Takeaways: Lady Vols Cannot Overcome Kentucky's Shooting Night, Fall to the Wildcats in Semifinals

NASHVILLE, Tenn.– The No. 3 seed Lady Vols fell to the No. 7 seed Kentucky Wildcats in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament 83-74

Tennessee trailed for the entire 40 minutes but kept it close with the Wildcats until the final minute. Kentucky shot at an incredible rate from three-point range, drilling 12 of their 24 attempts.

Alexus Dye was the bright spot for the Lady Vols, posting a season-high 26 points along with ten rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season and second in as many days.

With the win, Kentucky advances to the SEC Tournament finals to face No. 1 seed South Carolina, and the Lady Vols will prepare for round one of the NCAA Tournament.

Below are a few takeaways from the Lady Vols' loss in Nashville:

Kentucky Makes 12 Threes, Shoots 50 Percent From Deep

The Wildcats began the night on fire from deep and never slowed down, scoring 36 of their 83 points from beyond the arc.

Four Wildcats made multiple threes, and Robyn Benton led the way with four.

The Lady Vols did a terrific job guarding the paint in the first half, but Kentucky found other ways to hurt Tennessee, making nine threes in the first 20 minutes.

In the second half, Tennessee did a better job of shutting down the perimeter as the Cats were only able to make three threes, but with Tamari Key in foul trouble, Rhyne Howard was able to score 13 second-half points and lead her team to the win.

Kentucky's fast start put the Lady Vols on their heels early, and UT could never fully recover despite going on runs that built plenty of momentum in front of an orange crowd.

The Wildcats have now defeated the Tournament's No. 2 seed and No. 3 seed in back-to-back days and will look to top No. 1 seed South Carolina to earn their first SEC Women's Basketball Tournament title in 40 years.

TK Finds Herself in Foul Trouble

Tamari Key finished the night having played 22 minutes, as two early fouls for the junior center spelled a tough night for Key.

Key totaled four fouls, with her fourth being called 30 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Tennessee leaned on Karoline Striplin when Key was not on the court, and the freshman did well scoring a conference play career-high seven points. But when Kentucky's offense began o find their footing in the paint in the second half, every second longer Key could have been on the court would have helped Tennessee.

Tennessee Fought For 40, Led By Alexus Dye

Despite the loss, Alexus Dye played near flawless basketball for the second night in a row, totaling 26 points and ten rebounds for back-to-back double-doubles in the tournament.

The number of games remaining for Dye as a collegiate athlete is dwindling, but the graduate senior is making them count, as she has put together her best two games of the season in the same number of days.

In addition to Dye, Rae Burrell continued to find a groove on offense, recording 16 points on 6-15 (2-4 3-pt.) shooting. Burrell also captured eight boards, as she and Dye accounted for nearly half of UT's rebound total on the night.

The Lady Vols' freshmen in Kaiya Wynn, Brooklynn Miles and Karoline Striplin also made their presence known against Kentucky. Miles was the reason for several big points for the Lady Vols when they were trying to build momentum. The freshman out-hustled Kentucky and netted breathtaking layups on multiple occasions.

Striplin did well offensively and swatted one Wildcat shot, and Wynn played 17 minutes and recorded six rebounds. Wynn was also the ONLY Lady Vol with a positive +/-, earning a +8 on the night for Tennessee.

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Dye, Burrell, and the freshmen's performances over the last two days are encouraging as Tennessee looks to the NCAA Tournament. Still, Kentucky's style of high-tempo offense with excellent shooters is not alone in a 64-team tournament. The Lady Vols must find a way to make up for Jordan Horston's rebounds, as Tennessee let the Cats grab 17 offensive boards on Saturday night. And Tennessee can not find themselves in a track meet, as the Lady Vols are not a team who can post 83 points any given night. The defense must return.

If it does and Tennessee keeps their offensive consistency, a Sweet Sixteen (or better) appearance is undoubtedly possible.

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