Why consistency from Tamari Key is final piece of the puzzle for Lady Vols basketball

ATHENS, Ga. – The day before Tamari Key's first start of the season, she was watching film with assistant coach Joy McCorvey.

Key has worked back to being a consistent performer off the bench for Lady Vols basketball. But as the redshirt senior pushes to get back to where she was before blood clots in her lungs sidelined her last season, it's all about focusing on details. Key had struggled in her most recent outing – a loss to Ole Miss. She knew she could be better.

So there was extra work outside of practice between Tennessee's back-to-back road games this week. There was extra film with McCorvey to work on the little, technical things.

"We were wanting to tweak some things about my rebounding positions to try to get more boards, and I was really focused on that today," Key said. "Just small tweaks can make a big difference in games."

Those little tweaks led to a season-high eight rebounds for Key in her first start since being sidelined last season. She added 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting and a block in Tennessee's 95-73 win over Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum on Thursday.

Key's increasing role and production is exactly what the Lady Vols (13-7, 6-2 SEC) need. She logged 26 minutes Thursday, her fifth game of the season playing more than 20 minutes.

Nearly every time Tennessee got Key the ball in the paint, it seemed a guaranteed bucket. The 6-foot-6 center has size few can contend with, and her presence on the court opened things up offensively for everyone else.

Georgia coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said her players couldn't get around Key, which made it difficult to get out to the corners and find senior guard Jewel Spear, who shot 5-for-9 from 3-point range. Tennessee shot 12-for-25 behind the arc, the most 3-pointers it has made in SEC play.

"We get slammed and we can't get out to the corners, and that's because she's so big and she's doing a really good job of just being a big post presence in there," Abrahamson-Henderson said. "I'm glad she's back ... what happened to her was pretty scary so it's nice to see her back."

Key said she was excited to get back into the starting lineup, but she's willing to do whatever the team needs to win.

Harper said Key gave them good looks in the paint on offense and putting her back in the starting lineup was a change they needed.

"It was just something we felt like we wanted to do, wanted to shake it up a little bit," Harper said. "I felt like it was what the team needed right now."

Key's first start also included the most field goals she has taken this season. If the Lady Vols can keep getting her that many shots, it will give them the balance they need with Spear and star forward Rickea Jackson's production.

Spear led the team with 25 points on 57.1% shooting, building on her 30 points on 64.7% shooting at Ole Miss. Jackson added 21 points, six rebounds and five assists – and she went 3-for-4 from deep.

Spear, who transferred from Wake Forest, has settled into playing in the SEC and strung together her best performances of the season. The biggest difference in the ACC's style of play she has noticed and adjusted to is the physicality in the SEC.

"I've learned that on the road at Auburn, that was my first game, kind of eye-opening," Spear said. "Both conferences are really good, but being in the SEC now, getting some games under my belt, I've noticed how physical it is. And how every team is good, top to bottom, there are no easy games."

Tennessee wasn't perfect against the Bulldogs (10-11, 1-7), especially defensively, but things are starting to click offensively. Key performing on this level consistently is the final piece of the puzzle for the Lady Vols, and Thursday was a promising start.

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: For Lady Vols basketball, Tamari Key's consistency is final puzzle piece