Lady Vol Trio Garners SEC Coaches Postseason Honors

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A trio of Tennessee women's basketball standouts are among the student-athletes earning Southeastern Conference postseason recognition from the league's coaches for their performances in 2021-22.

Junior Jordan Horston was named to the All-SEC First Team, Tamari Key was selected to the All-SEC Second Team and All-Defensive Team, and Sara Puckett was chosen for the All-Freshman Team.

Horston and Key picked up All-SEC acclaim for the first time each, Key made the All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row and Puckett became the third rookie under Kellie Harper's watch to earn All-Freshman accolades. Horston (2020) and Marta Suárez (2021) were the others to earn rookie distinction.

Horston, a 6-foot-2 guard from Columbus, Ohio, leads the Lady Vols in scoring (16.2 ppg.), rebounding (9.4 rpg.), assists (4.0 apg.), steals (1.4) and double-doubles (12). A top-10 finalist for the Ann Meyers-Drysdale Award and member of the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award Watch Lists, Horston led UT in scoring 15 times and had seven games with 20 or more points before a fractured dislocation of her left arm sidelined her indefinitely on Feb. 17.

Horston's season averages rank her eighth in the SEC in scoring, third in rebounding and ninth in assists per game. Against ranked teams, she's been even more impressive, putting up 20.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in seven contests vs. top-25 squads.

Key, a 6-6 center from Cary, N.C., is averaging 10.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.72 blocks per game while shooting 60 percent from the field. She leads the nation in blocked shots with 108 and is second in blocks per game at 3.72, with those marks ranking No. 2 and No. 1, respectively, for a single season in UT's record book.

Currently sitting in sixth on the SEC single-season record list with 108 blocks, Key stands five swats away from tying Kelley Cain (113, 2009-10) for the UT standard and moving to No. 5 on the SEC list. Key's career average of 3.13 also ranks No. 1 in school annals, and she currently has the second-most swats ever by a UT woman, accumulating 266 thus far and standing nine behind career record-holder Candace Parker (275).

Puckett, a 6-2 guard/forward from Muscle Shoals, Ala., is averaging 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per outing while shooting 44 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free-throw line. She is one of only three Lady Vols to play in all 29 games, averaging 22.2 minutes per contest.

Six times Puckett has scored in double figures, including a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double in a home win over Arkansas, a key 15-point effort in a road win over a tough Virginia Tech team and a season-high 19-point showing vs. ETSU. Puckett's shooting range extends beyond the arc, and she has been on the mark from three-point land 21 times in 2021-22 to rank third on the team in makes.

UT's SEC honorees and their teammates will begin play in the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Friday at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET (8:30 p.m. CT), facing off against either No. 6 Georgia or the winner of the No. 11 Alabama vs. No. 14 Auburn game. SEC Network will televise all of the tourney games through the quarterfinal round, with ESPNU carrying the semifinals on Saturday and ESPN televising the championship game on Sunday.

USA TODAY SPORTS NETWORK ALL-SEC TEAM ALSO ANNOUNCED: The USA TODAY Sports Network also announced its SEC postseason awards on Tuesday, with Horston and Key also getting first- and second-team honors, respectively, from that organization.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jordan Horston

Tamari Key

Sara Puckett

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