NASHVILLE - The Kentucky Wildcats are on a revenge tour at the Southeastern Conference women's basketball tournament.
Now they have a chance to add top-ranked, top-seeded South Carolina to the list.
Senior star Rhyne Howard scored 24 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out seven assists, and Kentucky never trailed Saturday night while beating 18th-ranked, third-seeded Tennessee 83-74 in the SEC semifinals at Bridgestone Arena, a day after upsetting sixth-ranked, second-seeded LSU in the quarterfinals.
The seventh-seeded Wildcats (18-11) reached the tournament title game for the first time since 2014 and the sixth time in program history. They did it by beating the Lady Volunteers (23-8) in the semifinals for the first time in three tries, and now Kentucky will play South Carolina at 2 p.m. Eastern on Sunday with a shot at the championship.
"We all know what this means," senior guard Robyn Benton said. "We know what we're playing for. We're playing to win."
Kentucky ran its winning streak to nine games after dropping eight of nine early in SEC play. That rough run included regular-season losses at LSU, at Tennessee and twice to South Carolina - most recently on Feb. 10. The Wildcats haven't lost since.
"They can't say we're going to the 'ship like we are," said Howard, the former Bradley Central High School standout from Cleveland who is expected to be one of the top picks in this year's WNBA draft.
Benton added 16 points off the bench - including four 3s - Jada Walker also had 16 points and Treasure Hunt scored 11. Jazmine Massengill had eight points and five assists. Hunt and Massengill prepped at Chattanooga's Hamilton Heights.
AP photo by Mark Humphrey / Tennessee's Brooklynn Miles loses the ball as she drives against Kentucky's Rhyne Howard in the second half of an SEC tournament semifinal Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.Kentucky won for the third time in three days, starting its time at the SEC tourney with an 83-67 win against 10th-seeded Mississippi State in Thursday's second round before rolling to a 78-63 win against LSU, which beat the visiting Wildcats 78-69 on Jan. 30. That set up a rematch with Tennessee, which cruised 84-58 on Jan. 16.
This game meant a bit more. The Wildcats are coached by Kyra Elzy with assistant Niya Butts, and both were teammates of Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper at Tennessee, playing together on national title teams coached by Pat Summitt in 1997 and 1998.
Now Elzy joins South Carolina coach Dawn Staley in the title game a year after Staley and Georgia coach Joni Taylor became the first Black women coaches to meet in a Power Five tournament title game. Elzy, a Kentucky native who was a Wildcats assistant before taking over the program in 2020, said she was proud to get them back to the championship game and make a bit of history.
"Representation matters," Elzy said. "Coach Staley has been a voice for women's basketball, women and women of color. I grew up respecting and idolizing Coach Staley, but tomorrow's going to be two coaches, competitors, and I'm glad people get to look on TV and see women of color in leadership roles. It matters."
Tennessee (23-8), which opened its time in Nashville with a 74-59 win against 11th-seeded Alabama on Friday, headed home not having played in the title game since 2015 at a tournament it has won a record 17 times, most recently in 2014.
"Tough one to swallow," Harper said.
Alexus Dye led Tennessee with 26 points and 10 rebounds, Rae Burrell added 16 and eight, and Jordan Walker had six points with 10 assists.
The Wildcats showed no signs of fatigue, shooting 12-for-24 from 3-point range.
"We just didn't affect them," Harper said. "They did exactly what they wanted to do with their pace."
The Wildcats jumped out to a 14-3 lead and were ahead 22-13 after a first quarter in which six of their eight made baskets came from beyond the arc. The Lady Vols started knocking down shots themselves in the second, making 11 of 18 (61.1%) to pull within 36-34 on a layup by Brooklyn Miles with 2:08 left.
But then Hunt hit a 3, Walker scored on a layup and Benton capped the scoring with Kentucky's ninth 3 of the half for a 44-37 lead at intermission.
Tennessee opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run to get within 46-45, but Howard started a 12-4 run for Kentucky with a three-point play, and the Wildcats led 61-53 entering the final period. The Lady Vols got within 73-69 with 3:58 left, but Howard had 10 points in the fourth to seal the win.
AP photo by Mark Humphrey / South Carolina's Aliyah Boston (4) drives past Ole Miss guard Angel Baker (15) in the first half of an SEC tournament semifinal Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.South Carolina 61, Ole Miss 51
The South Carolina Gamecocks are right where they wanted to be entering the final day of the SEC tournament: Among the final two teams standing, with a chance to win their third straight title.
Aliyah Boston posted her 23rd consecutive double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds as the regular-season champions eliminated fourth-seeded Ole Miss in the day's first semifinal.
"It's really exciting," Boston said. "This is one of our goals we set at the beginning of the year, and now it's here."
The Gamecocks (29-1) posted their 17th straight win and reached the tournament championship game for the seventh time in eight seasons. They had never reached the final before starting that run in 2015, but their six titles rank second only to Tennessee in a tournament that started in 1980. Vanderbilt has also won six titles.
South Carolina improved to 7-2 in the semifinals by using its size and length to smother Ole Miss for the third time this season in showdowns between the SEC's top two scoring defenses. The Gamecocks lead the SEC allowing 51.2 points, and they held the Rebels to 30 points through three quarters.
Ole Miss (23-8) tried to rally, scoring 20 of the first 25 points in the fourth to get within 58-50 on Shakira Austin's three-point play with 1:40 left. That was the last bucket the Rebels would make as South Carolina clinched their latest berth in the title game despite missing all five shots in the quarter.
"We just lost the momentum," Staley said. "When you're playing a caliber game like we're playing, it's hard. The swing of the momentum is hard to get back once you've had it."
Boston, the two-time SEC defensive player of the year, also had three blocks and three steals.
This was the first time in the semifinals for Ole Miss since 1993, and the program and hasn't played in the final since 1983. Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin had a simple reminder for her Rebels that helped get them going late.
"No one thought we were going to beat South Carolina anyway, but we need to perform," she said. "We need to look like an NCAA tournament team, so we can't quit."
Angel Baker led the Rebels with 20 points. Austin scored 11 of her 16 in the fourth.
South Carolina led 14-8 after the first quarter, 33-22 at halftime and 53-30 going into the fourth.