GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee women's basketball was knocked out against top-ranked, undefeated South Carolina in the SEC Tournament semifinals at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. The Lady Vols played in their fourth straight conference tournament semifinal on Saturday.
After being swept by the Gamecocks in the regular season, the Lady Vols were looking for an upset and a chance at the SEC Championship title. However, with little room to work on the offensive end and an extremely slow start, Tennessee couldn't make a comeback in the 74-73 score.
South Carolina's defense was locked in early and Tennessee couldn't figure it out for the game's first four minutes.
The Lady Vols shot 0-9 from the field, while the Gamecocks were already leading by double figures, 10-0, when the first media timeout was called. Tennessee was also getting outrebounded 13-4.
Bree Hall knocked down a buzzer-beater from deep to extend the Gamecocks lead to 13-0, and the Lady Vols remained scoreless until a Rickea Jackson contended three broke the draught on their 11th attempt of the night with 2:51 left in the first half. Jewel Spear drained another one from the corner on the next possession to give the Lady Vols some life on the offensive end, 15-6.
The Lady Vols shot 2-15 in the first quarter and it was a 19-6 score heading into the second. The Gamecocks had zero turnovers in the first ten minutes of gameplay.
Tennessee sank two other buckets in the first five minutes of the second half and South Carolina seemed to score on almost every possession. The Lady Vols continued to lose the rebounding battle while the Gamecocks won every part.
South Carolina was playing smart basketball and taking advantage of every possession, even if the first shots weren't falling. Tennessee wasn’t playing aggressive basketball and could only grab five offensive boards in the first half while the Gamecocks picked up 13.
However, Tennessee was able to trim a 23-point deficit to 13 by the half.
Tamari Key scored in the paint to ignite an 11-1 run to end the second quarter. It was a 36-23 game at halftime. Still, Tennessee only made seven field goals in the first half of the game.
Things started to pick up for Tennessee in the third quarter. A Jackson jumper and a Sara Puckett three made it an 8-point game, 42-35. Jackson had eight points in the first five minutes of the quarter but the Gamecocks continued to dominate the scoreboard with a lead to back it up.
Jackson scored another deep ball from beyond the arc to come within eight once again, but Chloe Kitts sank a tough contested jumper to end the third and two Gamecock shots from the line made it a 12-point game going into the last quarter.
With 6:33 remaining, Jasmine Powell drained a three to make it a three-point game and Jackson’s second chance layup made it a two-point game, the closest the Lady Vols had come to taking the lead at that point in the game, 65-63.
Tamari Key sank a turnaround jumper to tie up the game, 65-65, and the crowd went wild, but there was still a lot of time. From then on, with a little over a minute left, the game was back-and-forth, and both teams were fighting hard.
The game was tied at 71 a piece with 43 seconds remaining, but Jackson hit another second-chance layup to take their first lead of the game with 24 seconds left, 73-71.
With 1.1 second left remaining, Kamilla Cardosa hit a buzzer-beater three to win the game, 74-73.
The Lady Vols were seconds away from beating the No. 1 team in the country but the Gamecocks somehow got it done in the end. Tennessee will look to rebound from this matchup when the NCAA tournament rolls around.
