Top-seeded South Carolina became the first upset loser in the SEC women’s basketball tournament. Tennessee had to rally to avoid the same fate.
The Gamecocks lost 68-58 to fourth-seeded Kentucky in the first semifinal Saturday at Gwinnett Arena. No. 2-seed Tennessee outlasted third-seeded Texas A&M 86-77 in the second game.
Both South Carolina (27-4) and Tennessee (26-5) faced early deficits. Kentucky (24-7) kept the pressure on the Gamecocks, who never recovered, while the Lady Vols pulled away from the Aggies (24-8) in the final four minutes.
The Lady Vols also had to come back to beat LSU in the quarterfinals Friday.
“Once we got the momentum going against LSU we had it the rest of the game,” Tennessee forward Cierra Burdick said. “It was free-flowing. We knew we would get that win. This game, it was a grind. Our motto is ‘grind for nine’ (national championships), and today it truly was. We are so tight. We never get rattled. We continue to stay composed.”
The Lady Vols didn’t fade after Texas A&M went ahead 23-13 after 10 minutes, and they took control with the score tied 75-75 and less than four minutes to play.
Isabelle Harrison scored on a hook shot in the lane to put the Lady Vols ahead for good at 77-75. Texas A&M’s Karla Gilbert had her shot blocked by Burdick, then had the ball go off her out of bounds as she and Aggies coach Gary Blair pleaded for a foul call.
Tennessee went ahead 79-75 when Bashaara Graves put back Harrison’s miss. After Courtney Williams’ 3-point attempt rimmed out, Simmons made 1 of 2 free throws. Walker followed with a driving shot attempt that also wouldn’t stay down.
Simmons made two more free throws for an 82-75 Tennessee lead with 1:21 to go. The Aggies got within 82-77 on Gilbert’s score and then forced a Burdick miss, but Harrison put back the rebound with 47 seconds to play.
“We played a … good game,” Blair said. “They played a better four minutes at the end.”
The Lady Vols dominated the Aggies with their inside play. Tennessee had a 50-34 scoring advantage in the paint and 48-26 in rebounding.
Tennessee’s starting front court of Harrison, Graves and Burdick combined for 32 rebounds, including 21 on offense.
“We make our money off rebounding,” Burdick said. “That’s what separates us from other teams in league. We make it a priority. We do it every day.”
Harrison led the Lady Vols with 20 points. Aggies guards Courtney Walker and Courtney Williams combined for 48 points.
Gilbert, Texas A&M’s best post player, was hindered by foul trouble early and played only 18 minutes.
“We had to do what we are capable of when those two touch fouls were called on Karla,” Blair said. “We didn’t have that inside presence. That’s what really hurt us.”
South Carolina was looking to double up on championships after winning its first regular-season conference title. The Gamecocks lost only two SEC games, at Texas A&M in overtime and at Tennessee, and swept the major conference awards.
The Aggies fell behind 12-2 early and never really threatened after halftime. Their defense, ranked fifth in the nation, allowed Kentucky plenty of open looks, and the Wildcats also scored 16 points off 16 turnovers while committing only five.
“I just thought the players really listened to what our plan was, and that was to be in attack mode all day,” Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell said. “That was the word that we wanted to rule the day for us. Don’t worry about the outcome, the result, just get in attack mentality and stay there.”
This game was much different from the two regular-season meetings. The Gamecocks won 68-59 on Jan. 8 in Columbia and routed Kentucky 81-58 on Feb. 20 in Lexington.
“We knew that the way we performed in Lexington was not our best,” Gamecocks forward DeNesha Stallworth said. “We wanted to leave it out there and have no regrets no matter the outcome.”
The Gamecocks never could get the lead because they couldn’t stop Kentucky. When South Carolina trimmed the deficit to 12-9, Kentucky made seven of its next nine shots to lead 27-15.
South Carolina trailed by at least eight points from 7:49 of the first half until the end.
“We’re disappointed in losing the basketball game, but more disappointed in how we played,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said. “This is the first I’ve seen this team play this poorly all season long. Obviously the first half was something we couldn’t recover from.”
Kentucky got a boost off the bench from freshmen guards Linnae Harper and Makayla Epps. They combined to score 22 points and make 9 of 18 shots.
South Carolina center Elem Ibiam, a former Fayette County High standout, had 16 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots.
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