KNOXVILLE - Before a recent game, University of Tennessee women's basketball coach Kellie Harper could look in one direction and see junior and leading returning scorer Rae Burrell in street clothes, recovering from an injury suffered the first game of the season.
She could glance another direction and see guard Marta Suarez, who started 14 games for the Lady Vols, pushing a scooter, the result of a lower-body injury that has her out for the entire 2021-22 season. Then Monday, prior to the team's contest against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Harper found out that sophomore point guard Jordan Horston would not be available due to a non-COVID-19 illness.
The outcome was never in doubt that night, with the seventh-ranked Lady Vols trouncing the Mocs 91-41. But only Horston was available against ranked opponents South Florida and Texas, games Tennessee won in close fashion. The Lady Vols have also gone on the road and defeated Virginia Tech, which was receiving votes in both polls prior to the game and had a 63-game winning streak against non-conference opponents.
So how has Harper been able to guide the Lady Vols to a top-10 ranking? With duct tape and defense. Tennessee ranks first in the country in field-goal percentage defense and 13th in the country in blocked shots per game, knocking away 5.9 per contest.
And the team is doing it together.
"I know we have a lot of good pieces on our team, and everybody knows their role," said junior Tamari Key, who is averaging 10.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game. "We care about each other and we want to play for each other, so I feel like because of that it just helps us find our identity more because we know what we're capable of and we know what each other is capable of, so that just pushes us to keep wanting better for each other."
Tennessee center Tamari Key (20) pulls in a pass while guarded by Chattanooga guard Amaria Pugh (14) during an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Saul Young/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP)It helps that there's enough depth on the roster to handle the losses of Burrell (who could be back soon) and Suarez. No Horston meant more adjustments for the team, and they responded by assisting on 30 of 38 made baskets against the Mocs. Alexus Dye, who transferred in from Troy this offseason, leads the team at 10.3 points per game, while freshman Sara Puckett adds 9.0 points per-game. Horston actually leads the team in rebounds per game at 9.4, slightly ahead of Key and Dye (8.4). The roster is only going to get tougher, with Southeastern Conference play beginning Thursday at home against Alabama, but Harper has developed a roster that, to this point, has shown capable of handling injuries and illness.
"You never know at what point you're going to lose a player, and you don't get to pick and choose who that is," Harper said Monday. "That's where you hope that you've got some depth. You hope that you've got players ready to step up and make plays.
"It's not fun when you don't have your full roster. I like it when I have everybody, that's much more fun to coach, but I tell you I was really proud of our team. When they stepped down on the court I was a little concerned because Jordan gives you a lot of confidence, so I was worried about that ever so slightly. But they didn't blink. They just went out and did what they needed to do and I think that was really good for us as well because they have taken on this attitude that whatever happens happens, and we're going to handle it. And I love that."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.