Hoops Central: SEC Tournament: Lady Vols vs. Kentucky

March 01, 2023 | Women's Basketball

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Tennessee (21-10, 13-3 SEC) opens play in Game 10 of the 2023 Southeastern Conference Tournament on Friday at approximately 8:15 p.m. ET at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. in the quarterfinal round after earning a double bye as a top-four seed.

The No. 3 seed Lady Vols, who enter in that position for the fourth straight season, will face No. 14 Kentucky (12-18, 2-14 SEC). Tennessee's final game of the regular season was in Lexington on Sunday afternoon, and the Big Orange raced to an 83-63 victory on UK's Senior Day at Memorial Coliseum.

UT is able to make its debut on day three of the tourney because it won its most league games (13) in a campaign since going 15-1 and claiming the SEC regular season crown in 2014-15.

The Big Orange comes to Greenville having won four of its past five games and 17 of its past 22, with the only losses during that span coming at No. 3 Stanford (77-70), vs. No. 4 UConn (84-67), at No. 5 LSU (76-68), at 19-8 Mississippi State (91-90 2OT) and vs. No. 1/1 South Carolina (73-60).

MORE INFO

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

Opponent: Kentucky
Date: Fri., March 3
Tip-off: 8:15 p.m. ET (approximately)
Venue: Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Watch: SEC Network
Radio: Lady Vol Network
Online: Live Audio, Live Stats

TENNESSEE

Roster Schedule Game Notes

KENTUCKY

Roster Schedule Game Notes

THE LATEST FROM THE LADY VOLS

Jackson Named Cheryl Miller Award Top-Five Finalist Coaches Select Horston, Jackson For All-SEC First Team Lady Vols Close Out Regular Season With 83-63 Win Over Wildcats Tennessee Tames The Tigers, 83-76 Strong Second Half Lifts Lady Vols To 86-59 Victory Over Vandy Horston, Jackson Named To Naismith Midseason Team Lady Vols Fall In Double-Overtime Thriller At MSU, 91-90 Defensive Effort Sends Tennessee Past Ole Miss, 65-51 Lady Vols Fall At Undefeated #3/3 LSU, 76-68 Lady Vols Come Up Short Against No. 5/4 UConn, 84-67

Broadcast Information

Friday night's game will be televised by SEC Network, with Courtney Lyle (PxP), Carolyn Peck (Analyst) and Brooke Weisbrod (Reporter) on the call.
All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice on the call and Andy Brock serving as studio host.
A link to the live audio stream can be found on the Hoops Central page or the schedule on UTSports.com.
For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
Air-time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
The game also can be heard on SiriusXM channels 138 or 190 and via the SXM App at channel 961.

Tennessee In The SEC Tournament

Tennessee is seeking to capture its league-leading 18th SEC Tournament championship trophy. UT was victorious in 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.
The Lady Vols have been runners-up on six occasions, including 1982, 1990, 1991, 1995, 2003 and 2015.
UT last advanced to the title game in 2014 and 2015, winning in 2014 as a #2 seed, 71-70, over #4 Kentucky and falling as a #2 seed to #1 South Carolina, 62-46, in 2015.
Tennessee enters Friday night's game with an 82-26 (.759) all-time mark in the 44th year of the tourney.
In all-time SEC Tournament play, the Big Orange women are 7-3 vs. Kentucky.
Tennessee last played Kentucky in the tournament in the semifinal round in Nashville a year ago, with the No. 7 Wildcats toppling the No. 3 Lady Vols, 83-74, en route to winning a championship.
The Lady Vols are 38-5 all-time in their opening game of the SEC Tournament and are 26-12 in their second contest of the tourney.
They have made 35 berths all-time in the semifinals.
UT is 23-12 in SEC Semifinal games and 17-6 in SEC Championship games.
The Big Orange women are 27-10 in SEC Tournament play since 2007-08.
Tennessee has had 15 SEC Tournament MVPs through the years.
Isabelle Harrison (2014), Glory Johnson (2012), Shekinna Stricklen (2011) and Alyssia Brewer (2010) were the past four MVPs from Tennessee.
The Lady Vols won the very first SEC Tournament title in 1980, defeating Ole Miss, 85-71, at Stokely Athletics Center in Knoxville.

