Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper and the Lady Vols began the season with a win, but it sure did not come easy. Southern Illinois took it to Tennessee for three quarters as the Lady Vols fought through unexpected injuries and foul trouble all night.
However, the fifteenth-ranked Lady Vols did take home the victory inside of Thomspon-Boling Arena by a score of 59 to 49.
The biggest story of the game, besides Tennessee’s win, was likely an injury that veteran guard Rae Burrell suffered in the second quarter. Burrell took a hard fall onto the court, which led to a tough scene. Burrell was clearly in pain as she tried to stand up, but collapsed back to the floor, unable to put any weight down on her leg. Burrell was clutching her knee after the fall.
After the game, coach Harper did mention Burrell’s injury, however, there are no updates at this time.
Additionally, during Harper’s postgame press conference, she spoke about the adversity that her team had to fight through. She also spoke about the team’s resilience to battle the entire game, but still have the mental and physical energy to close the game on a 17-2 run.
Below is the full press conference for Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper after the Lady Vols’ victory over Southern Illinois on Wednesday night. Check out the interviews for Tamari Key, Jordan Walker, and Alexus Dye after the game here.
