A big loss during a huge win
Tennessee has lost sophomore guard Zaay Green to an ACL injury, Lady Vols head coach Kellie Harper announced Monday. In the first two games of the 2019-20 season, she averaged13 points and 4.5 rebounds.
“Zaay goes down on Saturday with an ACL injury,” Harper said in her post-game press conference. “I think it was, obviously a big blow for our team. We went into this game, she was our leading scorer. She’s obviously a playmaker for us, gives us one more guard to work with. Our team did a really nice job rallying around her.”
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The 6’0 was a member of last year’s SEC All-Freshman season after averaging 9.6 points per game and 4 rebounds. Her load was slated to get even bigger this year.
The announcement of Green’s injury came just ahead of the Lady Vols’ matchup with No. 15 Notre Dame, which Tennessee dominated, winning 74-63 on the road. The injury is a big blow for Harper in her first season at the helm of a legendary program with a young team and even younger guards.
Especially following Tennessee’s offseason losses, Green’s injury puts immediate pressure on freshman Jordon Horston, who finished with 12 points vs. Notre Dame, and Jazmine Massengill, who returned to the starting lineup after a tough, scoreless outing vs. ETSU, to begin to produce offense consistently.
The Lady Vols host Tennessee State on Thursday at 7 p.m. on SEC+. Tennessee’s next big test comes Dec. 8 vs. Texas in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on ESPN2.
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