Tennessee (17-11, 10-6 SEC) at Kentucky (12-19, 4-12 SEC)
SEC Tournament
Thursday, March 7th, 2024 | 1:15pm CT / 2:15pm ET
Greenville, SC | Bon Secours Wellness Arena | TV: SEC Network
Greenville, SC – The Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team (17-11, 10-6 SEC) is the No. 5 seed for the 2024 SEC Tournament and will open play on Thursday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC.
The Lady Vols tied Alabama (23-8, 10-6 SEC) for fourth in the league standings, but the Crimson Tide earned the No. 4 seed after UT fell to No. 1 South Carolina in Columbia on Sunday, 76-68, and Bama prevailed at Texas A&M, 78-71.
Tennessee is scheduled to play the second game on Thursday at approximately 1:15pm CT, following the noon contest between No. 8 Mississippi State and No. 9 Texas A&M. The Lady Vols will face No 12 seed Kentucky (12-19, 4-12 SEC), which defeated No. 13 seed Georgia (12-19, 3-13 SEC) in Wednesday first-round action, 64-50.
UT is 1-0 vs. UK this season, handling the Wildcats, 87-69, in Knoxville on January 7th.
The Lady Vols are 8-3 vs. the Wildcats in previous SEC Tournaments, including a victory a year ago in Greenville. Tennessee defeated UK, 80-71, on March, 3rd, 2023, in the quarterfinal round.
Broadcast Details
Eric Frede (PxP), Christy Thomaskutty (Analyst) and Brooke Weisbrod (Reporter) will have the call for SEC Network.
All games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
The contest can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice providing play-by-play. Jay Lifford is the studio host.
For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then select the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
Air time is typically 30 minutes before tip-off.
Season Reset
After functioning without All-America and SEC Player of the Year candidate Rickea Jackson for eight games from November 13th to December 10th and posting a 4-4 record during her absence, Tennessee has been a drastically different team since she was cleared following a lower leg injury.
The UT Lady Vols are 13-5 since Jackson returned to action, finished tied for fourth in the SEC standings and sit at No. 33 in the NET after facing one of the nation’s most challenging schedules, including match-ups with No. 1/1 South Carolina twice and vs. No. 9/7 LSU in three of the last five games of the regular season.
As of March 4th, Women’s Bracketology has UT as a No. 8 seed for the NCAA Tournament, facing No. 9 Kansas in the first round in Los Angeles, in the Portland 4 Regional. The winner would play the victor of No. 1 seed UCLA vs. #16 Hawaii.
A Tennessee appearance would be a record 42nd, standing as the only team to make every tournament.
Among UT’s triumphs are top-64 NET victories over No. 27 Oklahoma, No. 43 Auburn, No. 45 Texas A&M, No. 46 Mississippi State, No. 56 Vanderbilt (twice), and No. 61 Florida. The win over Oklahoma in November was without Rickea Jackson.
Tennessee led at the half and was tied after three quarters vs. No. 1/1 South Carolina on February 15th in a game featuring 14 lead changes and 11 ties that USC ultimately won, 66-55, for its second narrowest margin of victory in SEC play this season.
The Tennessee Lady Vols also were within three in the last five minutes at undefeated South Carolina on March 3rd before limiting the Gamecocks to their closest margin of victory at home all season, 76-68.
UT also had a 75-60 setback vs. LSU, in which the Lady Vols trailed by one with 7:30 remaining in the game.
In addition to getting Jackson back in the lineup, Tennessee has been bolstered by the continued improvement of 6-foot-6 center Tamari Key. The school’s all-time leading shot blocker was sidelined after eight games a year ago due to blood clots in her lungs and understandably needed time to reacclimate to the rigors of the game.
Tennessee also has had to overcome the loss of reserve point guard Destinee Wells, who suffered a lower leg injury just prior to the Wofford game and is out for the season. Fifth-year standout Jasmine Powell impressively picked up more of the load, and junior Kaiya Wynn has stepped up and provided a spark off the bench on both ends of the floor.
With the players available for the past 18 contests stepping into and accepting their roles, the Lady Vols have competed cohesively as a team, with different players each game emerging to provide valuable contributions in starring and support capacities.
Trending Topics
Tennessee enters the tournament playing its best basketball of the season, putting together six consecutive commendable efforts after suffering a disappointing loss at Alabama on Feb. 8.
The Tennessee Lady Vols have gotten dominant wins over Arkansas and Vanderbilt and picked up a revenge victory over Texas A&M after the Aggies won the first round in College Station on January 14th.
Even in its three losses to South Carolina (twice) and LSU, UT demonstrated an ability to go toe-to-toe with this year’s favorite and last year’s champion, taking games into the fourth quarter with those squads.
