Kentucky Faces No. 1 South Carolina in SEC Tournament Championship Sunday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s basketball team looks to continue one of the most memorable Southeastern Conference Tournament runs in program history with the ultimate prize Sunday as it faces No. 1/1 South Carolina for the title at 2 p.m. ET. The game will be played inside Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville.
Sunday’s championship game will be broadcast live on ESPN with Courtney Lyle, Carolyn Peck and Steffi Sorensen 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.
Kentucky is making its sixth appearance in the SEC Championship game and the first since 2014. The Wildcats are 1-4 all-time in the final with the lone win being UK’s 1982 SEC Championship. The Wildcats are 2-2 all-time in the event against South Carolina with this being the first time the two teams have met for the championship trophy.
It has been an amazing weekend for Big Blue Nation, as the Wildcats have won nine straight games overall and three straight in the tournament to make the final appearance. The run this weekend started Thursday with UK’s 83-67 win over Mississippi State in the second round. The Wildcats then took down No. 6 ranked LSU in the quarterfinals 78-63 and followed with Saturday’s impressive 83-74 win over No. 18 Tennessee in the semifinals. It was UK’s first ever win against the Lady Vols in the semifinals of the event, sitting 0-2 previously.
Senior guard Rhyne Howard has led Kentucky in the tournament, averaging 23.3 points per game, hitting 52 percent from the field and 56 percent from 3 with 5.0 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Jada Walker is averaging 13.7 points during UK’s tournament run, while senior guard Robyn Benton and redshirt junior forward Dre’una Edwards are each averaging 13.0 points.
South Carolina enters Sunday’s game as the No. 1 team in the nation having only lost one game all season. The Gamecocks started the tournament with a win over eighth-seeded Arkansas and followed with a win vs. fourth-seeded Ole Miss in the semifinals. USC has owned the series against Kentucky recently, winning six straight against the Wildcats and 15 of the last 16.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
