Kentucky upsets No. 18 Lady Vols 83-74 in SEC semifinals

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Rhyne Howard scored 24 points, and the Kentucky Wildcats never trailed beating No. 18 Tennessee 83-74 Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference women’s tournament semifinals.

The seventh-seeded Wildcats (18-11) reached their first tournament championship game since 2014 and their sixth all-time. They did it beating Tennessee in the semifinals for the first time in three tries, and Kentucky will play top-ranked South Carolina, a 61-51 winner over Mississippi, on Sunday for the championship.

Robyn Benton and Jada Walker each scored 16 points as Kentucky won its ninth straight overall. Treasure Hunt had 11.

This game meant a bit more. The Wildcats are coached by Kyra Elzy with assistant Niya Butts and both were teammates of Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper at Tennessee playing together on Tennessee’s national championships in 1997 and 1998.

The third-seeded Tennessee (23-8) heads home not having played in the title game since 2015 at an event this program has won a league-high 17 times.

Alexus Dye led Tennessee with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Rae Burrell had 16 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Walker had six points and 10 assists.

The Wildcats showed no signs of fatigue playing its third game in as many days coming off an upset of sixth-ranked LSU in the quarterfinals. They hit 12 of 24 from 3-point range.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 14-3 lead and led 22-13 after a first quarter where six of their eight made baskets came from beyond the arc. The Lady Vols started knocking down shots themselves in the second, making 11 of 18 (61.1%) to pull within 36-34 on a layup by Brooklyn Miles with 2:08 left.

But Hunt hit a 3, Walker scored on a layup and Benton capped the scoring with Kentucky’s ninth 3 of the half for a 44-37 lead at halftime. Harper was not happy at a no call on Kaiya Wynn’s final shot attempt just before the buzzer, talking to an official before heading off the court.

Tennessee opened the third on an 8-2 run to get within 46-45. Howard started a 12-4 run for Kentucky with a three-point play, and the Wildcats led 61-53 at the end of the quarter. The Lady Vols got within 73-69 with 3:58 left, and Howard hit two free throws and a layup. She had 10 in the fourth to seal the win.

RECORD TIED

The Wildcats tied the SEC tournament mark for made 3s in a half. They went 9 of 15, matching the mark of nine made 3s Arkansas made in the second half against Vanderbilt on Feb. 28, 2018.

UP NEXT

Tennessee awaits the NCAA Tournament bracket announcement.

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