Vanderbilt upsets No. 18 Tennessee 84-76 in SEC Tournament

By Canadian Press on March 6, 2025.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Freshman Mikayla Blakes scored 24 points, Iyana Moore had 23 points and four 3-pointers, and Vanderbilt beat No. 18 Tennessee 84-76 on Thursday in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

Vanderbilt beat Tennessee twice in a single season for the first time in series history, including a 71-70 victory on Jan. 19 when Blakes made a putback with 0.8 seconds left.

Vanderbilt (22-9) will play No. 1 seed and fifth-ranked South Carolina on Friday in the quarterfinals. The Commodores lost the regular-season matchup 82-54 on Feb. 23.

Pierre finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds for Vanderbilt. Blakes recorded her 19th 20-point game of the season.

Ruby Whitehorn led Tennessee (22-9) with 14 points. Samara Spencer, Talaysia Cooper and Jewel Spear each scored 13 points.

NO. 10 OKLAHOMA 70, GEORGIA 52

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 22 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, as the Sooners extended their winning streak to eight games with a victory over the Bulldogs in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Oklahoma’s win sets up a rematch Friday with No. 12 Kentucky, which handed the Sooners their most recent loss on Feb. 2, 95-86. That victory proved to be a key tiebreaker, allowing the Wildcats to earn the last remaining double bye in the tournament over the Sooners after the teams finished tied for fourth in conference play.

Liz Scott added 11 points and eight rebounds for the Sooners (24-6).

NO. 14 NORTH CAROLINA 78, BOSTON COLLEGE 71

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Lexi Donarski scored 20 points to help the Tar Heels beat the Eagles and advance to the ACC Tournament quarterfinals for the third time in four years.

North Carolina (26-6), the No. 5 seed, will play No. 4 seed and 22nd-ranked Florida State on Friday. The Seminoles won the first meeting 86-84 on Jan. 26 when Ta’niya Latson scored at the buzzer.

North Carolina started the game on an 11-0 run and held the lead until Kennedi Jackson scored with 1:58 left in the third quarter to give Boston College a 51-50 lead. It was tied entering the fourth before Kaylah Ivey and Teya Sidberry combined for a 9-0 run on three 3-pointers to push the Eagles in front.

FLORIDA 63, NO. 19 ALABAMA 61

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Freshman Liv McGill scored 11 of her season-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and No. 11 seed Florida hung on to stun 19th-ranked and sixth-seeded Alabama in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Florida (16-16) beat a ranked team for the first time since 2022 and moves on to play No. 3 seed LSU in Friday’s quarterfinals. The Gators advanced with a 60-50 victory over 14th-seeded Auburn on Wednesday.

McGill scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and made two free throws with 49 seconds remaining to give Florida a 61-53 lead.

Sarah Ashlee Barker and Zaay Green hit 3-pointers and Barker’s layup capped an 8-1 run as Alabama pulled within a point with 16 seconds left. Laila Reynolds made the second of two free throws for the Gators and blocked a shot by Barker at the buzzer to preserve the victory. Diana Collins missed a 3-pointer for the Crimson Tide prior to the block.

NO. 20 KANSAS ST. 80, UCF 65

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Serena Sundell scored 19 of her 21 points in the second half to lead the Wildcats over the Knights in the Big 12 Tournament.

Kansas State (26-6) equaled its win total from last season, with the 52 wins tied for the third-most over a two-season span in program history.

The Wildcats have advanced at least one round in 21 of the previous 28 Big 12 championships. Kansas State will play No. 4 seed and 16th-ranked West Virginia in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Wildcats lost 70-57 to the then-No. 17 Mountaineers on Feb. 17.

IOWA 74, NO. 24 MICHIGAN STATE 61

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Lucy Olson scored 21 points and got her ninth assist by finding Kylie Feuerbach open in the corner for a 3-pointer in the final minute that slammed the door on Iowa’s win over No. 24 Michigan State at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the second round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament.

With former teammate Caitlin Clark cheering them on, the Hawkeyes earned their 11th straight conference tournament victory to advance to the quarterfinal round and a rematch with No. 8-ranked and third-seeded Ohio State. Iowa (22-9) has played in five of the last six Big Ten Tournament championship games.

Julia Ayrault hit two first-quarter 3-pointers to stake Michigan State to a 16-12 lead to start the second quarter, but Iowa opened with a 16-0 run that was fueled by Hannah Stuekle’s eight points. The Spartans took a brief lead midway through the third period, but Ava Heiden scored six straight points and Iowa took a 54-48 lead to start the fourth quarter. Ayrault hit two free throws to cut the Spartans’ deficit to five with 2:49 left. After Ayrault committed Michigan State’s 24th turnover, Olson drove into the lane and kicked a pass to an open Feuerbach in the corner for the 3 to push the lead into double digits with 54 seconds left.

Olson finished with five rebounds and four of the Hawkeyes’ 16 steals. Stuelke posted 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds with four steals. Taylor McCabe was 4 of 10 from beyond the arc to add 12 points and Heiden scored 11 points off the bench.

Ayrault led Michigan State (21-9) with 17 points. Grace VanSlooten scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Ines Sotelo added 11 points off the bench.

NO. 25 S. DAKOTA ST. 87, OMAHA 67

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Brooklyn Meyer scored 16 points as the Jackrabbits cruised to a win over the Mavericks in the Summit League Tournament, giving them 57-straight wins over conference opponents.

South Dakota State, which beat the Mavericks by 38 and 30 points in the regular season, plays in Saturday’s semifinal against the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal between No. 4 seed St. Thomas and No. 5 North Dakota.

The Jackrabbits have gone through three regular seasons unbeaten in league games and have won the past two tournaments.

_____

The Associated Press