Tennessee Athletics
The bracket for the 2022 Bad Boy Mowers Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis has been released, and Tennessee women’s basketball will open play vs. Rutgers at noon ET on Saturday, Nov. 19, in Imperial Arena at the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in The Bahamas.
The winner of that contest will return to action on Sunday, Nov. 20, at noon vs. the victor of Saturday’s UCLA and South Dakota contest (5 p.m.), while the losers face off Sunday at 5 p.m. On the other side of the bracket, Texas meets Marquette at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, with Louisville and Gonzaga taking to the court later at 7:30 p.m. to close out the opening-round schedule. All games on Saturday and Sunday will be broadcast on FloHoops. The Monday, Nov. 21, championship game is slated for noon ET on ESPN, while the third-place contest will be carried by ESPNU at 2:30 p.m. Loser’s bracket contests for fifth and seventh place will occur at 5 and 7:30 p.m., respectively, with FloHoops broadcasting. Click here (PDF) for a complete bracket.
In addition to Tennessee, which is ranked No. 4 in ESPN’s “Way-Too-Early” Top 25, the 2022 women’s field also features No. 5 Texas, No. 7 Louisville, No. 23 South Dakota State, Rutgers, UCLA, Marquette and Gonzaga. All but Rutgers saw some sort of postseason action last season.
Tennessee and Rutgers will be meeting for the 24th time, with UT holding a 20-3 series advantage after winning the past 10 matchups. The Lady Vols and Scarlet Knights last met on Dec. 14, 2014, in Piscataway, N.J., with UT taking a 55-45 victory.
Rutgers, under the direction of new head coach Coquese Washington, returns only three players off the 2021-22 roster, led by Awa Sidibe (4.1 ppg. and 2.6 rpg.). That unit finished 11-20 overall and 3-14 in the Big Ten (13th) last season. Of note, LVFL Nikki McCray-Penson is a first-year assistant for the Scarlet Knights.
The Lady Vols return 10 players, including four starters, from a squad that started 18-1 and finished 25-9 overall and 11-5 in the SEC (3rd) while advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen despite season-ending injuries to three key contributors.
Leading the way for fourth-year UT head coach Kellie Harper are All-SEC/All-America Honorable Mention guard Jordan Horston and All-SEC/All-Defensive Team center Tamari Key. Additional regular contributors include returning starters in point guard Jordan Walker and wing Tess Darby, as well as two others with starting experience in 2022 SEC All-Freshman wing Sara Puckett and 2021 SEC All-Freshman forward Marta Suárez.
The Lady Vols also bring aboard four gifted transfers and a five-star freshman, including starters and previous all-league performers in forward Rickea Jackson (Mississippi State), power forward Jasmine Franklin (Missouri State) and point guard Jasmine Powell (Minnesota), as well as a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans in sophomore transfer forward Jillian Hollingshead (Georgia) and true freshman wing Justine Pissott.