KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A’ja Wilson scored 25 points as No. 3 South Carolina beat No. 24 Tennessee 62-56 on Monday night to clinch at least a share of its third straight Southeastern Conference women’s basketball title.
South Carolina (24-1, 12-0) won the SEC regular-season championship outright in 2014 and tied Tennessee for first place last season. The Gamecocks can clinch the championship outright Thursday by beating Georgia.
Tennessee (15-10, 6-6) led 35-32 in the third quarter before South Carolina’s Tiffany Mitchell scored six straight points to help the Gamecocks take control. After hitting a game-tying 3-pointer, Mitchell made a basket that put South Carolina ahead for good with 2:47 left in the third.
The Lady Vols were within three points with seven minutes left before South Carolina went on a 12-2 run to seal the victory.
Diamond DeShields scored 21 points and Bashaara Graves had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Tennessee.
