NASHVILLE – Tennessee’s Rennia Davis and Belmont’s Bart Brooks were named the Tennessee Sports Writers Association Women’s Basketball Player and Coach of the Year, respectively, as announced this week by the organization.
Davis averaged 17.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this season, leading the Lady Vols in both categories. The Jacksonville, Fla., native shot 48 percent from the field and 85.3 percent at the foul line, recording 10 double-doubles in 24 contests.
She earned First Team All-SEC honors as well as Honorable Mention All-America accolades from the Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Davis netted 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per outing in 12 conference games this season.
She ended her Lady Vols career as one of only four players to rank in the career Top 10 in points, points per game, rebounds and rebounds per game, joining the likes of Chamique Holdsclaw, Candace Parker and Tamika Catchings. Davis finished ninth in UT history in points (1,815) and points per game (15.4), 10th in rebounds (947) and sixth in rebounds per game (8.03) while also ranking in the Top 10 in double-doubles (4th, 39), 20-point games (5th, 23), free throw percentage (t6th, .816), field goals attempted (8th, 1,477) and field goals made (9th, 696).
She was selected ninth in the WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx.
Brooks led the Bruins to a 21-6 record and one of the program’s most historic seasons. Belmont racked up its sixth consecutive 20-win season in 2020-21 and also won its fifth OVC Tournament championship in the last six years. The Bruins became just the third OVC program to win five conference tournament titles in a six-year span and the first since Tennessee Tech and Middle Tennessee in the 1980s.
The historic campaign included the team’s 2021 NCAA Tournament run, which featured the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory and a win over a ranked opponent. The Bruins defeated the fifth-seeded and No. 13/14-ranked Gonzaga, advancing to the Round of 32. With their historic win, the Bruins became the first OVC team, and fifth overall, to win an NCAA Tournament game since 1990.
The victory also came as head coach Bart Brooks' 100th career win. Brooks stands 10th nationally among active head coaches in win percentage (.794). Belmont’s run included an 11-game winning streak from February 11 until its loss to fourth-seeded Indiana on March 24 in the NCAA Tournament.