Hoops Central: SEC Tournament Quarterfinals: Lady Vols vs. Alabama

March 08, 2024 | Women's Basketball

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GREENVILLE, S.C. -- No. 5 seed Tennessee (18-11, 10-6 SEC) will meet No. 4 seed Alabama (23-8, 10-6 SEC) in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.

SEC Network will televise the game, with tip-off slated for approx. 2:15 p.m. ET.

The Lady Vols tied Alabama for fourth place in the league standings, but the Crimson Tide earned the No. 4 seed after UT fell to No. 1 South Carolina in Columbia on Sunday, 76-68, and Bama prevailed at Texas A&M, 78-71, making each team 10-6.

Bama earned the tiebreaker nod because it defeated Tennessee in a previous meeting between these teams on Feb. 8 in Tuscaloosa, 72-56.

Tennessee advanced to Friday's SEC action by outscoring Kentucky 48-36 over the final two quarters to claim a 76-62 victory on Thursday afternoon in the second round.

Alabama, which earned a double-bye as a top-four seed, comes into the tourney on a three-game win streak, defeating Mississippi State, Florida and Texas A&M in succession to close the regular season.

MORE INFO

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

Opponent: Alabama
Date: Fri., March 8
Tip-off: 2:15 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

ALABAMA

Roster Schedule Game Notes

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BROADCAST DETAILS

Eric Frede (PxP), Tamika Catchings (Analyst) and Brooke Weisbrod (Reporter) will have the call for SEC Network.
All 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 can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice providing play-by-play. Jay Lifford is the 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 select the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
Air time is typically 30 minutes before tip-off.

SEASON RESET

After functioning without All-America and SEC Player of the Year candidate Rickea Jackson for eight games from Nov. 13 to Dec. 10 and posting a 4-4 record during her absence, Tennessee has been a drastically different team since she was cleared following a lower leg injury.
The Lady Vols are 13-6 since Jackson returned to action, finished tied for fourth in the SEC standings and sit at No. 34 in the NET after facing one of the nation's most challenging schedules, including match-ups with No. 1/1 South Carolina twice and vs. No. 9/7 LSU in three of the last five games of the regular season.
As of March 4, Women's Bracketology has UT as a No. 8 seed for the NCAA Tournament, facing No. 9 Kansas in the first round in Los Angeles, in the Portland 4 Regional. The winner would play the victor of No. 1 seed UCLA vs. #16 Hawaii.
A Tennessee appearance would be a record 42nd, standing as the only team to make every tournament.
Among UT's triumphs are top-64 NET victories over No. 27 Oklahoma, No. 43 Auburn, No. 45 Texas A&M, No. 46 Mississippi State, No. 56 Vanderbilt (twice) and No. 61 Florida. The win over Oklahoma in November was without Rickea Jackson.
Tennessee led at the half and was tied after three quarters vs. No. 1/1 South Carolina on Feb. 15 in a game featuring 14 lead changes and 11 ties that USC ultimately won, 66-55, for its second narrowest margin of victory in SEC play this season.
The Lady Vols also were within three in the last five minutes at undefeated South Carolina on March 3 before limiting the Gamecocks to their closest margin of victory at home all season, 76-68.
UT also had a 75-60 setback vs. LSU, in which the Lady Vols trailed by one with 7:30 remaining in the game.
In addition to getting Jackson back in the lineup, Tennessee has been bolstered by the continued improvement of 6-foot-6 center Tamari Key. The school's all-time leading shot blocker was sidelined after eight games a year ago due to blood clots in her lungs and understandably needed time to reacclimate to the rigors of the game.
Tennessee also has had to overcome the loss of reserve point guard Destinee Wells, who suffered a lower leg injury just prior to the Wofford game and is out for the season. Fifth-year standout Jasmine Powell impressively picked up more of the load, and junior Kaiya Wynn has stepped up and provided a spark off the bench on both ends of the floor.
With the players available for the past 19 contests stepping into and accepting their roles, the Lady Vols have competed cohesively as a team, with different players each game emerging to provide valuable contributions in starring and support capacities.

