KNOXVILLE - New Tennessee women's basketball coach Kellie Harper received a bit of good news Tuesday.
But there was some not-so-good news as well.
On the same day that Harper announced that two-year starting point guard Evina Westbrook was leaving the program, the NCAA granted forward Lou Brown a sixth season of eligibility in 2019-20. Brown missed last season, her first with the program after graduating and transferring from Washington State, due to a knee injury.
She will immediately become the most experienced player on the roster. The 6-foot-5 Brown started 71 of her 95 career games at Washington State. She averaged 5.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game there, hitting 80 3-pointers. Her junior season in 2016-17 ended prematurely due to a foot injury, which took all but seven games. It had been her best season to date, as she was averaging 10.4 points and 6.9 rebounds.
She averaged a team-high 6.0 rebounds in 2017-18, when she started 23 of 28 games.
"This injury has been tough on me in more ways than one," Brown said in a release. "So waking up to this news just reassured everything that I've put into getting back to being healthy. I came here for a reason, and I'm just so excited to have the opportunity to live that out with my team."
Brown returned to the court Monday for offseason workouts. She and Kamara Harris will be the only two seniors on what will again be a young Tennessee roster.
"I am very happy to hear this great news for Lou Brown," Harper said in a university release. "To suffer an injury like that is devastating, and I am pleased that she was granted another year of eligibility. We are so excited for her and look forward to seeing what the future holds for Lou."
Westbrook met with Harper on Monday and the two decided transferring would be the best decision. The 6-foot guard is coming off a sophomore season in which she averaged 14.9 points and 5.3 assists and made 49 steals, all team highs.
'We wish her well," Harper said in a release.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.