Lady Vols drive past Wildcats for big win
Tennessee entered Sunday afternoon’s regularseason finale at struggling Kentucky already locked into a third-place finish in the Southeastern Conference women’s basketball standings, with a double bye into the league tournament’s quarterfinals also secured.
With no chance to improve their position — or make it worse, for that matter — the Lady Volunteers could hardly have been blamed if they were inclined to hit cruise control with the postseason already on their minds.
Well, they certainly cruised, but their foot was on the pedal from the start and the Wildcats had the bad fortune to be in their path.
Tennessee’s 13-0 run in the first 4:12 of the game established the pace, and the Lady Vols never trailed in an 83-63 victory as four players scored in double figures for the visitors, who used their size advantage for inside dominance at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington.
Rickea Jackson had 21 points and seven rebounds in her 27th double-digit scoring performance of the season for Tennessee (21-10, 13-3), while Jillian Hollingshead had 15 points, Karoline Striplin 12 and Jordan Walker 10. Hollingshead and Striplin grabbed six rebounds each to help the Lady Vols finish with a 43-27 advantage on the glass, and Walker had five rebounds and as many assists.
“I think what was working well for us was just getting it into the paint first, getting it out, being patient with those shots,” Walker said in Tennessee’s postgame news conference. “I feel like as a team, when we get it inside and then get it out, we’re better shooters and it’s just better for our offense. And I think going into the SEC tournament it’s really, really good for us to have that confidence and be feeling good from shooting outside.”
Jasmine Powell’s eight assists were a game high and contributed toward the Lady Vols matching their season high of 26. Senior standout Jordan Horston was limited to 2-for-8 shooting and just five points, matching her fewest this season, but she had six assists, four rebounds, four steals and a block. Horston now has 434 career assists to rank 10th in program history.
Tennessee, which shot 36-for-62 (58.1%) from the floor and outscored Kentucky 50-30 in the paint, was up 25-15 after the first quarter and 45-28 at halftime. The Lady Vols’ lead grew to 29 late in the third quarter, and it was 68-41 entering the final period.
Kentucky’s scoring was led by Maddie Scherr (27 points), Robyn Benton (17) and Jada Walker (10), with Adebola Adeyeye grabbing eight rebounds and blocking three shots. Walker had four steals for the Wildcats as Tennessee committed 21 turnovers.
The Wildcats (10-18, 2-14) head to the SEC tournament Wednesday in Greenville, South Carolina, as the reigning champion but also the lowest seed at No. 14. Their stellar run last year in Nashville included former Bradley Central standout Rhyne Howard, but she became the WNBA’s No. 1 draft pick not long after that and the exit of other players led to a significantly different group for former Tennessee guard Kyra Elzy’s third season as coach in Lexington.
“We’re not quitting,” Elzy said in her postgame news conference. “That’s not a part of our DNA, that’s not what this program is made of. It is a rough time in Kentucky women’s basketball, there is no mistake about it, but this program is built to last. We are going to continue to fight and prepare and sell out on the floor until it’s over.”
Tennessee, which finished behind only topranked, undefeated South Carolina and No. 5 LSU in the SEC, doesn’t have to play until Friday, and the late game at that — so this week will allow coach Kellie Harper and her staff some time to prepare for what the Lady Vols undoubtedly hope is a long postseason.
They’ll do so on the strength of a solid win to finish the regular season.
“I thought we set the tone early,” Harper said. “We had a nice pace.