen Smith was second on the team with 16 points but finished with a team-high six assists. Kirsten Deans, Kari Niblack, and Esmery Martinez all finished with 11, 11, and 10 points, respectively.
The offense was a struggle for both teams. Tennessee shot just 38.5% from the field in their matchup against WVU. They also made just two threes throughout the entire game. The Mountaineers shot 39.7% from the field but shot 37.5% from behind the arc.
Furman arrives at Rocky Top after defeating Georgia State 78-59 in Atlanta. Senior small forward Tierra Hodges scored a game-high 23 points and was active on the glass with 14 rebounds. Tate Walters has scored 40 points in her last two games. The freshman dropped 25 points against Georgia Southern on Thursday night and then scored 15 against Georgia State.
The Lady Vols welcome Furman to compete against their deep lineup. Rae Burrell is leading Tennessee in scoring (18.7 points per game) while shooting the rock efficiently at 46%. Rennia Davis has taken a step back this season but is still effective. The projected All-SEC First Teamer is second on the team in scoring (11 points per game) and is tied for the lead in rebounds (6.7 rebounds per game). Former SEC All-Freshman Jordan Horston is averaging 9.7 points, 3.7 assists and three steals a game.
New Lady Vols are making an impact as well. Grad transfers, Green (7.7 points per game) and Jordan Walker (5.7 points per game) are currently the fourth and sixth-leading scorers for Tennessee. Walker is second in assists with three per game. Freshman Marta Suárez is averaging seven points, 6.7 rebounds and three assists per game.
The last time Tennessee and Furman played each other was in the 2000 season on March 18. The second-ranked Lady Vols defeated Furman 90-38, and four Tennessee players reached double-digit point totals. Semeka Randall led the team with 17 points. Tamika Catchings tallied 14 points and 14 rebounds. Gwen Jackson and Kara Lawson scored 14 and 10, respectively. Furman shot just 20.3% from the field in that game.
Overall, Tennessee leads the series 4-0. Three of those wins have come during neutral-site games for the Lady Vols.
