DULUTH — Jennifer O’Neill sank 3-pointers on each end of a 15-0 run early in the second half that gave Kentucky the lead, and the Wildcats rolled past Georgia 60-38 on Saturday night to earn a spot in the SEC tournament championship game.
DeNesh Stallworth had 18 points for No. 7 Kentucky (27-4), which will face No. 19 Texas A&M in tonight’s final.
The Wildcats, who lost to Tennessee in the 2010 and 2011 championship games, will play for their first championship since 1982.
Jasmine Hassell led No. 12 Georgia (25-6) with 17 points. Georgia, which made only 22.2 percent of its shots (14 of 63), led 24-19 at halftime and stretched the lead to seven points before Kentucky took control with its 15-0 run.
The Wildcats closed with a 13-0 run as Georgia didn’t score in the final 6 minutes.
A’dia Mathies had 11 points as Kentucky’s second scorer in double figures. O’Neill had nine points.
The Lady Bulldogs struggled against Kentucky’s defense, which led the SEC in steals and blocked shots. Anne Marie Armstrong made only one of 13 shots, Tiaria Griffin was 1 of 10 and Jasmine James was 4 of 14 for nine points.
Each team had shooting problems in the first half. Georgia shot only 8 of 34 shots (23.5 percent) from the field. Kentucky was 7 of 27 (25.9 percent) as it had difficulty passing to Stallworth and Samarie Walker inside.
Hassell, who had 13 points in the first half, had the first points of the second half to stretch the Lady Bulldogs’ lead to seven points.
GEORGIA (25-6)
Armstrong 1-13 0-0 2, Hassell 6-10 5-6 17, James 4-14 1-3 9, Griffin 1-10 0-0 2, Barbee 0-1 1-2 1, Miller 1-6 0-0 3, Hempe 0-3 0-0 0, Donald 1-1 0-0 2, Willis 0-0 0-1 0, Butler 0-0 2-2 2, Ford 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 14-63 9-14 38.
KENTUCKY (27-4)
Walker 1-3 0-0 2, Stallworth 9-16 0-0 18, O’Neill 3-8 1-2 9, Mathies 5-11 0-1 11, Evans 2-4 0-0 6, Thompson 1-3 1-2 4, Pinkett 0-1 0-0 0, Sidney 0-0 0-0 0, Goss 1-4 5-5 7, Drake 0-0 0-0 0, Henderson 0-1 0-0 0, Bishop 1-5 1-2 3. Totals 23-56 8-12 60.
Halftime—UGA 24-19. 3-Point Goals—UGA 1-18 (Miller 1-4, James 0-2, Armstrong 0-6, Griffin 0-6), Kentucky 6-13 (Evans 2-3, O’Neill 2-3, Mathies 1-2, Thompson 1-2, Goss 0-1, Bishop 0-1, Pinkett 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—UGA 48 (Hassell 9), Kentucky 38 (Bishop 6). Assists—UGA 2 (Armstrong, James 1), Kentucky 12 (O’Neill 4). Total Fouls—UGA 14, Kentucky 15. A—6,630.
NO. 19 TEXAS A&M 66,
NO. 9 TENNESSEE 62
DULUTH — Courtney Williams’ jumper with 33 seconds remaining gave No. 19 Texas A&M the lead and the Aggies went on to beat ninth-ranked Tennessee in the SEC semifinals, ending the Lady Vols’ bid for a fourth straight championship.
Courtney Walker had 18 points to lead four scorers in double figures for Texas A&M (23-9).
Taber Spani had a career-high 33 points for top-seeded Tennessee (24-7), the SEC’s regular-season champion. The Aggies, the No. 4 seed, are playing in their first SEC tournament.
Spani’s last basket tied the game at 62-62 before Williams gave the Aggies the lead following a Tennessee timeout.
Kamiko Williams’ driving attempt for Tennessee bounced off the rim and Walker made two free throws with 6 seconds remaining to pad the lead.
ACC
NO. 15 NORTH CAROLINA 72,
NO. 10 MARYLAND 65
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Latifah Coleman scored 15 of her career-high 17 points in the final six-plus minutes and No. 15 North Carolina beat No. 10 Maryland in an Atlantic Coast Conference semifinal.
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt added 20 points for the third-seeded Tar Heels (28-5).
NO. 6 DUKE 72,
NO. 23 FLORIDA STATE 66
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Haley Peters had 17 points and 13 rebounds — including the go-ahead basket with 4:06 left — to help sixth-ranked Duke beat No. 23 Florida State in the ACC tournament semifinals.
Tricia Liston also scored 17 for the top-seeded Blue Devils (29-2), who never trailed.