Harper In The League Tournament

Kellie Harper is 3-3 in SEC Tournament games as Tennessee's head coach, including 2-2 in Greenville and 1-1 in Nashville.
The Lady Vols have been the No. 3 seed in each of her four seasons leading the program, earning a double bye and beginning play on Friday in the quarterfinal round on each occasion.
Kellie (Jolly) Harper had an 11-1 record at the SEC Tournament during her time as a student-athlete at UT with postseason tournament titles in 1996, 1998 and 1999. The only loss was in the 1997 semifinals.

SEC Tournament Experience

Tennessee has seven active players possessing experience in the SEC Tournament, including Tess Darby, Jordan Horston, Brooklynn Miles, Sara Puckett, Karoline Striplin, Jordan Walker and Kaiya Wynn.
Tamari Key and Jessie Rennie also have experience but are inactive.
This marks the first SEC Tournament for four Lady Vols, including Edie Darby, Jasmine Franklin, Justine Pissott and Jasmine Powell, though Franklin and Powell have league tourney experience from their time at Missouri State and Minnesota, respectively.
Two Lady Vols have been to the SEC Tournament with other teams, including Jillian Hollingshead with Georgia and Rickea Jackson with Mississippi State.
Jackson saw action in the SEC event in 2019-20 and 2020-21, while Hollingshead did not play in last year's tourney in Nashville due to injury.
Jackson made the SEC All-Tournament Team as a freshman in 2019-20 at MSU.
Jordan Horston didn't play in last year's event due to injury, but she tallied 24 as a freshman vs. Kentucky in the semifinals and put up 12 and 11 vs. Ole Miss and South Carolina, respectively, as a sophomore at UT.
Lady Vol junior Tess Darby scored 12 points vs. Alabama in the 2022 quarterfinals, while Jordan Walker had 11 vs. South Carolina in the 2021 semifinals.

Back In Greenville

This marks the sixth time Greenville has played host to the SEC Tournament.
UT stands at 6-4 in games played in the city after beating Ole Miss (77-72) and falling to South Carolina (67-52) in the semifinals in 2021.
Kellie Harper is 2-2 as a head coach in SEC Tourney games played at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
No. 2 seed Tennessee defeated #1 seed LSU in the tourney title game, 67-56, on March 6, 2005, the first time the event was held in Greenville.
Shyra Ely was named the SEC Tournament MVP that year, while Shanna Zolman and Brittany Jackson joined her on the all-tournament team.
UT beat Auburn in the second round (64-54) and Vanderbilt in the semifinals (76-73) that year.

Sheila Frost Is UT's '23 Legend

The SEC announced its 2023 Class of Women's Legends, and UT is represented by former basketball standout Sheila Frost, who played for the Lady Vols from 1985-89.
This year's class is being honored at the 2023 SEC Women's Tournament, March 1-5 in Greenville, S.C.
Frost, a 6-foot-4 center from Pulaski, Tenn., averaged double figures in points all four years of her career and was a three-time All-SEC First Team selection in 1987, 1988 and 1989. She also was a member of the 1989 NCAA All-Final Four and SEC All-Tournament Teams and a three-time NCAA All-Regional choice in 1986 (Mideast), 1987 (Mideast) and 1989 (East).
Frost remains No. 10 all-time in career points, with 1,790, and No. 5 in career rebounds with 1,043. She was the first of only six Lady Vols in history to hit 1,000 in each category.
In other career categories, Frost remains No. 3 in blocks (249), No. 4 in field goal percentage (59.1), No. 5 in field goals (754), No. 5 in career blocks average (1.80) and No. 9 in double-doubles (30) while representing her home state in 138 contests.

