Tennessee Lady Volunteers at South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina defeats Tennessee in SEC tournament final

It took seven seasons for the former All-American, but Staley and the No. 3 Gamecocks have finally toppled the mighty Lady Vols.

Led by 17 points from Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina (29-2) earned its first women's SEC tournament championship with a 62-46 win over No. 5 Tennessee on Sunday. It did so behind Mitchell, the two-time SEC Player of the Year, and 14 points and eight rebounds from Aleighsa Welch.

"It feels pretty good to be where we are today, because we still feel every bit of seven years ago, six years ago, when we just trying to jumpstart the program," Staley said. "These are the times which we looked forward to, envisioned, sitting here today being SEC Tournament champions."

Jordan Reynolds had 17 points to lead the Lady Vols, who finished with their lowest point total in tournament history. Tennessee's previous low was 54 points in a loss to LSU in the tournament semifinals in 2007.

"We missed easy shots, we missed layups, we missed free throws," Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said. "Our margin for error against South Carolina is very small, and you've got to make shots that are around the basket, and we didn't."

Tennessee dropped to 17-6 in tournament championship games, and is now 47-5 overall against South Carolina. That included a 40-game winning streak that began in 1980 and was ended by the Gamecocks in 2012 under Staley.

South Carolina improved to 3-3 in the last six meetings against the eight-time national champions, and it did so much more convincing fashion than a 71-66 win in Columbia two weeks ago.

"It gave us a lot of confidence going into halftime, to be able to go on that run," Welch said. "The energy was up in the locker room, there was a lot more talking, and I think it fed into the second half."

The teams traded the lead 10 times in the first half, with Tennessee taking its largest advantage at 26-21 after a fast-break basket by Cierra Burdick. Reynolds had 10 of the first 21 points for the Lady Vols.

"I commend them for the run that they made," Burdick said. "Once they made it, we couldn't really get it back and that's what hurt us."

TIP-INS

Tennessee: The Lady Vols were playing their seventh straight game without All-SEC center Isabelle Harrison, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on Feb. 15. Tennessee forward Bashaara Garves also played less than five minutes in the first half after two early fouls, and the Lady Vols were outrebounded 38-32.

REPEAT PERFORMANCE

Welch had 19 points and 14 rebounds in win over the Lady Vols at home two weeks earlier, and she finished 7 of 15 from the field this time. The senior was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

UP NEXT

Tennessee: NCAA tournament.

South Carolina: NCAA tournament.

How can I watch Lady Volunteers vs. Gamecocks?

• TV Channel: Lady Volunteers vs Gamecocks 2021 College Basketball, week 17, is broadcasted on ESPN.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Venue: Simmons Bank Arena

Location: North Little Rock, AR
Attendance: 5,819 | Capacity: