Kentucky’s women’s basketball season is over. Vols wear down feisty Cats in SEC tourney.
The Kentucky women’s basketball team’s 2023-24 season came to an end Thursday afternoon, when the No. 12-seeded Wildcats fell to No. 5 seed Tennessee 76-62 in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
This is the second straight year in which the Lady Vols (18-11) halted the Wildcats’ SEC Tournament run; Kentucky reached the quarterfinals in last year’s tournament before falling 80-71 to the Lady Vols.
The Wildcats finished 12-20, their second straight losing season under fourth-year head coach Kyra Elzy, whose squad went 12-19 last season. Elzy now owns an 8-3 record in SEC Tournament games.
Kentucky remained competitive for two-and-a-half quarters Thursday thanks to quick starts from Emma King, Cassidy Rowe, Eniya Russell and Saniah Tyler. But a 10-0 scoring run fueled by a pair of three-pointers from Jewel Spear and Tess Darby shifted the momentum Tennessee’s way in a matter of two minutes and 16 seconds midway through the third period. Kentucky’s consistent nemesis, the third quarter, took over once more as the Wildcats trailed by nine at the end of the third quarter. Tennessee wouldn’t relinquish control for the remainder of the game, taking its largest lead of the game (15) late in the fourth.
Kentucky suffered a similar struggle in the teams’ only regular season matchup, an 87-69 Tennessee victory in Knoxville on Jan. 7. In that game, Kentucky led by as many as 17 points in the first half before Tennessee turned it on and rode a third quarter surge to victory.
Ahead of Thursday’s SEC Tournament matchup, UK head coach Kyra Elzy emphasized defending Tennessee’s scoring threats and winning the rebounding battle. In Thursday’s second-round loss, Tennessee star Rickea Jackson, a projected lottery pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, scored just eight points. But the Lady Vols instead got a major lift from junior Sara Puckett, who finished with a game-high 22. Senior Jewel Spear (10) and senior Tess Darby (10) joined Puckett in double figures.
Saniah Tyler led the Wildcats in scoring with 17 points. Ajae Petty finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Tennessee will face No. 4-seeded Alabama in Friday’s quarterfinals.
SEC Tournament
At Greenville, S.C.
Wednesday
▪ No. 13 seed Kentucky 64, No. 12 seed Georgia 50
▪ No. 11 Florida 66, No. 14 Missouri 60
Thursday
▪ No. 9 Texas A&M 72, No. 8 Mississippi State 56
▪ No. 5 Tennessee 76, No. 12 Kentucky 62
▪ No. 7 Auburn 67, No. 10 Arkansas 48
▪ No. 11 Florida 62, No. 6 Vanderbilt 59
Friday
▪ No. 1 South Carolina 79, No. 9 Texas A&M 68
▪ No. 5 Tennessee 83, No. 4 Alabama 61
▪ No. 2 LSU 78, No. 7 Auburn 48
▪ No. 3 Mississippi 84, No. 11 Florida 74
Saturday
4:30 p.m.: No. 1 South Carolina (30-0) vs. Tennessee (19-11), (ESPNU)
About 7 p.m.: No. 2 LSU (27-4) vs. Mississippi (23-7), (ESPNU)
Sunday
3 p.m.: Championship game (ESPN)
This story was originally published March 7, 2024 at 4:25 PM.
