Around the SEC: Women’s basketball weekly recap
Catch up on all of the past week’s (1/17-1/23) women’s basketball scores and more from around the SEC.
KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 22, 2017 - Alexa Middleton #33 of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers during the game between the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Donald Page/Tennessee Athletics
South Carolina nabs a pair of big wins
The No. 5 ranked Gamecocks (17-1, 7-0 SEC) got over some large hurdles this week with wins over SEC West opponents Ole Miss and No. 4 Mississippi State.
South Carolina opened the week with an Ole Miss team (13-7, 2-5 SEC) riding high on momentum after beating Tennessee and making a top-10 Mississippi State team sweat. The Gamecocks welcomed the Rebels into Columbia by handing them their second-worst loss of the season, 65-46. Alaina Coates continued her reign of terror by racking up 15 points and 15 rebounds. The Gamecocks never allowed more than 13 points in any quarter during the game.
In the biggest SEC matchup of the season so far, the Gamecocks triumphed again. This time, though, it took a bit more work. South Carolina rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit and made a defensive stand in the waning seconds to top the No. 4 Bulldogs, 64-61. A’ja Wilson poured in an unstoppable 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting and Allisha Gray added 17 points of her own to lead the Gamecocks to their ninth straight win over Mississippi State (20-1, 6-1 SEC).
Kentucky builds on solid SEC footing
After a sluggish start to SEC play, the Wildcats (14-6, 5-2 SEC) are no longer panicking at their position in the SEC East race.
Kentucky started just 1-2 in conference play (the lone win being a two-point victory over Missouri), but has reeled off four consecutive wins to move into fourth place in the conference, just two games behind SEC-leading No. 5 South Carolina.
The Wildcats held LSU (14-6, 3-4 SEC) to 32.7 percent shooting from the field en route to a 55-42 win in Baton Rouge to open the week. Evelyn Akhator led the ‘Cats with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Kentucky allowed just six points in the first quarter, but only produced six points of its own in the second quarter to let the Tigers hang around. Kentucky just kept LSU at arm’s length until the Tigers ran out of time.
Kentucky followed that strong defensive performance by halting Auburn’s three-game conference winning streak in a 64-60 win. The Tigers (14-6, 4-2), who had just beaten marquee program Tennessee by 18 points, couldn’t hold a one-point lead in the final quarter. Maci Morris’s jumper with 17 seconds left put the Wildcats up by three, and Auburn couldn’t answer.
Tennessee goes 1-1 again
Despite having just knocked off then-No. 6 Notre Dame, Tennessee (12-7, 3-3 SEC) couldn’t carry any momentum into its opening-week matchup with the Auburn Tigers.
Instead, the Lady Vols watched a 15-point first quarter lead evaporate and turn into a two-point Auburn lead at halftime. The Tigers outscored Tennessee 28-11 in the second quarter and 21-6 in the third quarter to take a 17-point lead into the final quarter. The Lady Vols committed 22 turnovers, leading to a 33-14 points off turnovers advantage for Auburn.
Per usual for the season, though, Tennessee followed a lackluster game with an impressive one, blowing out Vanderbilt (10-10, 0-7 SEC), 93-61.
The Lady Vols shot a blistering 53.7 percent from the field, including 40 percent from three-point land. Diamond DeShields led Tennessee with 23 points while Alexa Middleton came off the bench to score 19 points, the third-highest point total for her career.
All Results
Alabama Crimson Tide – L 67-54 vs No. 4 Mississippi State, W 65-57 @ Ole Miss
Arkansas Razorbacks – W 59-56 vs Vanderbilt, L 60-44 @ Ole Miss
Auburn Tigers – W 79-61 vs Tennessee, L 64-60 vs Auburn
Florida Gators – W 76-68 @ Georgia
Georgia Bulldogs – L 76-68 vs Florida
Kentucky Wildcats – W 55-42 @ LSU, W 64-60 @ Auburn
LSU Tigers – L 55-42 vs Kentucky,
Mississippi State Bulldogs – W 67-54 @ Alabama, L 64-61 vs Alabama
Missouri Tigers – W 78-76 vs No. 25 Texas A&M, W 60-44 vs Arkansas
Ole Miss Rebels – L @ 65-46 No. 5 South Carolina,
South Carolina Gamecocks – W 65-46 vs Ole Miss, W 64-61 vs No. 4 Mississippi State
Tennessee Volunteers – L 79-61 Tennessee, W 91-63 vs Vanderbilt
Texas A&M Aggies – L 78-76 @ Missouri, W 54-52 vs LSU
Vanderbilt Commodores – L 59-56 vs Arkansas, L 91-63 @ Tennessee
Edited by David Bradford
Featured image by Donald Page, courtesy of Tennessee Athletics
Nathan is a junior at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He spends most of his free time eating meaningless foods and watching sports. If you wish to contact Nathan, you can email him at wodom3@vols.utk.edu or find him on Twitter, @NathanOdom11.