UT CONNECTIONS TO THE STATE OF ALABAMA

Tennessee juniors Sara Puckett and Karoline Striplin hail from Muscle Shoals and Hartford, Alabama, respectively.
They played in the same Alabama Southern Starz Nike EYBL program as the Crimson Tide's Karly Weathers (Loretto, Tenn.) and Tennessee's Destinee Wells (Lakeland, Tenn.).
UT assistant Samantha Williams was born in Luverne, Ala., before later moving to Louisville, Ky., while fellow assistant Joy McCorvey is from Brewton, Ala., and graduated from T.R. Miller High School.
Head coach Kellie Harper spent two years from 1999-2001 on Joe Ciampi's staff at Auburn (admin. asst., then assistant coach), while Jon Harper graduated from Auburn and spent three seasons as a practice player, manager and intern for Ciampi from 1996-99.
Samantha Williams played for the Tigers during Jon Harper's time there.
Lady Vol strength and conditioning coach Bryan Tatum worked with the Auburn football program in the same capacity from 2014-21.

FAMILIAR FACES FROM OTHER PLACES

Tennessee's Jillian Hollingshead and Alabama's Sarah Ashlee Barker were teammates at Georgia in 2021-22 before departing for new schools.
Lady Vols Rickea Jackson and Jasmine Powell played in the Michigan Crossover program, as did Alabama's Del'Janae "Burger" Williams.

MILESTONE WATCH

Rickea Jackson, who became the ninth Lady Vol to surpass 2,000 career points on Feb. 4 vs. Missouri, now has 2,158 (combining her time at Mississippi State and Tennessee) and passed Candace Parker (2,137, 2005-08) with 29 points in the South Carolina game on March 3 to move into sixth on UT's all-time scorers list, including transfers.
In terms of Jackson's points tallied at Tennessee, the 49th Lady Vol to reach 1K now has 1,073 and sits in 44th place after passing Isabelle Harrison (1,071, 2011-15) and Cierra Burdick (1,072, 2011-15) vs. Kentucky.
She stands three behind fellow Detroit native No. 43 Peggy Evans (1,076, 1990-93), 15 behind No. 42 Sidney Spencer (1,088, 2003-07), 23 behind No. 41 Tiffany Woosley (1,096, 1991-95) and 26 behind No. 40 Nicky Anosike (1,099, 2004-08).
Tamari Key became the 50th player to tally 1,000 career points for Tennessee, doing so against Texas A&M and pushing her total to 1,004. She now has 1,009 and has moved past Michelle Marciniak (1,004, 1993-96) into 49th and is nine points behind Diamond DeShields in 48th (1,018, 2015-17).
Rickea Jackson's 19.2 ppg. career average in two seasons at Tennessee stands at No. 5 in school history with Candace Parker (19.4, 2005-08) just ahead of her.
Tamari Key is in sole possession of sixth on the SEC all-time blocks list after passing South Carolina's Aliyah Boston (330, 2019-23) with two vs. LSU. Key now has 338 swats and takes aim at Vanessa Hayden of Florida, who stands in fifth place with 357 from 2001-04.
On the glass, Tamari Key reached 700 career rebounds with six vs. Kentucky (704) and joined Jackson, who eclipsed 700 at Vanderbilt on Feb. 18.
Against Kentucky, Tess Darby's two threes moved her past Ariel Massengale (164, 2011-15) into fifth with 166 three-pointers made in her career at UT.
Darby currently ranks No. 7 in career three-pointers attempted at 445, moving past Brittany Jackson (443, 2001-05). Ariel Massengale (455, 2011-15) is in sixth.
Jewel Spear enters the Alabama game needing two three-pointers to reach 300 for her career.
Kellie Harper reached double digits in conference wins for the third straight season, fourth time in five years at Tennessee and ninth occasion in her past 10 campaigns as a head coach.

TENNESSEE IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT

Tennessee is making its seventh consecutive appearance in the SEC Quarterfinals and its league-leading 44th trip all-time, holding a 36-7 record.
In SEC Tournament play, the Big Orange women are 10-3 vs. the Crimson Tide in previous SEC Tournament meetings.
UT picked up its last tourney win vs. UA in the 2022 quarterfinals in Nashville, eliminating the Tide with a 74-59 victory in Bridgestone Arena on March 4.
The Lady Vols are now 40-5 all-time in their opening game of the SEC Tournament (5-1 in Second Round games) after beating Kentucky and stand 27-12 in their second contest of the tourney entering the Alabama match-up.
UT has made 36 berths all-time in the semifinals and are 24-12 in those contests after toppling No. 2 seed LSU in 2023, 69-67.
Tennessee is 85-27 (.759) all-time in the 45th year of the tourney.
The Big Orange women are 30-11 in SEC Tournament play since 2007-08.
Tennessee is seeking to capture its league-leading 18th SEC Tournament championship trophy and is 17-6 in title games.
UT won 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 seven occasions, including 1982, 1990, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2015 and 2023.
UT last advanced to the title game a year ago as a No. 3 seed, defeating No. 14 seed Kentucky in the quarterfinals, 80-71; and No. 2 LSU in the semifinals, 69-67; before falling to No. 1 seed South Carolina, 74-58, in Greenville.
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 SEC TOURNAMENT

