GAMEDAY Womens Basketball
Tennessee 69, Louisiana State 67
(AP Photo/Mic Smith)
By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Rickea Jackson scored 26 points and Jordan Horston 17 as Tennessee rallied from 17 points down to defeat No. 4 LSU 69-67 and reach its first Southeastern Conference tournament championship game since 2015.
Jackson and Horston both had double-doubles, each with 10 rebounds in the improbable comeback.
LSU seemed in control, up 40-26 at halftime with Angel Reese and Alexis Morris leading the way. But Tennessee, behind Jackson and Horston, steadily reeled in the Tigers.
The Lady Vols will face No. 1 South Carolina for the league crown.
Jackson's basket tied it at 56 and Horston followed with two straight jumpers to give Tennessee its first lead at 60-58 with 5:12 to play.
The Tigers got within 68-67 on Morris' steal and breakaway layup with 1:24. They had the ball in the final 15 seconds when Reese was called for an offensive foul on her drive to the basket.
After Tess Darby made one of two foul shots, LSU got a final chance. But Morris' 35-footer at the buzzer was off-target.
The Lady Vols stormed the court and jumped around in celebration. They'll have to collect themselves quickly and refocus to face undefeated South Carolina for the trophy.
Reese finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds her 28th double-double in 30 games this season. Her six made free throws gave her 204 this year to break LSU's single-season mark set by Maree Jackson in 1977-78.
Morris ended with 20 points for the Tigers.
BIG PICTURE
Tennessee: The Lady Vols may have improved their chance to be a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament and host the first two rounds at their site. The team was not among the top 16 teams in the last NCAA reveal. This could push them up a line.
LSU: Tigers coach Kim Mulkey has made it clear that LSU won't have “arrived” as a top-tier program until they win championships. That chance disappeared with their second-half meltdown.
March 4, 2023
| Tennessee | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| R. Jackson | F | 38 | 9-16 | 8-9 | 0-0 | 3-10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 26 |
| K. Striplin | F | 15 | 1-3 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| T. Darby | G | 37 | 2-5 | 4-5 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| J. Horston | G | 35 | 7-18 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 2-10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 17 |
| J. Walker | G | 35 | 0-6 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 4-6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| J. Hollingshead | 17 | 4-8 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | |
| J. Powell | 9 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| J. Franklin | 7 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| S. Puckett | 7 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 200 | 23-60 (.383) |
21-25 (.840) |
2-11 (.182) |
15-37 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 16 | 69 | |
| LSU | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| L. Williams | F | 34 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3-9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| A. Reese | F | 32 | 8-16 | 6-8 | 0-0 | 6-11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 22 |
| F. Johnson | G | 38 | 4-11 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 3-5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| A. Morris | G | 38 | 9-20 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 0-1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 20 |
| J. Carson | G | 20 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Poole | 22 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| S. Smith | 11 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| L. Poa | 5 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| Totals | 200 | 28-65 (.431) |
7-9 (.778) |
4-13 (.308) |
14-35 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 19 | 67 | |
Officials: Eric Brewton, Maj Forsberg, Dee Kantner
Attendance: 10,471
