Tennessee

What Shea Ralph said about Justine Pissott’s first game against Tennessee after transfer

Published

2 years ago

January 21, 2024

What Shea Ralph said about Justine Pissott’s first game against Tennessee after transfer

For Justine Pissott, Sunday marked her first return to Knoxville since she announced her transfer from Tennessee to Vanderbilt women’s basketball.

Pissott, the first player to ever transfer from the Lady Vols to the Commodores, played two games and left Tennessee after one season.

While she was a little-used bench player there, she was in the starting lineup for Sunday’s 73-64 Vanderbilt loss, even drawing boos from the Thompson-Boling Arena crowd when she was introduced.

Pissott opened each half with a 3-pointer, ultimately scoring nine points on 3-for-9 shooting and had three rebounds. She has started 17 of 20 games for the Commodores (17-3, 4-2 SEC) as they push to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade.

“I know it wasn’t easy for her,” Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph said in the postgame news conference. “But I thought that she did some really great things today and she battled through and she fought and I also think the past is the past. . . .

“She’s here with us now. She’s playing in a gym that she used to practice in a lot and play in a lot. But this isn’t her school anymore. And I wanted her to look at it as a growing opportunity, where I’m sure she struggled at some points. But we’re really happy to have her . . . I was really really proud of her.”

At Tennessee in 2022-23, Pissott played seven minutes per game, averaging two points and one rebound and shooting 26% from beyond the arc. At Vanderbilt, she is averaging 21 minutes with seven points and two rebounds per game, shooting 36% from 3.

She had announced her transfer in May.

THE GAME Vanderbilt women’s basketball can’t counter late run in loss to Tennessee Lady Vols

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.

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Tennessee

Tennessee lawmakers discuss priorities for upcoming session

Published

11 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Tennessee lawmakers discuss priorities for upcoming session

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Tennessee lawmakers are preparing to discuss hundreds of bills as the state legislature convenes, with mental health funding emerging as a priority for two lawmakers.

State Rep. Sam McKenzie, D-Knoxville, and state Sen. Becky Massey, R-Knox County, said mental health care funding will be a focus of upcoming legislative conversations.

“It’s been a big topic,” McKenzie said.

“That’s going to be very top of my mind as far as working and advocating for that,” Massey said.

Massey, who chairs the Transportation Committee, said the state needs more money for road expansion. She expressed concerns about insufficient funding for billion of dollars worth of road projects.

“People are paying less to drive on our roads and the cost of building roads are going up. So your gas tax is going down, the cost of building roads is going up,” Massey said.

McKenzie stressed the need for more public education funding following the first year of families using state dollars for private school through the voucher program.

“In Knox County, our numbers are up. Actually, in Memphis, their numbers are up, so I think some of the changes we’ve made in regard to public education and putting a few more dollars in, I think we can continue that process,” McKenzie said.

State House Speaker Cameron Sexton has said he wants to at least double the voucher program to offer it to 40,000 to 50,000 families. Both Massey and McKenzie expressed skepticism about the expansion.

“This isn’t about those kids in failing schools, this is about their friends, the rich or almost rich, that are just wanting a check from the government,” McKenzie said.

Massey cited revenue concerns about the expansion.

“I’m not getting the vibes that there is going to be enough revenue to do that because we’ve got other funding needs also,” Massey said.

Massey added the state could expand the program this year, but perhaps to 5,000 more families.

The General Assembly will reconvene next Tuesday.

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Tennessee

Deputies perform ‘life-saving measures’ after 5-year-old falls into swimming pool in Tennessee

Published

23 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Deputies perform ‘life-saving measures’ after 5-year-old falls into swimming pool in Tennessee

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A Tennessee sheriff’s office is asking the community to pray for a family whose 5-year-old was hospitalized after falling into a swimming pool.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said deputies and family members were “administering life-saving measures” Thursday afternoon after pulling the child out of the water.

The child was then transferred to a hospital, where they are still being treated.

“The child was subsequently transported to the hospital, where they are currently receiving medical care‚” said a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy, no further details will be released at this time.”

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Tennessee

Why first quarter was ‘crucial’ in Mississippi State’s loss to Tennessee

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Why first quarter was ‘crucial’ in Mississippi State’s loss to Tennessee

Sam Purcell felt good about the game plan for Mississippi State women’s basketball’s matchup with Tennessee.

But the Bulldogs gave up 26 points in the first quarter and trailed by seven points. It was a deficit they never recovered from in a 90-80 loss to the Lady Vols at Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 8.

“You look at that that first quarter, I thought it was crucial. We had a great scout, a great game plan, but we didn’t talk on ball screens,” Purcell said. “Their largest quarter was that first quarter, and we’re going to watch back and go, dang it, we need to be more vocal. And you got to give them credit – top to bottom, they’re probably as good as anybody in the country with athleticism. So you can’t let those athletic kids turn the corner for wide open layups, and we did.”

Kharyssa Richardson and Madison Francis led the Bulldogs with 22 points each, but MSU didn’t have enough defense to pull off the upset.

Had Mississippi State been able to slow down Tennessee’s drivers in the first quarter, it may have been a different result. But once the Bulldogs started slowing that down, the Lady Vols were “phenomenal hitting some big-time shots,” Purcell said.

Tennessee only had the edge in points in the paint, 42-40, but it also went 10-for-27 on 3-pointers, which was an area Mississippi State couldn’t match. The Bulldogs shot 2-for-13 from deep.

MSU also couldn’t stop Tennessee freshman point guard Mia Pauldo, who scored a game-high 26 points on 8-for-12 shooting. The Bulldogs sent her to the foul line time and time again, and she went 8-for-9 on free throws.

“I thought (Pauldo) was poised, she was clutch,” Purcell said. “Obviously, that’s what you need in games like this that are gonna come down the to the wire. You need players to step up, and I thought she was the X factor for them.”

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