GREENVILLE, S.C. – Janiah Barker scored 20 points, and Zee Spearman added 13, but it wasn’t enough as No. 11 seed Alabama eliminated No. 6 seed Tennessee from the SEC Tournament in second-round play on Thursday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The No. 25-ranked Crimson Tide (23-9) got 23 points from Jessica Timmons and 20 from Ta’Mia Scott to balance the season results vs. the Lady Vols (16-13), who had claimed a 70-59 win in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 18.
Alabama got off to a fast start, taking a 3-0 lead and building its advantage to five twice at 10-5 at the 7:01 mark and 12-7 with 6:40 to go. The Lady Vols settled down, though, and worked the game back to even, getting a Barker layup, a kiss off the glass from Spearman and a three-pointer from the top of the key by Spearman to knot it up at 12 and force a Crimson Tide timeout with 3:44 remaining. A 9-0 burst out of that break, though, pushed UA ahead by nine, 21-12, by the 1:42 mark, but a trey from Barker, a pair of free throws from Talaysia Cooper and another by Nya Robertson pulled the Big Orange within seven by the end of the first frame.
After Alabama tallied first in the second stanza, Robertson knocked down a deep ball, and Spearman followed with a rebound bucket to trim the margin to four, 27-23, with 6:47 remaining. A Barker free throw soon after narrowed the gap to three, 27-24, with 6:05, but the Crimson pushed back and built a 34-24 advantage by the 4:16 mark and extended the margin to 11, 37-26, with 1:22 to go. A Mia Pauldo trey shaved three points off that deficit, but UA scored twice more before halftime to take a 39-29 lead into the locker room.
The Tide opened the second half with a three-pointer to move up, 42-29, and after Pauldo responded with a three, Alabama pushed the gap to 15, 47-32, with 8:46 to go. A Pauldo pull-up and a two free throws from Robertson pulled UT within 11, 47-36, at the 6:56 mark, but UA upped its lead to 53-36 before a Spearman layup cut the deficit to 53-38 heading into the 4:55 media break. The Lady Vols whittled the margin to 12, including 56-44 with 2:19 left on a Barker layup, but Alabama restored the margin to 15, 61-46, by the end of the period.
An Alyssa Latham put-back pulled UT within 13, 61-48, at the outset of the fourth quarter, but the Crimson Tide repelled every Big Orange advance, taking a 67-53 lead into the 4:59 media timeout. The Lady Vols, though, kept coming. A 5-0 run by Jaida Civil on a three and a pair of free throws cut it to 10, 68-58, with 3:46 left. A Spearman layup made it a 10-point game again, 70-60, with 3:04 to go, and then Civil did it again at 74-64 with a pair of charity tosses with 54 ticks on the clock, but the Lady Vols simply ran out of time.
NEXT UP
Tennessee will await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament bracket, which ESPN will televise at 8 p.m. ET on March 15.
