GREENVILLE, S.C. – No. 5 seed Tennessee continued to display its strength down the stretch this season, rolling past No. 4 seed Alabama, 83-61, on Friday afternoon and advancing to the semifinals of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
The Lady Vols, who led 19-14 after the first quarter, improved their overall record to 19-11 this season and upped their mark in SEC quarterfinal round action to 37-7 all-time by outscoring the Crimson Tide (23-10) by a 23-15 count in the second stanza and a 26-15 margin in the third frame to turn the game into a blowout. The victory avenged a 72-56 loss to UA in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 8.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols advanced to Saturday’s SEC Tournament semifinal game to face No. 1 seed and No. 1-ranked South Carolina (30-0) at 4:30 p.m. ET. The contest will be televised by ESPNU and broadcast on Lady Vol Network radio stations and via live stream on UTSports.com. Listen to the game on 99.5FM WGRV beginning at 4pm.
FEAR DA SPEAR: Jewel Spear put on a show vs. Alabama, tallying a team-high 24 points and notching a perfect 6-of-6 mark from deep, hitting her season high in threes and tying for the 11th-most in a game in UT history. That shooting effort tied a UT record for most threes in a perfect shooting effort and set an SEC Tournament record in that category. She also surpassed 300 treys in her career, moving her total to 304. The guard’s performance marked her seventh game with 20+ points and her 11th contest with 3+ 3-pointers in 2023-24. Spear has now led the Lady Vols in scoring on seven occasions in 2023-24.
