Clara Strack scored a career-high-tying 33 points, Teonnie Key had a double-double and No. 17 Kentucky pulled away from No. 22 Georgia 76-61 in the second-round opener of the SEC women’s tournament Thursday afternoon in Greenville, S.C.
Key finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, Tonie Morgan scored 14 points and Strack added eight rebounds for the ninth-seeded Wildcats (23-9), who trailed by one point at halftime but outscored the eighth-seeded Bulldogs (22-9) 19-13 in the third quarter and 22-12 in the fourth.
Dani Carnegie scored 18 points, Trinity Turner had 14 and Mia Woolfolk added 11 to lead Georgia, which shot just 37.9% in the second half and made just 2 of 12 3-pointers (16.7%) after halftime.
Kentucky, which shot 50% from the floor for the game, will face top-seeded South Carolina in the quarterfinals Friday.
No. 7 Oklahoma 82, Florida 64
Raegan Beers scored 18 points, Aaliyah Chavez had 17 and the fifth-seeded Sooners took control by scoring the first 10 points of the third quarter.
The fifth-seeded Sooners (24-6) went on to outscore the 12th-seeded Gators 27-7 in the period and expand their two-point halftime lead to 67-45. Zya Vann added 14 points and Brooklyn Stewart scored 12 for Oklahoma, which will face fourth-seeded LSU in the quarterfinals Friday.
Liv McGill scored 28 points, making 13 of 17 free throws, and grabbed eight rebounds and Me’Arah O’Neal added 10 points to lead Florida (18-15). McGill had nine of her team’s 24 turnovers.
No. 24 Ole Miss 73, Auburn 57
Christeen Iwuala had 18 points and nine rebounds and the seventh-seeded Rebels rode a dominant first quarter to an easy victory over the 15th-seeded Tigers.
Cotie McMahon and Latasha Lattimore added 13 points each for Ole Miss (22-10), which had lost its last four games of the regular season. The Rebels, who shot 52.8% from the floor and 53.8% on 3-pointers, will face second-seeded Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Khady Leye had 17 points and eight rebounds and Kaitlyn Duhon added 14 points to lead Auburn (15-17), which got outscored 21-6 in the first quarter, trailed 48-20 at halftime and never threatened.
Alabama 76, Tennessee 64
Jessica Timmons scored 23 points, Ta’Mia Scott added 20 and the 11th-seeded Crimson Tide never trailed in defeating the sixth-seeded Lady Volunteers.
Essence Cody finished with 10 points for Alabama (23-9), which shot 50% for the game and 55% in the first quarter to take a 25-18 lead. The Tide’s defense then took over, sending them into a quarterfinal game against third-seeded Texas on Friday.
Janiah Barker scored 20 points and Zee Spearman added 13 to lead Tennessee (16-13), which shot 38.5% from the floor as it lost its seventh straight game.
–Field Level Media
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