Lady Vols Set To Depart Sunday For European Tour

The Tennessee women's basketball team will take the first steps of its 2023-24 journey in June, as it embarks Sunday on a summer tour in Europe.

The Lady Vols are slated to visit Italy and Greece and play two games during an excursion that runs June 11-22.

"We are grateful to have this opportunity to travel overseas, see historic sites and incredible scenery first-hand and get an early start on 2023-24," UT Head Coach Kellie Harper said. "Having a few practices beforehand, playing games abroad and sharing amazing experiences over two weeks will allow us to build camaraderie and chemistry for next season. We can't wait to embark on this journey together."

The UT travel party will begin its trip in Venice, where it will navigate the Grand Canal by water taxi and enjoy a walking tour that takes the Lady Vols to such locales as Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) and Rialto Bridge. They'll also observe a demonstration of glass blowing, a well-known artistic skill from the nearby island of Murano, and enjoy a gondola ride through the canals of Venice before playing the Venice All-Stars on June 13.

Next, Rome beckons. The Lady Vols will take a guided tour of the Colosseum, see the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain as well make stops at the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. The second day in Rome includes a visit to the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica, with the second contest of the trip also on tap against the Rome All-Stars on June 15.

Day six of the excursion takes the UT party near Naples to Pompeii for a tour of the excavated ruins as well as views of the somma-stratovolcano Mount Vesuvius that once buried the city in ash and pumice after a catastrophic eruption in 79 A.D. A visit to L'Università della Pizza for a lesson in pizza making comes next, followed by a walking tour of the scenic coastal town of Sorrento.

Day two in Sorrento features a boat trip to the Isle of Capri. A visit to the summit of Monte Solaro is in the offing as well as lunch in Capri's Marina Grande before a return to the mainland. Additional touring in Sorrento, leisure time and dinner on the water also are entries on the itinerary.

The Big Orange travel party will close out the tour with a couple of days in Greece. Among the items on the to-do list are a guided bus tour of Athens and visits to the Plaka District, Acropolis and Parthenon, a trip to the Temple of Poseidon and a stop along the Athenian Riviera on the Saronic Gulf.

This will mark the second European Tour of the Kellie Harper era and third international trip. The Lady Vols traveled to The Netherlands, Belgium and Spain in 2019 just prior to Harper's first season back at her alma mater. Tennessee went 3-0 on that trip, with redshirt senior Tamari Key then a freshman. The 2022-23 Lady Vols visited Paradise Island, Bahamas, for the Battle 4 Atlantis, bringing UT's record to 4-2 internationally under Harper.

All-time, this marks Tennessee's 11th international excursion, and the Lady Vols head to Italy and Greece with a 25-9 record on foreign soil. That includes a 17-7 mark in exhibition-type contests and an 8-2 resume in countable games during the regular season.

Previous foreign tours outside of collegiate competition and records for those include Brazil in June 1987 (1-4), England in January 1992 (2-1), Belgium/France/Switzerland in August 1999 (5-0), Italy/Greece in August 2003 (3-2), Italy in 2015 (3-0) and The Netherlands/Belgium/France in August 2019 (3-0).

In NCAA countable competition outside of the U.S. or its territories, the Lady Vols have been to Freeport, Bahamas, for the 2013 Junkanoo Jam (2-0); Cancun, Mexico, for the 2017 Cancun Challenge (3-0); Bimini, Bahamas, for the 2019 Junkanoo Jam (2-0); and Paradise Island, Bahamas, for the 2022 Battle 4 Atlantis (1-2).

Not counting in these totals are trips to U.S. territory tournaments in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the San Juan Shootout in November-December 2002 (3-0); and two appearances in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., for the Paradise Jam in November 2005 (3-0) and November 2010 (2-1).

In terms of personnel, the Lady Vols return super senior forward Rickea Jackson, an All-America honorable mention selection and All-SEC First Team choice who led the team in scoring at 19.2 ppg. and pulled down 6.1 rpg., as well as two-time SEC All-Defensive Team and 2022 Coaches All-SEC Second Team choice graduate center Key (8.4 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 66.7 FG% during a 2022-23 year that ended early for medical reasons). Key is the school's all-time record-holder for blocked shots in a season (119) and career (295).

Other 2022-23 contributors with extensive experience include senior guard/forward Tess Darby (7.4 ppg., 2.9 rpg. 70 3FGs), junior forward Jillian Hollingshead (6.2 ppg., 4.4 rpg., 48.6% FG), graduate guard Jasmine Powell (4.7 ppg., 3.1 apg., 2.6 rpg., 19 3FGs), junior guard forward Sara Puckett (4.7 ppg., 2.6 rpg., 26 3FGs), junior forward Karoline Striplin (4.7 ppg., 3.7 rpg., 50% FG, 12 3FGs) and junior guard Kaiya Wynn (1.5 ppg., 1.0 rpg.).

Newcomers include senior guards Jewel Spear and Destinee Wells, and sophomore guard/forward Avery Strickland. Spear and Wells were ranked No. 7 and No. 19 by 247Sports among top transfers and along with Strickland helped Tennessee card the No. 6-ranked transfer class nationally, according to 247Sports analyst Brandon Clay.

Spear, a two-time All-ACC and ACC All-Tournament Team honoree during her three seasons at Wake Forest, put up 16.5 ppg.. 3.7 rpg., 1.8 apg. and 93 three-pointers in 2022-23 while leading the Demon Deacons in scoring and ranking fifth in the ACC in points per game. Wells was a three-time all-conference performer at Belmont who produced 19.5 ppg., 4.9 apg. and 65 treys in 2022-23, including 32.4 ppg. over the last five games. Strickland appeared in 30 contests at Pitt last season, contributing 6.2 ppg., 1.7 rpg. and 39 threes. She upped her production over the last six games to 8.3 ppg. and 2.5 rpg. with 11 three-pointers and shooting percentages of 45 percent overall and 42.3 percent on treys during that late-season span.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Tess Darby

Jillian Hollingshead

Rickea Jackson

Tamari Key

Jasmine Powell

Sara Puckett

Jewel Spear

Avery Strickland

Karoline Striplin

Destinee Wells

Kaiya Wynn

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