Dre’una Edwards drained a straightaway 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds left to give Kentucky a stunning 64-62 upset of top-ranked South Carolina on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference women’s tournament title game at Nashville, Tenn.
Edwards’ shot gave the seventh-seeded Wildcats their first SEC tournament crown since 1982. Kentucky’s four tournament victories included wins over top-seeded South Carolina, second-seeded LSU and third-seeded Tennessee as it claimed the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
“They told me to shoot it,” Edwards said in a postgame television interview. “… Anyone who was open was to shoot it and I was open and I let it go.”
Edwards, who scored the game’s final seven points, had 12 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter for Kentucky (19-11), which won its 10th consecutive game. This is just the second time the Wildcats have won the SEC tournament.
Aliyah Boston had 21 points and 11 rebounds for South Carolina (29-2), which was outscored 14-2 over the final 5:25. Still, the powerful Gamecocks will land a No. 1 seed and could be the top overall seed when the 68-team women’s field is announced on March 13.
–Field Level Media