Kellie Harper is 6-4 in SEC Tournament games as Tennessee's head coach, including 5-3 in Greenville and 1-1 in Nashville.
She has taken UT to at least the semifinals the past three seasons, including the title game in 2023.
The Lady Vols were the No. 6 seed in 2020, No. 3 seed in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and are fifth in 2024.
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 entered the 2023 event with eight active players possessing experience in the SEC Tournament, including Tess Darby, Jillian Hollingshead, Rickea Jackson, Tamari Key, Jasmine Powell, Sara Puckett, Karoline Striplin and Kaiya Wynn.
The Kentucky game marked the first SEC Tournament action for two Lady Vols, including Jewel Spear and Avery Strickland, though those two had previous conference tourney experience in the ACC with Wake Forest and Pitt, respectively.
Transfer Talaysia Cooper also has experience but is redshirting after playing in two games for South Carolina a year ago.
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 the 2022 tourney in Nashville due to injury.
Jackson made the SEC All-Tournament Team as a freshman in 2020 at MSU and in 2023 at UT.
A year ago, Jackson averaged 25.7 ppg. and 7.7 rpg. through three contests.
She poured in a season-high 34 points against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament, going a perfect 14 of 14 from the free-throw line to claim the program record for the highest free-throw percentage (100.0 pct.) with the most made attempts.
She produced a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds in UT's SEC Tournament Semifinal win over No. 4/3 LSU.
Jackson finished with a 17/9 effort vs. South Carolina in the title game in 2023.

BACK IN GREENVILLE

This marks the seventh time Greenville has played host to the SEC Tournament.
UT stands at 9-5 in games played in the city after defeating Kentucky in the 2024 second round.
Kellie Harper is 5-3 as a head coach in SEC Tourney games played at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, taking her team to the championship game in 2023.
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.

RECAPPING THE LAST GAME

Junior forward Sara Puckett fired in 22 points, and senior guard/forward Tess Darby recorded her first career double-double, pacing No. 5 seed Tennessee to a 76-62 victory over No. 12 seed Kentucky in the SEC Tournament Second Round on Thursday night.
The Lady Vols (18-11) advanced to Friday's quarterfinal round, where they will meet No. 4 seed Alabama (23-8) at approximately 2:15 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
Puckett connected on eight of 12 shots from the field for UT, including 4-of-6 accuracy from beyond the arc to pace the Big Orange's offensive attack. Darby tossed in 10 points, including eight in the third period when UT began to separate from UK, and finished with a career-best 10 rebounds.
Senior guard Jewel Spear joined Puckett and Darby in double figures with 10, while fifth-year forward Rickea Jackson was just shy of a double-double of her own with eight points and nine boards.
The Wildcats were led in scoring by Saniah Tyler, who tallied 17 points. Ajae Petty contributed a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Eniya Russell added 11 points in the loss.

POSTGAME NOTES VS. KENTUCKY

THE RETURN OF SARA BUCKETTS: Sara Puckett was on fire for the Lady Vols in the second round of the SEC Tournament, putting up 22 points and finishing just two shy of her career high. She also tied her season best of eight rebounds. The junior's performance marked her third 20+ point contest and her fifth game leading Tennessee in scoring this season. She tied her season high with four makes from deep and posted her fourth game with 3+ 3-pointers in 2023-24.
A DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR DARBY: Darby recorded 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds to notch her first career double-double. The guard registered her third game in double-digit scoring and knocked down two from deep to eclipse 40 3-pointers this season. With those treys, she moved past Ariel Massengale into sole possession of sixth place in career three-pointers made at Tennessee with 166.
REBOUNDING EFFORT CONTINUES: The Lady Vols, who entered ranked No. 9 nationally in rebounds per game at 43.54, carried their impressive rebounding effort into the postseason, out-dueling Kentucky on the glass, 50-33. It marked Tennessee's eighth 50+ rebound effort of the season and the 48th of the Harper Era. UT has won the rebounding war 121 times in 156 games through the UK contest, including 88 by double digits. In 2023-24, UT has out-rebounded foes in 18 of 29 contests thus far.
DEFENSE MAKING STRIDES: Tennessee held Kentucky to 35.5 percent shooting and 62 points. It marked the seventh straight game UT has held opponents to 41-percent field goal percent or less. It also was the third time in the past seven contests that the Lady Vols have limited an opponent to 62 points or fewer.

