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2 hours ago
SEC Network Staff
Greenville, SC- No. 3 seed Tennessee (21-10, 13-3 SEC) eliminated No. 14 seed Kentucky, 80-71, in the quarterfinals of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
UT came out of the gate with a great start, shooting close to 60% from the field and 75% from three and Kentucky was unable to dig itself completely out of the hole.
Rickea Jackson posted a season-high 34 points, while Jordan Horston contributed 21 points with seven boards, seven assists and seven blocks.
Robyn Benton led the Wildcats with 20 points and Maddie Scherr scored 13, while continuing to be a force defensively with three blocks and four steals.
Tennessee opened the game on a 6-0 run led by Jackson and Horston, causing the Wildcats to call a timeout.
Tess Darby had the hot hand early as she drained three triples in the first quarter, matching the most she has scored in a quarter since Jan.1.
Kentucky was relentless in repeated attempts to come back all night, and Walker and Scherr came up with timely steals that led to points that enabled the Wildcats to close the gap to 17-15.
The Lady Vols capped UK’s momentum with a 10-2 run to close the quarter, 27-17. This marked the seventh time UT has led by double digits after the first quarter this season.
The defensive pressure from Kentucky increased as Tennessee shot 58.8% from the field in the first to 23.5% in the second. The Wildcats made an 11-0 push late in the second frame, and Tennessee went into the break with a 38-30 advantage.
Robyn Benton leads the Wildcats in points this season, averaging 16.2 per game, but was held to three in the first half. Benton was held to zero points in the second round of the tournament by Alabama.
He wouldn’t last much longer as he opened the scoring in the third minute and had a steal and an assist in the opening minute. He would end the game with 20 points.
Horston hit multiple mid-range jumpers to score six of the Lady Vol’s eight points to extend the lead to 10, 46-36.
Twenty-eight of Kentucky’s first 46 points came from Tennessee’s turnovers, which totaled 17 at the end of the third. England would not stop and managed to stay within a good distance, 53-48, going into the final quarter.
Even though the Wildcats closed the lead to four in the final minute, they couldn’t complete their comeback bid.
It was the eighth time this season Horston recorded at least 10 points, five boards and five assists. No other player in the SEC has done that more than five times.
Jackson entered her seventh game with 20 points, matching Candace Parker in 2007 for the longest streak by a Lady Vol over the past 20 seasons.
Tennessee moved to 20-1 this season when entering the fourth quarter with a lead of at least five points.
It was the third time this season that Kentucky scored 30 or more points off of turnovers. But in the end, it wasn’t enough.
Until Next Time
The Lady Vols will face 2-seeded LSU in the semifinals of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday, 25 minutes after the conclusion of the Ole Miss-South Carolina game.
Kentucky (12-18, 2-14 SEC) has been eliminated from the tournament.
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