The SEC Women’s Basketball tournament tipped off today with a rout. 9-seeded and 18th-ranked Tennessee handily defeated 16-seeded Texas A&M this morning 77-37 in Greenville, South Carolina.
No. 9 Tennessee vs. No. 16 Texas A&M Stats
| 1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | Total | |
| 16. TAMU | 13 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 37 |
| 9. TENN | 11 | 21 | 28 | 17 | 77 |
Shooting Percentages:
- TAMU: 26.5% FG (13-49), 6.7% 3PT (1-15), 71.4% FT (10-14)
- TENN: 35% FG (28-80), 22.2% 3PT (8-36), 81.3% FT (13-16)
Bench Points:
- TAMU: 8
- TENN: 39
Turnovers Forced (Points off Turnovers):
- TAMU: 7 (5)
- TENN: 32 (37)
Rebounds (Def/Off):
- TAMU: 41 (33/8)
- TENN: 43 (26/17)
Tennessee Moves on in SEC Tournament
With a larger conference in 2025, the SEC expanded its 14-team bracket to a 16-team bracket. The league still kept its format, where the top four seeds receive a double-bye and seeds five through eight get a single bye. This time around, however, the nine and ten seeds have to play an extra game against the two added teams.
Before the tournament started, Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell expressed concern for her squad following their last home game of the season. The Lady Vols had just lost consecutive games, and redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper had left their last game of the regular season with an injury.
“I know she rolled her ankle, and I haven’t seen her since,” Caldwell told reporters after their loss to Georgia. “We have one day of practice before we hit the road and try to play ourselves out of this.”
Fortunately for Caldwell, Cooper was available for their playoff game off the bench. The second-team All-SEC selection scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds, had three helpers, and tacked on three steals to round out her performance.
Additionally, Tennessee had two starters in double figures; junior forward Zee Spearman and senior guard Jewel Spear each had 11 points.
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It was not all doom and gloom for Texas A&M however. Senior guard Sahara Jones had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds in the loss. However, it was not nearly enough, as the Aggies ended their season with a first-round exit in the SEC tournament.
Tennessee will continue on with a game against their in-state rival in No. 8 seed Vanderbilt. They will face off tomorrow in Greenville at 11 a.m.
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