Volunteer Country

Sara Puckett Shares Special Moment With Her Dad, Receives Water Shower From Teammates After Huge Performance

Lady Vols Basketball Sara Puckett Shares Special Moment With Her Dad, Receives Water Shower From Teammates After Huge Performance in NCAA Tournament Women's March Madness

Jack Foster

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– A Tennessee basketball team is headed to the Sweet Sixteen, as the Lady Vols defeated Belmont to punch their ticket to Wichita, as UT will take on No. 1 Louisville on Saturday. 

In Tennessee's win, freshman Sara Puckett delivered significantly, posting 12 points and firing a three-point dagger from the corner put the Lady Vols ahead by two points with under 20 seconds remaining. Puckett's ultimate game-winning shot capped an impressive postseason performance from the freshman, as the Alabama native recorded her highest single-game point total since before SEC play began in December. 

Puckett's shot can be seen below. 

After the final buzzer, Puckett celebrated with her teammates on the court and then made a beeline to greet her emotional father in the stands to go further celebrate. 

"He was in tears," Puckett said of her dad after the game. 

Puckett's father–Joey–was the person who got his daughter into the sport of basketball, making the moment all the more special for the freshman. 

"I had to go over there because he's the one that got me into basketball," Puckett said. "And to be able to share that moment with him was just -- it was just amazing."

The joy didn't stop there for Puckett, as her teammates made sure to show their appreciation in post-game celebrations. (See below)

Puckett–who was showered with water from her teammates as you can see above–spoke on the post-game activities in the post-game press conference along with her teammate Tamari Key.

"Run to the refrigerator and grab bottles of water," Key said of the plan for the post-game celebration." Puckett then interrupted Key to chime in.

"And SOAK SARA!" Puckett said. 

Key went on to add that Puckett saw what awaited her in the locker room, and Puckett noted she took a moment to prepare before entering.

"Sara actually peeked in and saw we were about to soak her and closed the door," Key said.

"I did!" Puckett added. "I had to get ready. i had to mentally prepare for that moment."

Key further commented that the celebration after a thrilling March Madness victory is a moment she will remember for the foreseeable future. 

"There was confetti. It was a lot of fun," Key said. "It is moments like that that you'll remember years and years from now."

Puckett also shared an embrace with head coach Kellie Harper, and Harper was highly complementary of the freshman following the game. 

"Let me say something about Sara real quick," Harper began when mentioning Puckett. "I was thinking about this earlier today when we have an optional shoot-around, Sara's there. We have extra shots getting up, Sara's shooting them. Don't get me wrong, she's not the only one, but I was thinking this morning how much time our freshmen have put in extra.

"She may not be the top of the list, but no one's higher than her, I'll say that. It just pays off. Eventually it pays off, and it paid off in a big way today."

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Jack Foster
JACK FOSTER

Jack is a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville majoring in Journalism/Electronic Media. Jack grew up in Paris, Tennessee, but now spends the majority of his time in Knoxville doubling as a student and sports journalist for Volunteer Country. Jack has been a sports junkie since he was a young kid and always watched NFL football with his dad on Sundays. Jack still follows the NFL religiously, as he is an avid fantasy football player. Jack started with Volunteer Country in May of 2021 and has since helped provide full coverage of football, baseball and men's and women's basketball. Jack also works as a recurring member of WUTK's Rock Solid Sports show on Wednesdays and Fridays, and he also serves as head sports producer of The Volunteer Channel's Vol News, a student-run show at the University. When Jack is not watching or covering sports, find him on the golf course or back home spending time with his parents, younger sister and friends. Follow Jack on Twitter and Instagram by clicking "Twitter" and "Instagram" to see all of his work with Volunteer Country as well as student media.