March 7, 2015
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – After a thrilling come-from-behind win over No. 11/13 Mississippi State on Friday night, the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team will look to clinch a spot in the 2015 Southeastern Conference championship game for the third-straight season when they face No. 2 seed and fifth-ranked Tennessee in the semifinals Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET in the Verizon Center.
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| Tourney Central Presented by |
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| Kentucky vs. Tennessee Saturday, March 7 – 7:30 p.m. ET North Little Rock, Ark. Game Notes: UK  | UT |
| Coverage |
| TV: ESPNU Radio: UK Sports Network Live Video via WatchESPN Online Audio Live Stats Text Updates |
The game will be shown live on ESPNU and WatchESPN with Paul Sunderland, Carolyn Peck and Cara Capuano on the call. It also will be broadcast on the UK Radio Network with Neil Price and the SEC Radio Network on Sirius 219 / XM 190.
This marks UK’s 13th all-time appearance in the semifinals, including eighth in the last 10 years and sixth in a row. UK and Tennessee are the only SEC programs appear in the semifinals eight out of the last 10 seasons.
Despite battling leg and Achilles soreness as of late, sophomore point guard Makayla Epps (Lebanon, Ky.) battled her way to a 31-point performance on Friday night, scoring the second-highest point total by a UK player in the SEC Tournament behind former All-American Valerie Still’s 34 points vs. LSU in 1984. Epps, who scored 42 points in the team’s first meeting vs. Mississippi State, now has two of the SEC’s top three scoring performances of the season.
Kentucky’s comeback over the Bulldogs ranks as the 10th-largest comeback in school history, as the Wildcats trailed by 15 points (54-39) with 15:18 to play in the second half. UK used a 30-6 run and held Mississippi State without a field goal for over 10 minutes.
UK is looking to snap a three-game losing skid to the Lady Vols (26-4). The teams met in last season’s SEC Tournament title game with UT winning, 71-70. UT won both regular-season matchups this season with Kentucky, escaping Lexington with a 73-72 win and defeating UK, 72-58, in Knoxville.
The Lady Vols lead the all-time series 52-10, including 6-1 in the SEC Tournament. The lone win came in 1982 when UK defeated Tennessee to win the 1982 SEC Tournament title. UK is 0-1 vs. the Lady Vols in the semifinals.
Since dropping three straight SEC games at No. 6/6 Tennessee, at Ole Miss and vs. No. 15/15 Texas A&M, the Wildcats (23-8) have been on an impressive run, winning four in a row, including upsets over No. 2/2 South Carolina and No. 11/13 Mississippi State. UK’s guard play is leading the way as the top four scorers are Epps (14.6), senior guard Jennifer O’Neill (14.5), sophomore guard Linnae Harper (11.3) and senior guard Bria Goss (8.7). UK guards make up 62.8 percent of the overall scoring.
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