UT's Harper, Belmont's Wells earn TSWA women's basketball accolades

NASHVILLE – Tennessee’s Kellie Harper and Belmont’s Destinee Wells were recognized as the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Women’s Basketball Coach and Player of the Year, respectively, in awards announced this week for the 2021-22 academic year by the organization.

Harper started the season losing a returning starter in Marta Suarez with All-SEC forward Rae Burrell missing the first 12 games. She later lost Keyen Green and Jordan Horston to season-ending injuries yet guided the Lady Vols to their most overall and SEC wins since 2017-18, their highest national ranking since 2015-16 and their first NCAA Sweet 16 since 2015-16.

She directed her squad to an 18-1 start, UT’s best since 2007-08. UT rose as high as No. 4 in the AP Poll and defeated five ranked teams. The Lady Vols reached the SEC Tournament semifinals and earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament before losing to eventual Final Four participant Louisville in the Sweet 16. The Lady Vols ended the season 25-9, matching Harper’s career high for victories and marking her second Sweet 16 appearance after leading Missouri State there in 2019.

Wells ranked second in the OVC and among the top 100 players nationally, averaging 16.7 points per game while ranking in the Top 65 in the country in both total assists (140) and assists per game (4.5 APG). She became only the second player in OVC history to earn OVC Tournament MVP as both a freshman and sophomore after averaging 21 points in the 2022 OVC Championship.

Wells has scored in double figures in 43 of her last 45 games dating to February 2021. She led all scorers at Final Four contender and Wichita Regional champion Louisville with 19 points (Dec. 5) and helped Belmont upset No. 5 seed Oregon in double overtime in the NCAA Tournament for a second straight first-round victory before the Bruins pushed Tennessee to the final seconds of a second-round loss.

The coach and player awards will be handed out July 14 at the 2022 TSWA Hall of Fame ceremony.