UT cut the gap to three with under five minutes to go in Columbia on Sunday and fell, 76-68, but limited USC to the narrowest margin of victory on its home court all season long.
Tennessee’s defense has been part of the late season improvement, holding South Carolina to 40.0 percent shooting in Knoxville and 33.3 percent in Columbia and allowing LSU only 33-percent marksmanship on Rocky Top.
UT Lady Vol Standout Stats
Two-time All-SEC First Team selection Rickea Jackson is averaging 23.0 ppg. over her last five games and is coming off a 29-point, eight-rebound effort vs. No. 1 South Carolina on Sunday. She also had a season-high three blocks vs. USC.
Jackson has scored in double figures in 45 straight games as a Lady Volunteer and in 53 of her 55 contests as part of Tennessee’s program.
The fifth-year forward now has 25 efforts with 20 or more points in those 55 games in only two seasons at UT. The Lady Vols are 21-4 in those contests.
Tennessee is 16-1 when it out-rebounds its foes, with the only loss in that scenario coming at #18 Florida State on No. 9.
Jasmine Powell, who has carded three straight seasons of 100+ dimes, enters Sunday’s game needing three assists to surpass last year’s career best of 116.
Powell was third in SEC play in 2023-24, dishing out 4.94 assists per contest.
Jewel Spear, who leads Tennessee with 55 three-pointers, is sixth among SEC players this season at 1.96 threes made per contest.
Recapping The Last Game
Tennessee continued its strong play to close out the regular season, challenging No. 1 South Carolina fiercely in front of a sold-out Senior Day crowd of 18,000 at Colonial Life Arena before falling, 76-68, on Sunday.
The Lady Vols (17-11, 10-6 SEC), who fell behind by 15 in the third period and entered the fourth down 11, never surrendered and trimmed the deficit to three with 4:58 to go. The Gamecocks, though, managed to stave off the valiant effort by the Big Orange and improve to 29-0 overall on the season and 16-0 in SEC play.
UT, however, did manage to hold USC to its smallest margin of victory at home all season and the only one by single digits. It also stands as the third-closest win margin of the year behind a six-point triumph at No. 9 LSU on January 25th and a seven-point victory at No. 24 North Carolina on November 30th.
Tennessee, which had played the Gamecocks to an 11-point setback in Knoxville on February 15th, was led in scoring by fifth-year forward Rickea Jackson, who shined in the spotlight with 29 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Jewel Spear and Jasmine Powell also were in double figures, each tallying 12 points on the afternoon.
South Carolina featured five players scoring in double figures, led by the 18-point, 14-rebound effort of 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso. Te-Hina Paopao tossed in 14, with MiLaysia Fulwiley, Bree Hall and Ashlyn Watkins contributing 13 each.
Postgame Notes vs. South Carolina
Stifling The Gamecocks
The Big Orange defense held the Gamecocks to just 33.3 percent from the field, its worst mark of the season. After holding USC to a 40-percent field goal percentage in Knoxville, the Lady Vols have limited South Carolina to two of its four worst shooting games this season. Entering the contest, USC ranked second in the nation in field goal percentage with a rate of 50.9 percent.
Opening With Defense
For the second time this season, the Lady Vols were able to contain one of the nation’s top offenses in the first half. South Carolina was 35 percent from the field in the first half on Sunday after shooting just 33 percent during the earlier match-up in Knoxville. Outside of its two games against UT, the Gamecocks have been held below 40 percent from the floor in the first half just once in SEC play.
Kea Continues To Dazzle
With 29 points on Sunday afternoon, Rickea Jackson moved to sixth on the all-time Lady Vol scorers list, including transfers, surpassing Candace Parker (2,137, 2005-08). Jackson has tallied 2,150 points in her career and notched her 45th consecutive game in double figures. The senior also has scored 20 or more points in 25 games during just two seasons as a Lady Vol, ranking fifth all-time on Rocky Top.
Common Threads With Kentucky
This could mark the eighth time a Lady Vol head coach has faced a former UT teammate leading another program.
Kellie Harper is 5-2 vs. UK’s Kyra Elzy in the previous seven meetings of that nature.
UT’s Kellie (Jolly) Harper (1995-99) was teammates from 1996-99 at Tennessee with Kentucky head coach Kyra Elzy (1996-2001) and assistant coach Niya Butts (1996-2000). The trio played together on the second and third of UT’s three consecutive NCAA titles in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
Elzy served a stint on UT’s staff, including roles as assistant coach and associate head coach from 2012-16.
Elzy, in her fourth season, took over at UK after Matthew Mitchell retired. He was a G.A. at Tennessee in 1999-2000.
Kentucky’s Brooklynn Miles played two years at Tennessee before the Frankfort, KY, guard transferred to her home state school after the 2022-23 season.
