No. 5 Lady Vols targeting end of lengthy Final Four drought

Yes, Tennessee coach Kellie Harper can admit she wondered about what might have been if not for the injuries that left her roster a bit thin when it mattered most.

The Lady Vols had been projected as a potential No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament when leading scorer and rebounder Jordan Horston went down among other injuries. The only program to play in every NCAA Tournament still managed to reach Tennessee's first Sweet 16 since 2016.

Now Harper has an even deeper roster thanks to the transfer portal along with a McDonald's All-American, a group talented enough to target Tennessee's first Final Four since 2008. That's also when the Lady Vols won their eighth and last national championship with Pat Summitt.

Harper, who won three titles as Summitt's point guard, said there is no skipping steps between now and April. That message was driven home last season with the Lady Vols going from an 18-1 start that had them ranked fourth nationally to a 25-9 finish.

Four starters are back from that team for the fifth-ranked Lady Vols.

“You just have to enjoy each and every day. You have to enjoy the journey together, the ups and downs, because that’s what builds championship teams. It’s the journey,” Harper said. “I hope our team can appreciate each and every day because this is a special group.”

ABOUT THAT RANKING

Tennessee hasn't been ranked this high to start a season since the 2015-16 preseason poll put the Lady Vols at No. 4. This is just the second time the Lady Vols have started the season ranked by The Associated Press going into Harper's fourth season at her alma mater.

RETURNING STARTERS

Horston is back and healthy after leading Tennessee in scoring (16.2 points per game) along with 9.4 rebounds. Center Tamari Key also averaged nearly a double-double with 10.5 points and 8.1 rebounds. Point guard Jordan Walker is back as a graduate along with Tess Darby.

Sara Puckett got some starts with the injuries, and Marta Suarez, on the 2021 All-SEC Freshman team, is back after missing all of last season.

HELLO TRANSFER PORTAL

The Lady Vols have six new players and four of them are transfers, including one who was a five-star recruit out of high school. Rickea Jackson led Mississippi State in scoring each of the past three seasons and averaged 20.3 points a game lasts season. Jackson joined Key and Horston on the preseason All-SEC team.

Tennessee also brought in guard Jasmine Powell from Minnesota and Jasmine Franklin, last season's defensive player of the year in the Missouri Valley Conference from Missouri State.

FIVE-STAR RECRUIT

Then there's 6-foot-4 Justin Pissott from Toms River, New Jersey. She was the 11th-ranked player by HoopGurlz espnW 100 and also a McDonald's All-American.

SCHEDULE

Tennessee opens the season at Ohio State on Nov. 8. The Lady Vols host UMass for their home opener on Nov. 10, and their nonconference slate also includes a trip to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis starting with Rutgers. They host Virginia Tech on Dec. 4 in the Jimmy V Women's Classic.

They also visit Stanford on Dec. 18 and host Connecticut on Jan. 26. Southeastern Conference play starts Dec. 29 at Florida. Tennessee plays defending national champ South Carolina only once, hosting the Gamecocks on Feb. 23 not long before the SEC Tournament.

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More AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25