For longtime Tennessee basketball fans, it’s easy to place their hopes of a return to national title glory in the hands of third-year coach and Tennessee basketball alum Kellie Harper. That narrative has storybook ending written all over it.

Pat Summitt, one of the most iconic and successful coaches in all of college basketball, started out at Tennessee in the early 1970s and served as team coach, athletic trainer, tutor, driver and equipment launderer, as so many women of her era did. Eventually, Summitt built a dynasty at Tennessee, winning eight national championships between 1988 and 2008. In 2012, Summitt stepped down after the symptoms of early-onset Alzheimer’s started to impede her ability to coach. Over the next seven seasons, the women’s basketball community watched the program slowly slip down the ladder of national prominence, while also mourning the loss of Summitt when she passed away in 2016.

Tennessee’s hiring of Harper in 2019 ignited new hope around the team. Kellie Harper (then Kellie Jolly) had been a starting point guard for Summitt and was integral to the Vols’ national championship three-peat from 1996-98. After leading her new squad to a 21-10 record her first year at the helm, and following it up with a 17-8 season last year, Tennessee caught everyone’s attention by going 18-1 through the first half of this season and grabbing a top-four national ranking.

Supporters and media were abuzz with talk of Tennessee’s “resurgence.” Harper was fulfilling the promise she represented; Pat Summitt’s student was now the teacher, and a return to glory seemed imminent. Those who’ve watched women’s college basketball become more and more unforgiving, however, know there is no such fairytale.

Harper knows that as well as anyone, but it hasn’t stopped her from focusing on the little things. When she first took the job at her alma mater, there were certain aspects she wanted to focus on right away.

“Establishing how I wanted it to look, how I wanted it to feel was really important early on,” she recalled in a recent conversation with Just Women’s Sports. “For me, I know what it needs to look like to be successful and that we’ve gotta be gritty. We’ve gotta be tough. We’ve gotta be competitive, have a little chip-on-our-shoulder type of feel.”

Another important task for Harper has been to educate her team about Tennessee’s legacy, while not making it a burden for her players who may have been too young to have even watched Summitt on TV.

“When I was a player, Pat shared the history with us. It wasn’t forced. It was just important to her that we know who came before and what they did,” Harper said. “I think that’s important for our team. I think it’s important that they know the history and we’ve done different things to learn that. But at the same time, you can’t be successful off of your past. You’ve gotta be successful based on what you’re doing now. So, it’s important to carry on the tradition and the legacy of so many great people that came before, but also at the same time, they can still carve out their own piece in history.”

That's our coach 🔥

🎥 𝙎𝙀𝘾 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 pic.twitter.com/UPrHbi69SQ

— Lady Vol Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) February 15, 2022

Keeping two feet planted firmly in the present moment has helped Harper maintain a level head during the past few weeks. In their Jan. 23 game against Georgia, grad student Keyen Green, a valuable leader and on-court producer, suffered a season-ending ACL tear. The Vols went on to lose three of their next four games and dropped from No. 4 to No. 13 in the AP Poll. Now at No. 12, Tennessee suffered more adversity Thursday night, falling to Alabama 74-64 in an SEC matchup despite a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double from Tamari Key.

When losses come in such bundles, an overreaction from those on the outside is all but guaranteed. Harper’s job has been to keep things in perspective for those on the inside.

“The mindset that we have to have is this isn’t catastrophic. It feels like it is because we haven’t dealt with it all year,” Harper said. “Another thing is that getting into the top five is maybe easier than staying there … there’s pressure there. The expectations are high, and our players have to learn how to live in that space. This is new for a lot of our players.”

It would be easy after the Feb. 6 loss to UConn to regret signing on for the marquee matchup in the middle of conference play, but Harper wasn’t letting their recent rough patch cloud her judgment of the bigger picture.

“There’s a lot of talk, a lot of attention on those games and I thought it was good. I think it’s a good situation to put a team in,” she explained. “It’s a loud environment, good crowd, really good for team discipline. If you want to be the best, you’ve gotta be able to perform in those situations.”

