GREENVILLE, S.C. — Tennessee's fifth-place finish in the Southeastern Conference women's basketball standings kept a coveted double bye for the league tournament just out of reach this season.
Instead of getting an extra day of rest and jumping into the 14-team bracket in the quarterfinals, the Lady Volunteers were forced into action Thursday, the second day of the tournament.
And then they had to shake off a slow start and some surprisingly strong challenges from 12th-seeded Kentucky to make sure there was a place for them at all in Friday's schedule.
The Lady Vols beat the Wildcats 76-62 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, but the matchup was well into the second half before things really got comfortable for coach Kellie Harper's team.
It was 35-all at the 6:25 mark of the third quarter when Tennessee launched a 10-0 run capped by Tess Darby's 3-pointer with 3:50 left in the period. Tennessee took a 53-44 lead into the fourth quarter, then stretched its advantage to 14 points by 5:54 with a 7-2 run.
"We sure did not make a lot of shots in that first half, especially in the second quarter," Harper said in Tennessee's postgame news conference. "But due to our defense we were still in the game, and we were able to find the bottom of the net in the second half. I'm proud of our team for hanging in there and having poise throughout that game."
Tennessee (18-11) advances to face No. 4 seed Alabama (23-8) in Friday's second quarterfinal with a tentative tipoff time of 2:30 p.m. on the SEC Network. The lone regular-season meeting between the two this year went to the Crimson Tide, who won 72-56 on Feb. 8 in Tuscaloosa.
"We know it's going to be a huge challenge, obviously," Harper said. "They played well when we played them down there. Hopefully we've grown, but you don't walk out and it just happens. You've got to go out and make it happen."
Sara Puckett scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Lady Vols against Kentucky, with the junior an efficient 8-for-12 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range. She also grabbed three rebounds and handed out three assists for the Lady Vols, who led 19-18 after the first quarter and 28-26 entering halftime.
Darby had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench, Jewel Spear also scored 10, and starter Rickea Jackson had nine points and eight rebounds while playing just 18 minutes as she carried four fouls by game's end.
Jackson has averaged 19.1 points per game this season, but Puckett stepped up by coming within two points of her career high.
"I knew that, personally, I was going to be locked in because the team was locked in," Puckett said. "We had a lot of great energy just yesterday, getting in the gym and being together here, so I knew I was going to carry that over to the game and do whatever I could and just have fun with the team, because it's getting down to the nitty-gritty, so we just want to leave it all out there."
Kentucky (12-20) had a trio of scorers in double figures, led by Saniah Tyler's 17 points. Ajae Petty added 12 with 11 rebounds for a double-double plus five steals, and Enijya Russell scored 11.
The Wildcats were trying to extend their time at the tourney a day after dumping 13th-seeded Georgia from the bracket, 64-50. Kentucky lost to Tennessee for the second time this season, having fallen 87-69 on Jan. 7 in Knoxville.
The Lady Vols reached the SEC final a year ago, losing to South Carolina in the title matchup. They would face the Gamecocks in the semifinals this time.
Texas A&M 72, Mississippi State 56
Aicha Coulibaly scored 17 points, and Janiah Barker added 15 with nine rebounds as ninth-seeded Texas A&M (19-11) defeated eighth-seeded Mississippi State (21-11) in the SEC tournament for the second season in a row.
Texas A&M advances to play the nation's top-ranked team, South Carolina (29-0), in Friday's first quarterfinal at noon. The Gamecocks won a regular-season meeting with the Aggies, 99-64 on Jan. 21 in College Station.
The Bulldogs, who beat the Aggies 76-63 in February, lost their opening game of the tournament for the fourth straight season.
Endyia Rogers added 12 points for the Aggies, who never trailed and broke the game open by outscoring the Bulldogs 26-14 in the third quarter behind 56% shooting, led by Barker's eight points.
Both teams shot just 31% in the first half, with the Aggies using their advantage on the glass to grind out a 25-21 lead. They finished the game with a 40-32 edge in rebounds.
Jessika Carter and Darrione Rogers scored 12 points each for the Bulldogs.
Auburn 67, Arkansas 48
Mar'shaun Bostic, JaMya Mingo-Young and Sydney Shaw scored 11 points apiece as seventh-seeded Auburn (20-10) beat 10th-seeded Arkansas (18-14), securing a spot in the quarterfinals and a 6 p.m. tipoff against LSU (26-4) — which is seeded second, ranked eighth and still reigning as the NCAA tournament champion.
Auburn and LSU split the regular-season series, with LSU winning the most recent matchup 71-66 on Feb. 22 in Baton Rouge. Auburn's 67-62 home win on Jan. 14 was its seventh over a reigning national champion in program history.
Shaw was the first player for Auburn to reach double-digit scoring Thursday when she made a 3-pointer with 4:34 left in the fourth quarter for a 61-43 lead after a 10-0 run.
Mingo-Young also had eight rebounds and eight assists while committing just one turnover. Honesty Scott-Grayson, Auburn's leading scorer this season at 18.3 points per game, was held to just six points on 3-of-11 shooting, but Arkansas was without leading scorer Taliah Scott (family issue) and leading rebounder Saylor Poffenbarger (concussion protocol).
Arkansas freshman Jenna Lawrence made her first collegiate start and finished with 13 points, as did teammates Makyla Daniels and Samara Spencer.
Auburn scored 12 straight points in the second quarter to take a 33-22 lead on Shaw's 3-ponter with 1:05 left. Arkansas scored the final five points of the half, capped by Spencer's 3-pointer just before the buzzer to make it 33-27.
Florida 62, Vanderbilt 59
Aliyah Matharu exploded for a career-high 35 points to lead the 11th-seeded Gators (16-14) to an upset of the sixth-seeded Commdodores (22-9).
The only other Florida player with more than five points was Zippy Broughton with 10, and the Gators also won despite getting outrebounded 42-32.
Vanderbilt lost despite 20 points from Iyana Moore, plus double-doubles from Khamil Pierre (16 points, 15 rebounds) and Sacha Washington (11 rebounds, 10 points).
The Commodores missed a 3-pointer and, after an offensive rebound, a layup in the final moments.
Florida will play third-seeded Ole Miss (22-7) at 8:30 p.m. Friday.