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GREENVILLE, S.C. – When Tamari Key comes out to the court for games, the first thing the senior center for Lady Vols basketball does is scan the crowd for her mother.

She knows she’ll find her almost every time, and she can hear her voice over everyone in the stands. Tammy Brown rarely misses a game, even with her younger daughter, Teonni, a sophomore guard/forward playing for North Carolina.

The postseason is more difficult; this week, Teonni and Tamari played on Thursday at the same time. In order to witness Teonni and the Tar Heels lose to Miami in the second round of the ACC Tournament, Brown drove an hour and a half from her home in Cary, North Carolina. After that, it was time to make the three-hour drive to Greenville so that on Friday, we could witness Tennessee defeat Alabama in the quarterfinals.

Before the games, just seeing her and hearing her voice behind the bench does make me feel better, Tamari Key told Knox News. “It doesn’t go unnoticed, the support that she’s always giving us.”

When Tennessee (19-11) takes on No. 1 South Carolina (30-0) in the SEC Tournament semifinal on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU), Brown will be in the dugout.