Heading into Storrs as the seventh-ranked team in the nation, and taking on the 10th-ranked Huskies, was definitely new for her players. Until this season, the Vols hadn’t outranked UConn since the preseason poll in 2012, causing diehard Tennessee fans to do an extra little jig when they surpassed UConn in Week 6 this year.

Although losing Green was a significant blow to the team both on and off the court, it’s 6-foot-2 junior Jordan Horston who leads the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. She’s also second in blocks, behind 6-foot-6 center Key. Horston has played her way onto the midseason list for the Naismith Player of the Year Trophy and the top-10 list for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, given to the top shooting guard in the nation. Playing under a brighter national spotlight has been important developmentally for Horston.

“Jordan has really matured over her career here at Tennessee. She’s very competitive. She’s a great teammate. She wants to win,” Harper said. “You have to understand you’re going to make mistakes. You’ve gotta play through those mistakes. That’s mental toughness. I think that’s one of the biggest areas that Jordan has improved.”

JORDY AT THE 🚨

16 PTS / 13 REB / 7 AST

( @ladylynn22_'s 12th double-double of the year ) pic.twitter.com/SlMiPCDuJc

— Lady Vol Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) February 14, 2022

With back-to-back conference wins against Missouri and Vanderbilt last week, Tennessee has shown it can weather the storms in an otherwise stellar season, lessons that could prove useful come tournament time. With big matchups ahead, including against top-ranked South Carolina on Sunday and Kim Mulkey’s LSU a week later, Tennessee has the chance to add ample fuel to the “resurgence” storyline before March.

Regardless of how the rest of the season plays out for the Vols, Harper will continue to shape the pieces that are essential for getting Tennessee back into national championship contention.

“One of the big things for me is our players have to actually love the game, because this is hard. What we do is hard,” she said. “And doing it at Tennessee is harder than most places because of the set of eyes on you.”

She’s not expecting the fairytale version. Kellie Harper is here for the real thing.

Tessa Nichols is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports.

Hailey Van Lith is reportedly on her way to TCU, says Talia Goodman of The Next Hoops.

The former Louisville star joined LSU for the 2023-24 season, but a disappointing run in Baton Rouge saw her enter the transfer portal once again at the season’s end. Van Lith opted to use her fifth year of eligibility versus declaring for the WNBA draft.

Van Lith was admittedly less effective as a Tiger. Her field goal percentage decreased from .411 in 2022-23 with Louisville to .388 at LSU. She also went from averaging 19.7 points per game to just 11.6, due in part to a change of position from shooting guard to more of a point guard role.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

At an end-of-season banquet last week, LSU coach Kim Mulkey used her speech to wish Van Lith well, calling her "one of the hardest working players that I’ve ever coached."

"Her aspirations were to get drafted this year," Mulkey said, according to NOLA.com. "And she realized, 'I need another year, and I need to go back to a place where I can relax and get back to my normal position.'

"And what do you do? You hug her, and you wish her well."

The decision to commit to TCU may come as a surprise after Van Lith paid a visit to Mississippi State last weekend. The Horned Frogs finished out the 2023-24 season 21-12 overall, coming in 9th in the Big 12 and scoring an average of 69.5 points per game. The program also made headlines in January when they held mid-season open tryouts in response to an onslaught of sidelining injuries.

For the first time in the NWSL's 12-year history, fans can now buy their own goalkeeper jerseys. And while replica goalkeeper jerseys representing all 14 NWSL teams hit the market on Wednesday, some didn't stick around for long. 

Fans across women's soccer have long vocalized their discontent over the position's lack of availability on social media, often comparing the shortcoming to the widespread availability of men’s goalkeeper jerseys. And as the NWSL has grown, so has demand — and not just from those in the stands. 

