No. 12 Kentucky overcame a nine-point, second-half deficit, and DeNasha Stallworth overcame foul trouble as the Wildcats came from behind to defeat Florida 75-70 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the SEC women’s basketball tournament at Gwinnett Arena.
Stallworth scored all 13 of her team-leading points after Kentucky, the No. 4 seed, fell behind 38-29 early in the second half. Her rebounding and putbacks spurred the Wildcats to a 42-29 advantage on the boards and got them back into a game that featured 13 lead changes and eight ties. Samarie Walker added 11 rebounds, including a putback in the final minute that helped put away the victory.
Kentucky (23-7) reached the SEC semifinals for the fifth consecutive year and will face top-seed South Carolina on Saturday. The Wildcats have reached three of the past four finals.
“It was very frustrating,” Stallworth said of playing only two minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. “The coaches did a great job of telling me to just stay in the game. In the past, I’d probably get frustrated and check out. But I knew my team needed me, so I just stayed strong.”
No. 5-seed Florida, which defeated Kentucky twice in the regular season, tied the score at 70-70 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Cassie Peoples. The Gators were 10-of-25 on 3-point shots, including five by Peoples.
But the Wildcats reclaimed the lead on a basket by Janee Thompson and stretched it on Walker’s layup off an offensive rebound. Kentucky had 18 offensive boards.
“I thought our players showed a lot by coming back like that in the second half and finding a way to win,” Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell said. “We’re thrilled with the outcome today.”
Kayla Lewis had 18 points and eight rebounds for Florida (19-12). Bria Goss and Jennifer O’Neill each had 11 points for Kentucky.
Tennessee 77, LSU 65: The No. 6-ranked Lady Vols, seeded No. 2, fell behind by 15 points in the first half, but used a 19-0 second-half run to defeat the Lady Tigers. Tennessee will play the winner of the Auburn-Texas A&M game from late Friday night, at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Rebounding also was key in Tennessee’s victory. Isabelle Harrison led the Lady Vols with 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Cierra Burdick also had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds as Tennessee registered a 46-28 advantage in rebounds.
Friday’s game represented the rubber match for those teams after each won on the others home floor in the regular season. The Lady Tigers won in Knoxville 80-77 in the conference opener Jan. 2, and the Lady Vols returned the favor, 72-67, in Baton Rouge on Feb. 27.
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