UT VS. UA SERIES NOTES

UT leads the all-time series, 54-9
Against the Crimson Tide, Tennessee is 25-1 all-time in games played in Knoxville, 19-5 in Tuscaloosa and 10-3 at neutral sites.
The Lady Vols have won five of the past seven after Alabama had forged a five-game victory string from 2016-19.
Kellie Harper is 6-4 vs. Alabama as a head coach, forging a 1-1 mark vs. the Tide while at NC State, a 0-1 record as Missouri State's coach and a 5-2 advantage at Tennessee.
Harper (then Kellie Jolly) was 7-0 vs. Bama as a player at UT.
UT is 17-4 vs. Alabama in Coleman Coliseum, losing for the first time there on Feb. 16, 2017, 65-57.
From 2011-16, the Crimson Tide women played in Foster Auditorium, where UT was 2-1.

A LOOK AT THE CRIMSON TIDE

Alabama is led by the trio of Sarah Ashlee Barker (17.2 ppg.), Aaliyah Nye (14.3 ppg.) and Jessica Timmons (11.4 ppg.).
UA has hit 234 three-pointers on the season, led by Nye's 104 in 240 attempts (43.3 pct.).
Loyal McQueen (9.4 ppg.) paces the Tide in assists with 97, while Essence Cody (8.1 ppg.) ties with Barker as Bama's top rebounder (6.4 rpg.).

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

Kristy Curry is in her 11th season at Alabama and in her 25th campaign overall as a college head coach.
She is 196-151 with the Tide and 505-300 overall.
Curry and the Crimson Tide made their second NCAA Tournament appearance in three years and 12th all-time bid during the 2022-23 season.

ALABAMA'S MOST RECENT GAME

The Alabama women's basketball team outlasted Texas A&M, 78-71, in the final regular season contest Sunday afternoon in Reed Arena.
With the win, the Crimson Tide finished the regular season with a 23-8 overall record and a 10-6 mark in SEC play to secure the No. 4 seed and a double-bye in the 2024 Southeastern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.
Sarah Ashlee Barker led all scorers with 29 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, to top four players in double figures.
Aaliyah Nye finished with 13 points, while Loyal McQueen and Jessica Timmons added 11 apiece in the victory.
Texas A&M (18-10, 6-9 SEC) was led by Aicha Coulibaly's 19 points, five rebounds and five assists in the losing effort.

LAST UT/UA CONTEST

The Lady Vols suffered a tough shooting night on the road the last time these teams met on Feb. 8, falling in SEC play to Alabama in Tuscaloosa, 72-56.
Fifth-year seniors Rickea Jackson and Jasmine Powell were the leading scorers for Tennessee (14-8, 7-3 SEC) with 13 and nine, respectively. Redshirt senior Tamari Key added nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Aaliyah Nye was the top producer for Alabama (19-6, 6-4 SEC) with 23 points. Jessica Timmons was also in double figures with 14, and Loyal McQueen finished with 10.
Alabama led by two at the half, 30-28, and the teams played to a 14-14 tie in the fourth quarter.
The third quarter, however, was where the game was won, with Alabama winning that frame, 28-14.
The Tide shot an eye-popping 84.6 percent from the field in the period, making 11 of 13 field goal attempts. UA was three of four from the arc.
The Lady Vols, meanwhile, had their best shooting quarter in the third at 41.2 percent (7-17) but could not keep pace with Bama's torrid rate.

COMING UP

The winner of the UT vs. Alabama game will advance to Saturday's semifinal and face either No. 1 seed South Carolina or No. 9 seed Texas A&M at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET.
The semifinal contest will be televised by ESPNU and broadcast on Lady Vol Network radio stations and via live stream on UTSports.com.