Milestone Watch
Rickea Jackson, who became the ninth Lady Vol to surpass 2,000 career points on February 4th vs. Missouri, now has 2,150 (combining her time at Mississippi State and Tennessee) and passed Candace Parker (2,137, 2005-08) with 29 points in the South Carolina game on March 3 to move into sixth on UT’s all-time scorers list, including transfers.
In terms of Jackson’s points tallied at Tennessee, the 49th Lady Vol to reach 1K now has 1,065 and sits in 46th place after passing Taber Spani (1,053, 2009-13) vs. South Carolina.
Jackson is now six behind No. 45 Isabelle Harrison (1,071, 2011-15), seven behind No. 44 Cierra Burdick (1,072, 2011-15), 11 behind fellow Detroit native No. 43 Peggy Evans (1,076, 1990-93), 23 behind No. 42 Sidney Spencer (1,088, 2003-07), 31 behind No. 41 Tiffany Woosley (1,096, 1991-95) and 34 behind No. 40 Nicky Anosike (1,099, 2004-08).
Tamari Key became the 50th player to tally 1,000 career points for Tennessee, doing so against Texas A&M and pushing her total to 1,004. She now has 1,006 and has moved past Michelle Marciniak (1,004, 1993-96) into 49th and is 12 points behind Diamond DeShields in 48th (1,018, 2015-17).
Rickea Jackson’s 19.4 ppg. career average in two seasons at Tennessee is tied for No. 4 in school history with Candace Parker (19.4, 2005-08).
Tamari Key is in sole possession of sixth on the SEC all-time blocks list after passing South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston (330, 2019-23) with two vs. LSU. Key now has 335 swats and takes aim at Vanessa Hayden of Florida, who stands in fifth place with 357 from 2001-04.
On the glass, Tamari Key is two away (698) from registering 700 career rebounds and joining Jackson, who eclipsed 700 at Vanderbilt on Feb. 18.
Against Texas A&M, Tess Darby tied No. 5 Ariel Massengale (164, 2011-15) for three-pointers made in a career at UT. She needs one to claim fifth place for her own.
Darby currently ranks No. 8 in career three-pointers attempted at 438, standing behind No. 7 Brittany Jackson (443, 2001-05).
Kellie Harper reached double digits in conference wins for the third straight season, fourth time in five years at Tennessee and ninth occasion in her past 10 campaigns as a head coach.
Tennesee In The SEC Tournament
Tennessee is seeking to capture its league-leading 18th SEC Tournament championship trophy and is 17-6 in title games.
UT won in 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.
The UT Lady Vols have been runners-up on seven occasions, including 1982, 1990, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2015 and 2023.
UT last advanced to the title game a year ago as a No. 3 seed, defeating No. 14 seed Kentucky in the quarterfinals, 80-71; and No. 2 LSU in the semifinals, 69-67; before falling to No. 1 seed South Carolina, 74-58, in Greenville.
Tennessee enters the 2024 event with an 84-27 (.757) all-time mark in the 45th year of the tourney.
In SEC Tournament play, the Big Orange women are 8-3 vs. the Wildcats and 10-3 vs. the Lady Bulldogs, respectively, in previous SEC Tournament meetings.
Tennessee picked up its last tourney win vs. UK a year ago, as mentioned above and hasn’t faced UGA in the SEC Tournament since the Lady Vols cruised to a 75-41 in the 2015 quarterfinals in Little Rock.
The Lady Vols are 39-5 all-time in their opening game of the SEC Tournament and are 27-12 in their second contest of the tourney.
They have made 36 berths all-time in the semifinals and are 24-12 in those contests after toppling No. 2 seed LSU in 2023, 69-67.
The Big Orange women are 29-11 in SEC Tournament play since 2007-08.
Tennessee has had 15 SEC Tournament MVPs through the years.
Isabelle Harrison (2014), Glory Johnson (2012), Shekinna Stricklen (2011) and Alyssia Brewer (2010) were the past four MVPs from Tennessee.
The Lady Vols won the very first SEC Tournament title in 1980, defeating Ole Miss, 85-71, at Stokely Athletics Center in Knoxville.
Harper In The League Tourney
Kellie Harper is 5-4 in SEC Tournament games as Tennessee’s head coach, including 4-3 in Greenville and 1-1 in Nashville.
She has taken UT to at least the semifinals the past three seasons, including the title game in 2023.
The Lady Vols were the No. 6 seed in 2020, No. 3 seed in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and are fifth in 2024.
Kellie (Jolly) Harper had an 11-1 record at the SEC Tournament during her time as a student-athlete at UT with postseason tournament titles in 1996, 1998 and 1999. The only loss was in the 1997 semifinals.
