Tennessee’s Rennia Davis must be stronger than she looks.
The slightly built junior forward shouldered quite a load Sunday afternoon, scoring a game-high 30 points and carrying the Lady Vols to 63-58 SEC women’s basketball victory over LSU.
The points, which were just three off her career high, didn’t fully account for Davis’ impact on a victory No. 23 Tennessee (16-4, 6-1 SEC) needed badly, given that they were in conference and at home, playing before a crowd of 10,230 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Furthermore, they were coming off a 60-45 meltdown loss at Connecticut last Thursday.
“We had to mentally and emotionally get past that UConn loss,” UT coach Kellie Harper said. “I was proud of our team, proud of our staff to help get them there.”
Davis also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, mitigating the edge created by LSU’s 45-32 rebounding advantage. She hit all 10 of her free throw attempts, providing a steadying influence for a team that otherwise was 6 for 17 from the line.
Finally, she reached in to poke loose an LSU entry pass with 2 minutes, 32 second left and the Tigers (14-5, 4-3) lurking within five points. It was the fourth steal for which she was credited, which was a game high and matched her single-game career high.
“I hope everyone sees when I play, the effort and passion I have for this game,” she said.
No other Lady Vol scored more than seven points. The only other UT statistical achievement approaching Davis’ feats was freshman guard Jordan Horston’s nine assists, which tied her season high.
Guard Jazmine Massengill, a sophomore from Chattanooga, deserved credit for her seven points. Five came with the Tigers still stalking the Lady Vols. She hit a 3-pointer with 4:24 left to answer Khayla Pointer’s trey and push Tennessee’s lead back to eight points. Massengill’s final basket, a jumper from inside the foul lane, was even bigger. It came with 1:24 remaining and UT’s lead down to three points.
“Whatever the team needs me to do, that’s what I had to do,” she said.
LSU coach Nikki Fargas and Harper both referenced Massengill’s baskets and their significance.
“Jaz’s two buckets were critical,” Harper said. “We’ve been talking to her about being more aggressive. Boy she had a lot of confidence in getting in there and taking both of those (shots).”
Davis’ strongest competition for accolades came from LSU forward Ayana Mitchell, who scored 24 points and gathered a game-high 12 rebounds. First-half foul trouble limited her playing time to just under 26 minutes, which factored into the outcome.
“Rennia Davis is one of the best players in our league,” Fargas said. “You saw two really good players go back and forth.”
Davis, who shot 9 for 13 from the floor, logged nearly 37 minutes, capping a full week that coincided with the “We Back Pat” week to honor the memory of former UT coach Pat Summitt and support her foundation and the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.
Last Monday, Davis played 38 minutes, scored 16 points and hit a game-winning 27-foot jumper against Alabama. She played 36 minutes against Connecticut and scored 16 as well.
“It’s nice to have a player you know you can rely on,” Massengill said.
-The death of former NBA star Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash resonated with both teams afterward. Massengill and teammate Jaiden McCoy said that Bryant was their favorite player. Said Harper: “Our team and our staff were just gut-wrenched.”
-Tennessee’s 13 turnovers were its fewest in the past six games. UT had a 17-15 edge in points off turnovers.
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri who covered University of Tennessee athletics for the Knoxville News Sentinel from 1988-2019. He may be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com