GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Lady Vols fell short in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, losing to No. 1 seed Mississippi State 83-68.
Evina Westbrook led the team with 19 points, four rebounds and six assists. Rennia Davis added 16 points and Meme Jackson added 13 points.
Tennessee’s first quarter was a mirror image of the LSU game. Five early turnovers in the first four minutes put the Lady Vols in a hole. Unlike the LSU game, Tennessee got the offense going and stopped making mistakes. The Lady Vols pushed the pace with Evina Westbrook and Meme Jackson and forced Mississippi State star Teaira McCowan to the bench with two early fouls. The Lady Vols led at the end of the first ten minutes. It was perhaps one of the best quarters the team has played all the season. You saw the flash and potential this unit has.
During the second quarter, the script switched. The Lady Vols turned the ball over again and again, ending the first half with 15 turnovers. The Lady Bulldogs made Tennessee pay, outscoring UT 26-9 in the second period. The Lady Vols trailed 43-32 at the half.
Offensively, the Lady Vols played well in the second half, but against a team as good as Mississippi State, the deficit was too much to overcome.
At the end of the day, the Lady Vols committed way too many turnovers to have a chance to beat the No. 5 team in the country. Tennessee set a new season-high with 26 turnovers. Mississippi State scored 30 points off of those turnovers.
Will the Lady Vols make the NCAA Tournament? That’s to be determined. ESPN women’s basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme had the Lady Vols in the field after beating LSU and said a loss to Mississippi State would not push Tennessee out, but it does leave things up to chance, should other teams make a deep run in their conference tournaments.
Tennessee will learn its fate on Selection Monday (March 18).