SEC Tournament Experience
Tennessee enters the 2023 event with eight active players possessing experience in the SEC Tournament, including Tess Darby, Jillian Hollingshead, Rickea Jackson, Tamari Key, Jasmine Powell, Sara Puckett, Karoline Striplin and Kaiya Wynn.
Transfer Talaysia Cooper also has experience but is redshirting after playing in two games for South Carolina a year ago.
This marks the first SEC Tournament trip for two Lady Vols, including Jewel Spear and Avery Strickland, though those two have previous conference tourney experience in the ACC with Wake Forest and Pitt, respectively.
Two Lady Vols have been to the SEC Tournament with other teams, including Jillian Hollingshead with Georgia and Rickea Jackson with Mississippi State.
Jackson saw action in the SEC event in 2019-20 and 2020-21, while Hollingshead did not play in the 2022 tourney in Nashville due to injury.
Jackson made the SEC All-Tournament Team as a freshman in 2020 at MSU and in 2023 at UT.
A year ago, Jackson averaged 25.7 ppg. and 7.7 rpg. through three contests.
She produced a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds in UT’s SEC Tournament Semifinal win over No. 4/3 LSU.
Jackson finished with a 17/9 effort vs. South Carolina in the title game.
Back In Greenville
This marks the seventh time Greenville has played host to the SEC Tournament.
UT stands at 8-5 in games played in the city after falling to USC during the 2024 final.
Kellie Harper is 4-3 as a head coach in SEC Tourney games played at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, taking her team to the championship game in 2023.
No. 2 seed Tennessee defeated #1 seed LSU in the tourney title game, 67-56, on March 6th, 2005, the first time the event was held in Greenville.
Shyra Ely was named the SEC Tournament MVP that year, while Shanna Zolman and Brittany Jackson joined her on the all-tournament team.
UT beat Auburn in the second round (64-54) and Vanderbilt in the semifinals (76-73) that year.
UT-UK Series Notes
UT leads the all-time series, 60-16.
Tennessee has won the past three match-ups and five of the last seven over Kentucky.
UT is 8-3 in SEC Tournament games vs. the Wildcats and 2-0 in other neutral site match-ups.
The Lady Vols own a 27-4 mark against UK in Knoxville and are 60-16 in all games.
UT is 22-9 vs. Kentucky in Lexington, including 21-7 all-time at Memorial Coliseum and 1-2 in Rupp Arena.
The Big Orange women are 3-1 in overtime games vs. Kentucky, including 3-0 in Lexington and 0-1 in Knoxville, with the last OT contest coming in 1994.
Tennessee has faced only one other team as many times as the Wildcats – Vanderbilt in 90 meetings.
Kellie Harper is 5-4 all-time vs. Kentucky, but she is 5-2 head-to-head vs. former Tennessee teammate Kyra Elzy as the Wildcats’ skipper.
Kentucky’s Most Recent Game
Ajae Petty had 13 points and 15 rebounds, her 16th double-double of the season, but it was not enough as the Kentucky women’s basketball team lost at No. 9 LSU 77-56 on Sunday inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center to close out the regular season.
Kentucky got 14 points from both Amiya Jenkins and Saniah Tyler. However, the Cats committed 23 turnovers that LSU turned into 26 points.
UK In The 2024 SEC Tournament
Kentucky (11-19, 4-12) earned the No. 12 seed and opens the SEC Tournament on Wednesday vs. No. 13 seed Georgia at 11:00am.
Last UT/UK Contest
Tennessee outscored Kentucky, 48-20, in the second half to overcome a 17-point second-quarter deficit and take an 87-69 victory against the Wildcats in front of a season-high crowd of 8,823 in Food City Center on January 7th, 2024.
The Lady Vols, who won their fifth-straight contest and ended UK’s four-game win streak, hit 32 of 60 attempts for a season-best field goal percentage of 53.3 on the day. The Big Orange, meanwhile, held Kentucky to 38.2 percent, including an icy 23.5-percent rate (8-34) in the second half.
Fifth-year senior Rickea Jackson led UT (9-5, 2-0 SEC) with 27 points, and senior Jewel Spear poured in a season-high 21 points. Fifth-year senior Jasmine Powell also had a productive outing, racking up nine points, seven rebounds, and nine assists.
Kentucky (8-8, 1-1 SEC) was led by Eniya Russell, who finished with 16 points, and Ajae Petty, who posted a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Maddie Scherr and Saniah Tyler were also in double figures with 13 and 10, respectively.
Next Up For UT Women’s Basketball
The winner of the UT vs. UK game will advance to Friday’s quarterfinals and face Alabama at approximately 1:15pm CT.
The contest will be televised by SEC Network, broadcast on Lady Vol Network radio stations, and streamed live on UTSports.com.
