South Carolina is shaken by Tennessee with the end of the 31-game SEC streak

South Carolina is shaken by Tennessee with the end of the 31-game SEC streak

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10:35 pm eastern time

  • Mechelle VoepelESPN.com

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      Mechelle Voepel covers WNBA, women’s college basketball and other college sports for ESPNW. Voepel started covering women’s basketball in 1984 and has been on ESPN since 1996.

Tennessee’s 21st women’s basketball team defeated South Carolina’s 2nd place 75-67 on Thursday, ending the winning streak of 31 Gamecocks games at the SEC.

It was the second longest streak in conference history, after Tennessee’s 36-game streak in 2010-12. South Carolina’s last loss to an SEC opponent was against Arkansas in the quarterfinals of the 2019 SEC tournament on March 8, 2019.

“It’s an incredible streak, and they did it with discipline. There is a target on your back every night,” said Tennessee coach Kellie Harper of Gamecocks. “I am proud of our team and proud of our effort in the second half, getting back into the game.”

Tennessee lost by up to 16 points on Thursday. Lady Vols scored 50 points in the second half, the maximum that Gamecocks allowed in any other half of this season.

“Tennessee just came to us in the third and fourth periods, and we had nothing or anyone to stop him,” said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley.

Tennessee had not beaten a team ranked in the top five since December 10, 2017, when they defeated then No. 2 Texas. It is the best ranked team that Harper, in his second season in Tennessee, defeated in his time as head coach of Lady Vols.

Tennessee ended a run of 11 consecutive losses against the AP’s top 10 teams, the longest period in the past 30 seasons, according to the ESPN Stats & Information poll.

The Lady Vols experienced travel difficulties this week as they were held in Texas for a few days because of bad weather after playing Texas A&M on Sunday. Tennessee returned home to Knoxville on Tuesday night. The Lady Vols had lost their previous two games to Kentucky and Texas A&M

“I told the team before the game, that was our turning point for the season,” said Tennessee veteran Rennia Davis, who had all 24 points in the second half and also ended with 12 rebounds.

ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme said Thursday’s defeat was unlikely to affect South Carolina’s position as the # 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. But Creme said Tennessee’s victory likely elevated Lady Vols to third place, taking the SEC team out of Georgia.

Tennessee’s next opponent is Georgia’s number 22 on Sunday at noon ET on the SEC Network.

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