GREENVILLE, S.C. — There was little in the way of upsets or close contests on the first day of the Southeastern Conference women’s basketball tournament Wednesday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, but Auburn delivered both.
Auburn was the only lower-seeded team to win in the first round, with the No. 15 Tigers taking down No. 10 Texas A&M in a 50-49 victory.
Kaitlyn Duhon scored 14 points, Harissoum Coulibaly added 11, and Khady Leye sank the go-ahead layup with 5.2 seconds left on the clock for Auburn, which improved to 15-16 overall this season.
Leye, who finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds, committed a blocking foul on the previous possession that sent Janae Kent to the line with 11 seconds to play for Texas A&M. Kent sank both free throws to give the Aggies a 49-48 lead.
Leye then slipped through the screen and drove to the basket to put up the winning shot. The Aggies didn’t have enough time to get the look they wanted and airballed their last attempt. It’s the first time the Tigers have beaten the Aggies in the SEC tournament, and it snapped Texas A&M’s five-game winning streak this season.
The Aggies (14-12) were led in scoring by Ny’Ceara Pryor’s 25 points.
Auburn moves on to face 24th-ranked, seventh-seeded Ole Miss (21-10) at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Rebels had a first-round bye.
Kentucky 94, Arkansas 64
Clara Strack had 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, Amelia Hassett scored 18 points and made six 3-pointers, and 17th-ranked, ninth-seeded Kentucky started the second half on an 18-2 run on its way to a rout of the Razorbacks, the lowest seed in the 16-team bracket.
It was the largest margin of victory in Kentucky’s SEC tournament history. The Wildcats (22-9), the only team in the AP Top 25 in action on the first day of the tourney, advance to play 22nd-ranked, eighth-seeded Georgia (22-8) at 11 a.m. Thursday. It’s a rematch from the regular season, with Georgia winning 72-67 on Jan. 24 in Lexington, one of the results that helped the Lady Bulldogs earn a first-round bye.
Tonie Morgan and Jordan Obi also had double-doubles for Kentucky on Wednesday. Morgan totaled 14 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, and Obi added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Also chipping in for Kentucky were starters Teonni Key (12 points) and Asia Boone (10).
Taleyah Jones scored 21 points for Arkansas (12-20), which was coming off its first SEC win of the year to snap a 16-game losing streak, 70-41 over Auburn in the regular-season finale for both teams Sunday. Razorbacks freshman Bonnie Deas added 10 points in Wednesday’s loss.
Boone gave Kentucky its first double-digit lead of the day at 16-4 less than five minutes into the game. Hassett made two 3-pointers during an 11-0 run to extend the Wildcats’ lead to 27-7.
Kentucky was limited to just 13 points in the second quarter but still held a 42-33 lead at the break. Obi scored seven points and capped Kentucky’s big third-quarter run for a 60-35 lead, while Arkansas missed nine of its first 10 shots after the break.
Morgan scored 10 points in the third quarter to match Arkansas’ point total as the Razorbacks went 4-for-17 from the field.
The Razorbacks shot just 36% from the field for the game, including 6-of-28 from 3-point range.
Florida 86, Mississippi State 68
Liv McGill had 22 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, Me’Arah O’Neal also scored 22, and No. 12 seed Florida beat No. 13 seed Mississippi State by 18 points, the Gators’ largest margin of victory in any SEC tournament game.
Florida (18-14) never trailed despite missing 11 of its first 16 shots from field. The Gators wound up 28-of-56 and hit 22 of 28 free throws for 79% success from the foul line.
Mississippi State (18-13) has lost five games in a row.
Favour Nwaedozi led the Bulldogs with 12 points and 10 rebounds — the 6-foot-3 junior’s 15th double-double this season — Destiney McPhaul also scored 12 points and handed out six assists, but Madison Francis fouled out with nine points in 17 minutes. The freshman went into the game leading the team in minutes (29.8 per game), scoring (13.4 points per game) and blocks (1.53 per game), and second in rebounds (7.5 per game) and steals (1.53 per game).
The Bulldogs committed nine first-quarter turnovers and trailed 21-11 at the end of the period.
After Francis made a layup that trimmed Mississippi State’s deficit to eight points, O’Neal hit the first of her three second-quarter 3-pointers to make it 24-13 with 8:30 remaining in the first half, and the Gators led by double figures the rest of the way.
The Gators, who won 71-56 at Mississippi State on Feb. 19, have won four in a four against the Bulldogs and lead the all-time series 30-28.
Florida plays seventh-ranked, fifth-seeded Oklahoma (23-6) at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The Sooners had a first-round bye.
Alabama 65, Missouri 48
Ace Austin scored all of her 14 points in the fourth quarter, and 11th-seeded Alabama beat 14th-seeded Missouri in the final game on the first day of action in Greenville.
Alabama (22-9), which had lost back-to-back games and five of its past six, won its first SEC tournament game since 2022.
Austin hit four 3s in a 12-2 run to open the fourth quarter and make it a 14-point game with 6:39 remaining. The Tigers (16-16) got no closer, and they have lost six games in a row.
Diana Collins scored 13 points, Ta’Mia Scott finished with 12 and three blocks, and Essence Cody added 10 points for Alabama. Karly Weathers scored just four points on 1-of-9 shooting, including 1-of-8 from 3-point range, but finished with a career-high 16 rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block.
Jordana Reisma led the Tigers with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting, while Grace Slaughter had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Tigers hit just 25% of their shots and had more turnovers (eight) than made field goals (seven) before intermission in their lowest-scoring half this season. Alabama was 11-of-34 (32%) from the field and had 10 assists before the break to take a 31-20 lead into halftime.
Alabama now No. 6 seed Tennessee (16-12) at 8:30 p.m. Thursday. The Lady Volunteers beat the Tide 70-59 on Jan. 18 in Tuscaloosa, when Tennessee was ranked 20th and Alabama was 21st.
The Lady Vols received a first-round bye despite a rough stretch to close the regular season. They enter the SEC bracket having lost six games in a row and nine of their past 11, with the wins in that stretch versus struggling Missouri and in overtime against Georgia.