After Kellie Harper was hired in 2019 to become the women’s basketball coach at Tennessee, one of her priorities was to upgrade the non-conference schedule to better challenge the team before the rigors of SEC play.
“Last year we had one of the best strength of schedules in the country, and I think that was important to our growth as a team and as a program,” Harper said in an interview with Knox TN Today. “We want to continue to do that, and I think players come to Tennessee because they want to be the best and part of being the best is playing the best. I think that’s the expectation here. When our players come here, they want to play a tough schedule.”
Tennessee has released its full schedule with non-conference and SEC games. Based on an early preseason poll and depending on who Tennessee plays in November in the Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, the Lady Vols could play seven of the teams in the top 10.
The regular season opener will be Nov. 8 on the road against Ohio State, which nearly took out Texas for an Elite Eight berth last March, in a matchup between two ranked teams. Harper shouldn’t have any issues getting the team’s attention with that kind of debut for the 2022-23 season.
“Human nature a little bit will help get them focused, but I’ll tell you, this appears to be a very motivated group,” Harper said. “I think they’re excited about what we can accomplish, and I cannot imagine us tipping off with any team in the country and our team not feeling motivated and excited and ready to play.”
The game will be a home one for senior guard Jordan Horston, who is from Columbus, Ohio, and also her first game since having her junior season ended last February with a fractured dislocation of her elbow during a scramble for a loose ball at Alabama.
To say that Horston will be hyped is an understatement. Players also find an extra gear for a homecoming game, and sometimes the hoopla can get overwhelming.
“Jordan, a lot of times she plays with emotion, and we just have to make sure that it’s positive emotion and be able to keep things in perspective in terms of what that game is,” Harper said. “At the end of the day, you’re doing your job against an opponent and regardless of who that opponent is, regardless of where that opponent is, you have to come ready and you have to be prepared to perform. I think just helping our players throughout the year keep their emotions in check is important.”
The Battle 4 Atlantis will be held Nov. 19-21 right before Thanksgiving at the Imperial Arena on Paradise Island. December will bring a ranked Virginia Tech team to Knoxville on Dec. 4 and a road trip to Stanford, which reached the Final Four last season, on Dec. 18.
Tennessee will open and close the SEC on the road and will be challenged early and late in conference play. The Lady Vols travel to Florida for a Dec. 29 matchup and then host Alabama on Jan. 1 to start SEC play. Senior Night will be Feb. 23 against defending SEC and NCAA champions South Carolina before ending the regular season at Kentucky on Feb. 26. The full schedule is here. https://utsports.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule
“I don’t know that there’s any way if you said, ‘Hey, design a perfect schedule for your SEC play,’ I don’t know that I could,” Harper said. “I mean it’s going to be tough. You just have to expect tough games night in, night out, on the road, at home. That has to be your expectation, and you can’t hope for something easy or want something easy because it’s just not there. It’s just not a possibility in this league, not where the league is today.”
Maria M. Cornelius, a writer/editor at Moxley Carmichael since 2013, began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press. She can be reached at mmcornelius23@gmail.com.