Lady Vols eliminated a deficit of 16 points in the third quarter on the way to a 75-67 victory over South Carolina, interrupting the perfect sequence of Gamecocks this season by the SEC.
Rennia Davis led Tennessee (13-5, 7-3) with 24 points, while Rae Burrell scored 19 points, and Jordan Horston added 12 points and five assists with zero turnovers.
Aliyah Boston led South Carolina (17-3, 12-1) with 17 points, while Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson added 15 points each.
Tennessee coach Kellie Harper’s told his players at halftime that they were weak, and Davis, who hadn’t scored in the first half, took it personally.
“They beat us categorically,” said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley.
Gamecocks had won 28 consecutive regular season games on the SEC and 31 conference games overall, counting the 2020 SEC tournament title.
Burrell stole a loose ball and went straight for the hoop, then connected on offensive boards and went from Jordan Walker and Tamari Key to a 6-2 lead. In the first media timeout at 3:50 in the first quarter, the score was tied at 8-8 with Burrell accounting for all points in Tennessee.
Key scored a defensive rebound and an offensive assist from Horston to a 10-8 lead, and Horston scored a soft jump to tie the game at 12-12. Key tied the line game at 14-14, and then Horston connected the bell to tie the game at 16-16 at the end of the first quarter.
South Carolina had a 20-16 lead in the second quarter, while Lady Vol fans screamed for some dirty calls. Kasi Kushkituah scored from the inside to pull Tennessee to 20-18 and Burrell made it 24-20 before South Carolina extended its lead to 27-20 in a three-pointer, taking Harper to a 5:28 timeout . Gamecocks increased the advantage to 31-20 before Kushkituah hit a free throw to almost 10 points, 31-21, and Burrell managed to steal and lay up. At the break, Tennessee lost 37-25.
He messed with some feathers.#GoLadyVols pic.twitter.com/ivaWeYjOs8
– Lady Vol Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) February 19, 2021
Burrell reached the limit to start the third quarter, and Rennia Davis fouled and hit free throws to pull Tennessee to 37-29, but South Carolina increased the lead to 44-29 after Key was whistled for two quick fouls. , the first of which was a ghost call. Tennessee closed at 44-35 in an aggressive move by Burrell. Davis and Horston Buckets pulled Tennessee to 46-39, with three minutes to go from the third quarter.
A good catch and hit from Destiny Salary and a Walker tray brought Tennessee to one spot, 48-47, and buckets from Davis and Horston gave Lady Vols a 51-50 lead. At the end of the third quarter, Gamecocks led by one point, 54-53.
South Carolina took a 58-54 lead in the fourth period, before Burrell hit a three-point ball and then found Davis’s cut to close to 60-59. Davis tied the game, 62-62, from the hoop and Walker pushed Tennessee ahead, 64-62. A Davis turnaround gave Lady Vols a 68-62 lead, and South Carolina requested a timeout with 2:43 left.
The Gamecocks closed at 68-65 after a trip was marked as a foul on Key, his fifth, but Horston hit the ring and Davis hit two free throws for 72-65 with 51.7 seconds remaining. Horston and Davis sealed the game for the 75-67 victory.
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