COLUMBIA, S.C. – Tennessee continued its strong play to close out the regular season, challenging No. 1 South Carolina fiercely in front of a sold-out Senior Day crowd of 18,000 at Colonial Life Arena before falling, 76-68, on Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Vols (17-11, 10-6 SEC), who fell behind by 15 in the third period and entered the fourth down 11, never surrendered and trimmed the deficit to three with 4:58 to go. The Gamecocks, though, managed to stave off the valiant effort by the Big Orange and improve to 29-0 overall on the season and 16-0 in SEC play.
UT, however, did manage to hold USC to its smallest margin of victory at home all season and the only one by single digits. It also stands as the third-closest win margin of the year behind a six-point triumph at No. 9 LSU on Jan. 25 and a seven-point victory at No. 24 North Carolina on Nov. 30.
Tennessee, which had played the Gamecocks to an 11-point setback in Knoxville on Feb. 15, was led in scoring by fifth-year forward Rickea Jackson, who shined in the spotlight with 29 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Jewel Spear and Jasmine Powell also were in double figures, each tallying 12 points on the afternoon.
South Carolina featured five players scoring in double figures, led by the 18-point, 14-rebound effort of 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso. Te-Hina Paopao tossed in 14, with MiLaysia Fulwiley, Bree Hall and Ashlyn Watkins contributing 13 each.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will head back to South Carolina in the coming week, traveling to Greenville for the SEC Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. If the Lady Vols earn a No. 4 seed, they’ll play the second game on Friday in the quarterfinal round at approximately 2:15 p.m. ET. If UT winds up as the No. 5 seed, it would play at the same time, only a day earlier on Thursday in the second round. The Lady Vols will be heard from Radio Greeneville.
