Lady Vols lose regular-season finale at South Carolina

Tennessee falls to No. 1 and undefeated South Carolina in regular-season finale.

No. 1 South Carolina (29-0, 16-0 SEC) defeated Tennessee (17-11, 10-6 SEC), 76-68, Sunday in the regular-season finale for both schools at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.

The Gamecocks led, 40-32, at halftime.

Rickea Jackson scored a game-high 29 points for the Lady Vols. She also totaled eight rebounds, three blocks, two assists and one steal. Jackson was one of three Tennessee players to score 10-plus points in the contest.

Jasmine Powell and Jewel Spear scored 12 points each for Tennessee.

Tennessee will next play in the SEC Tournament on Thursday against the winner of Wednesday’s first-round game between No. 12 seed Georgia and No. 13 Kentucky.

Tennessee is the No. 5 seed and is scheduled to play at 2:10 p.m. EST in Greenville, South Carolina.

The Lady Vols defeated Georgia, 95-73, on Feb. 1. Tennessee also defeated the Wildcats, 87-69, on Jan. 7.