'I get to be a Lady Vol for Life': Rae Burrell on her final game for Tennessee basketball

WICHITA, Kan. – Rae Burrell wasn't ready to go home on Saturday.

She had waited four years for this moment and was the only player in her signing class who stayed at Tennessee through the coaching change when Holly Warlick was fired after the 2018-19 season. In the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, the Lady Vols cut Louisville's lead to two points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and they could do it again – at least if Burrell had anything to say about it.

With Louisville up 10, the senior caught an inbounds pass from Jordan Walker, pulled up and hit a jumper. She followed it up immediately by knocking the ball loose from Kianna Smith's hands as Emily Engstler tried to hand it off. Burrell took the ball down the court, side-stepping Smith to finish at the rim and pull Tennessee within six points with 6:03 left.

Burrell's second-half effort, where she scored 15 of her season-high 22 points, wasn't enough to overcome the No. 1 Cardinals (28-4) at Intrust Arena and the fourth-seeded Lady Vols (25-9) lost 76-64.

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"It's meant so much, I get to be a Lady Vol for Life, and that means a lot to me," Burrell said. "I've been here for four years, and it's been a great ride. I'm just very grateful for my team and the people that have helped me along the way."

It was her final game in the orange and white, and Burrell's senior year didn't go anything like she envisioned it. After a breakout junior season when she averaged 16.8 points and 4.6 rebounds, the 6-foot-1 Burrell was ready to lead the Lady Vols once again.

But a knee injury in the first game of the season sidelined her for the next 12 games. When she made her return during SEC play, Burrell wasn't 100% yet. But in the final games of the season, she began to show the kind of player she had been, averaging 15.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in the postseason.

At the beginning of the season, Burrell was a favorite to go in the first round of this year's WNBA Draft. With the comeback she made in the second half of the season, she still is projected to get drafted by many..

"This is not how she envisioned her last season going, right?" Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said. "I'm really happy for her that she could go out on a positive game, because when you're playing – this is what you're going to remember. You want it to be something that's going to make you smile. I'm happy for her that she'll be able to do that."

The trip to the Sweet 16 was the first for the Lady Vols since 2016. Through the injuries late in the season, Burrell and Walker said there's a great sense of pride in what they were able to do.

"Only 15 other teams get to be here and get to have this opportunity," Walker said. "So for us to be one after all we have been through this season says a lot about us and who we are and what we do on the court ... we have earned it. We have earned the right to be here this season. Even with all that we've been through, we earned the right to be here."

With the end of the season comes the end of not only Burrell's college career, but also for Keyen Green and Alexus Dye. Walker, who already announced she would return for next season, said it's hard to process the fact that their time together is over.

"The relationships on and off the court, you're going to cherish those for a lifetime," Walker said. "To think of not playing with them, it's hard, just because of the impact that they've had on this program and what they brought to the team. So, honestly, I don't know if I have words for it right now, but I know that's going to be a little bit hard for me."

Cora Hall: Covering UT women's athletics
Twitter | cora.hall@knoxnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee Lady Vols basketball: Rae Burrell on her final UT game