"To have goalkeeper kits available for fans in the women’s game as they have been for so long in the men’s game is not only a long-awaited move in the right direction, it’s just good business," said Washington Spirit goalie Aubrey Kingsbury in an team press release. "I can’t wait to see fans representing me, Barnie [Barnhart], and Lyza in the stands at Audi!"

just went looking at #nwsl goalkeeper kit stock out of curiosity — Alyssa Naeher's $145 kit already sold out S-XL (league announced GK jerseys on sale 3 hours ago)https://t.co/8bYA7tlwcx

— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) April 17, 2024

Business does, in fact, appear to be booming. Alyssa Naeher’s Chicago Red Stars kit sold out less than three hours after the league's announcement. Jerseys for other keepers like DiDi Haračić, Abby Smith, Michelle Betos, Katelyn Rowland, and Bella Bixby aren’t currently available via the Official NWSL Shop, though blank goalkeeper jerseys can be customized through some individual team sites. Jerseys start at $110 each.

"This should be the benchmark," said Spirit Chief Operations Officer Theresa McDonnell. "The expectation is that all players’ jerseys are available to fans. Keepers are inspiring leaders and mentors with their own unique fan base who want to represent them... I can’t wait to see them all over the city."

Decorated gymnast Simone Biles took to the popular Call Her Daddy podcast this week to open up about her experience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, revealing she thought she was going to be "banned from America" for her performance.

After Biles botched her vault routine due to a bout of the "twisties," she withdrew from the team final as well as the all-around final in order to focus on her mental health. She later reentered the competition to win bronze in the individual balance beam final.

In her interview with podcast host Alex Cooper, Biles admitted to feeling like she let the entire country down by failing her vault attempt.

"As soon as I landed I was like 'Oh, America hates me. The world is going to hate me. I can only see what they’re saying on Twitter right now,'" she recalled thinking. "I was like, ‘Holy s---, what are they gonna say about me?'"

"I thought I was going to be banned from America," she continued. "That’s what they tell you: Don’t come back if not gold. Gold or bust. Don’t come back."

Widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time, Biles has hinted at a desire to join her third Olympic team in Paris, though her participation won't be confirmed until after the gymnastics trials in late June. She holds over 30 medals from the Olympic Games and World Artistic Gymnastics Championships combined, and if qualified, would be a sure favorite heading into this summer’s games.

Caitlin Clark is reportedly close to cementing a hefty endorsement deal with Nike.

The Athletic was the first to break the news Wednesday evening, commenting that the deal would be worth "eight figures" and include her own signature shoe. On Thursday afternoon, the publication tweeted that the deal would top $20 million, according to lead NBA Insider Shams Charania. Both Under Armour and Adidas are said to have also made sizable offers to the college phenom and expected future WNBA star.

The new agreement comes after Clark's previous Nike partnership ended with the conclusion of the college basketball season. She was one of five NCAA athletes to sign an NIL deal with the brand back in October, 2022. 

Considering Clark's overwhelming popularity and Nike's deep pockets, the signing's purported value doesn't exactly come as a shock. New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu’s deal with the brand is reportedly worth $24 million, while NBA rookie and No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama’s deal is rumored to weigh in at $100 million. And in 2003, LeBron James famously earned $90 million off his own Nike deal. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Clark’s star power continues to skyrocket, with the NCAA championship averaging 18.9 million viewers and the 2024 WNBA Draft more than doubling its previous viewership record. Following the draft, Fanatics stated that Clark's Indiana Fever jersey — which sold out within an hour — was the top seller for any draft night pick in the company’s history, with droves of unlucky fans now being forced to wait until August to get their hands on some official No. 22 gear.

In Wednesday's Indiana Fever introductory press conference, the unfailingly cool, calm, and collected Clark said that turning pro hasn’t made a huge impact on how she’s conducting her deals.

"If I’m being completely honest, I feel like it doesn’t change a ton from how I lived my life over the course of the last year," she said. "Sponsorships stay the same. The people around me, agents and whatnot, have been able to help me and guide me through the course of the last year. I don’t know if I would be in this moment if it wasn’t for a lot of them."