Kentucky Faces No. 6 LSU on Quarterfinal Friday in Nashville
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s basketball team will put its seven-game winning streak on the line Friday at 7 p.m. ET in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals against second-seeded and No. 6 nationally LSU, who is currently riding an eight-game winning streak.
Friday’s quarterfinal will be broadcast live on SEC Network with Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck on the call. Darren Headrick will have the call on the UK Sports Network (630AM in Lexington). Live stats and free live audio will be available online at UKathletics.com.
With a win, seventh-seeded Kentucky will move into the semifinals and face the winner of third-seeded Tennessee and 11th-seeded Alabama at approx. 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The championship game will be at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Kentucky remained undefeated in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday when it defeated Mississippi State to punch its ticket to the quarterfinals. It was a total team effort by the Wildcats in the 83-67 win with five players scoring in double figures in the game and UK shooting one of the best field-goal percentages of the season of 52.9 percent. UK also had its second-largest rebounding margin of the year at +22 and scored 52 paint points for the first time this year against an SEC opponent.
Freshman guard Jada Walker paced Kentucky in the game, scoring 21 points with eight rebounds and two assists. Walker went 7-of-12 from the field, 1-of-5 from 3 and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Redshirt junior forward Dre’una Edwards scored 18 points with 14 rebounds, which tied a season high in boards. Senior guard Rhyne Howard scored 14 points with four assists. Fellow seniors Jazmine Massengill and Robyn Benton performed well. Massengill had 12 points with seven assists and six rebounds, while Benton scored 12 points with four rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
LSU leads the all-time series with Kentucky, 35-17. UK is 4-8 in the SEC Tournament against the Tigers. LSU defeated Kentucky earlier this
season, 78-69 earlier this season in Baton Rouge, La. Kentucky holds a 38-42 (.475) all-time record in the SEC Tournament. The Wildcats are 16-15 all-time in SEC Tournament quarterfinals. UK is looking for its first semifinal appearance in the event since 2020 when it fell to Mississippi State. This is UK’s first game vs. LSU in the event since earning a second-round win in 2016. UK is 2-4 vs. LSU in the quarterfinals of the event.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