Lots of UT/UK Connections

There will be lots of familiar faces on the sidelines for Friday's game, and this will mark the sixth time a Lady Vol head coach has squared off against a former UT teammate leading another program.
Kellie Harper is 3-2 vs. Kentucky's Kyra Elzy after UT beat UK on Feb. 26, 83-63.
Previously, Harper held serve in home games in 2021 and 2022, while Elzy's squad triumphed in Rupp Arena on Feb. 11, 2021, and came out on top, 83-74, during last season's SEC Tournament semifinals in Nashville.
UT's Kellie (Jolly) Harper (1995-99) was teammates from 1996-99 at Tennessee with Kentucky head coach Kyra Elzy (1996-2001) and assistant coach Niya Butts (1996-2000). The trio played together on the second and third of UT's three consecutive NCAA titles in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
Elzy served a stint on UT's staff that included roles as assistant coach and associate head coach from 2012-16.
In her third season, Elzy took over at UK following the retirement of former head coach Matthew Mitchell, who was a graduate assistant at Tennessee in 1999-2000.
UK assistant Amber Smith was a G.A. at Tennessee in 2013-14.
Kentucky strength and conditioning coach Lee Taylor was a member of the UT women's basketball staff in the same role from 2013-19.
UT features the 2021 Miss Kentucky Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year in Brooklynn Miles of Franklin County High School in Frankfort, Ky.

Looking Back At The Last UK Game

The Lady Vols cruised to an 83-63 victory over Kentucky to wrap up the regular season on Sunday in Memorial Coliseum.
Tennessee (21-10, 13-3 SEC), which picked up its first win in Lexington since 2017 and first victory at Memorial since 2015, finished with its highest conference win total since going 15-1 in 2014-15. The Big Orange closed the regular season winning four of their last five.
Senior Rickea Jackson was the top scorer for UT with 21 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Jillian Hollingshead had a strong outing with 15 points on 88-percent shooting from the floor, and sophomore Karoline Striplin and graduate Jordan Walker were also in double figures, finishing with 12 and 10, respectively. Senior Jasmine Powell led the team in assists, dishing out a season-high-tying eight.
Maddie Scherr turned in a game-high 27 points to lead UK (10-18, 2-14 SEC), while Robyn Benton managed 17, and Jada Walker posted 10 on the day.

Count On 'Kea

With 21 points at Kentucky, Rickea Jackson logged her sixth straight game with 20+ points, 14th of the season and the 11th in SEC play.
She also notched her 27th double-digit effort of 2022-23, the 15th time against an SEC opponent.
She ties Sheila Collins and Tanya Haave at ninth all-time in career (14) and season (14) games of 20+ points.

Striplin Finding Her Stride

Karoline Striplin posted her second double-digit outing in as many contests, recording 12 points at Kentucky on Sunday and 11 points against South Carolina the previous Thursday.
It marks her fourth 10+ performance of the season and third in SEC play.

Everybody Dishing

Tennessee recorded a season-high-tying 26 assists against Kentucky with eight different Lady Vols contributing at least one.
UT produced 26 assists on two other occasions this season, first against Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 26 and again against Alabama on Jan. 1.
The Big Orange has now tallied 20 or more assists eight times this season.

Horston Into Career Assists Top 10

With her first assist vs. Kentucky, Jordan Horston moved into the Lady Vol career assists top 10.
She finished the day with six dimes, moving her four-year tally to 434 and elevating her past Kristen "Ace" Clement (429) into the No. 10 spot on the list.
Dena Head (439) and Michelle Marciniak (449) are next up the list at No. 9 and No. 8, respectively.

UT/UK Notes

Tennessee is 7-3 in SEC Tournament games vs. the Wildcats.
After winning on Sunday, UT is now 22-10 vs. Kentucky in Lexington, including 21-8 all-time at Memorial Coliseum and 1-2 in Rupp Arena.
UT picked up its first win in Lexington since 2017 and first victory at Memorial since 2015.
The Lady Vols own a 26-4 mark against UK in Knoxville and are 58-16 in all games.
UT is 3-1 in overtime games vs. Kentucky, including 3-0 in Lexington and 0-1 in Knoxville, with the last OT contest coming in 1994.
UT has faced only one other team as many times as the Wildcats – Vanderbilt in 88 meetings.
Kellie Harper is 3-4 all-time vs. Kentucky, but she is 3-2 head-to-head vs. Kyra Elzy.

A Look At The Wildcats

UK is led in scoring by Robyn Benton (16.2), Jada Walker (12.9) and Maddie Scherr (11.6).
The Wildcats have four players with 20+ three-pointers or more, led by Benton's 42.
Kentucky forces 20.3 turnovers per contest and tallies 9.7 steals per contest.