GREENVILLE, S.C. -- No. 5 seed Tennessee (19-11, 10-6 SEC) will meet No. 1 seed South Carolina (30-0, 16-0 SEC) at 4:30 p.m. ET in the SEC Tournament Semifinals on Saturday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.

The Lady Vols advanced to their fourth straight and 37th overall SEC Tournament semifinal by defeating No. 12 seed Kentucky (76-62) on Thursday and No. 4 seed Alabama (83-61) on Friday. The Gamecocks, meanwhile, enjoyed a double bye in the tourney and defeated Texas A&M (79-68) Friday to move on.

Tennessee and South Carolina are squaring off for the third time in 24 days and the second occasion in a week. UT was within three late in Columbia last Sunday before USC held on for its narrowest margin at home this year, 76-68. The teams had 14 lead changes and 11 ties in Knoxville on Feb. 15, including a deadlock heading to the fourth, before South Carolina prevailed, 66-55.

UT and USC are meeting for the eighth time in the SEC Tourney. USC leads, 4-3.

BROADCAST DETAILS

• Courtney Lyle (PxP), Carolyn Peck (Analyst) and Brooke Weisbrod (Reporter) will have the call for ESPNU.
• All games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
• The contest can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice providing play-by-play. Jay Lifford is the studio host.
• A link to the live audio stream can be found on the Hoops Central page or the schedule on UTSports.com. 
• For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then select the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
• Air time is typically 30 minutes before tip-off. 

SEASON RESET

• After functioning without All-America and SEC Player of the Year candidate Rickea Jackson for eight games from Nov. 13 to Dec. 10 and posting a 4-4 record during her absence, Tennessee has been a drastically different team since she was cleared following a lower leg injury.
• The Lady Vols are 14-6 since Jackson returned to action, finished tied for fourth in the SEC standings and sit at No. 32 in the NET after facing one of the nation's most challenging schedules, including match-ups with No. 1/1 South Carolina (three times after Sat.) and vs. No. 9/7 LSU in four of the past eight games.
• As of March 8, Women's Bracketology had UT as a No. 8 seed for the NCAA Tournament, facing No. 9 Iowa State in the first round at Stanford in the Portland 2 Regional. The winner would play the victor of No. 1 seed Stanford vs. #16 Lamar. 
• A Tennessee appearance would be a record 42nd, standing as the only team to make every tournament.
• Among UT's triumphs in 2023-24 are top-64 NET wins over No. 25 Oklahoma, No. 31 Alabama, No. 41 Texas A&M,  No. 47 Auburn, No. 48 Mississippi State, No. 57 Vanderbilt (twice) and No. 60 Florida. The win over Oklahoma in November was without Rickea Jackson.
• Tennessee led at the half and was tied after three quarters vs. No. 1/1 South Carolina on Feb. 15 in a game featuring 14 lead changes and 11 ties that USC ultimately won, 66-55, for its second narrowest margin of victory in SEC play this season.
• The Lady Vols also were within three in the last five minutes at undefeated South Carolina on March 3 before limiting the Gamecocks to their closest margin of victory at home all season, 76-68.
• UT also had a 75-60 setback vs. LSU, in which the Lady Vols trailed by one with 7:30 remaining in the game.
• In addition to getting Jackson back in the lineup, Tennessee has been bolstered by the continued improvement of 6-foot-6 center Tamari Key. The school's all-time leading shot blocker was sidelined after eight games a year ago due to blood clots in her lungs and understandably needed time to reacclimate to the rigors of the game.
• Tennessee also has had to overcome the loss of reserve point guard Destinee Wells, who suffered a lower leg injury just prior to the Wofford game and is out for the season. Fifth-year standout Jasmine Powell impressively picked up more of the load, and junior Kaiya Wynn has stepped up and provided a spark off the bench on both ends of the floor.
• With the players available for the past 20 contests stepping into and accepting their roles, the Lady Vols have competed cohesively as a team, with different players each game emerging to provide valuable contributions in starring and support capacities.

FAMILIAR FACES

• Tennessee guard Talaysia Cooper, who is redshirting this season, played her freshman year at South Carolina in 2022-23 before entering the transfer portal.
• South Carolina assistant coach Jolette Law was an assistant at Tennessee on former head coach Holly Warlick's staff from 2012-17 before moving to Columbia.
• Lady Vols Rickea Jackson and Jewel Spear played on the silver medalist USA team at the 2023 FIBA Women's AmeriCup in Leon, Mexico, July 1-9. So did South Carolina's Raven Johnson.
• During that tournament, the American side faced Brazil and South Carolina's Kamilla Cardoso in Group A play and in the gold medal game, with Cardoso and a very seasoned Brazilian squad taking both contests against a U.S. contingent made up of exclusively college players.
• Jackson led the USA in scoring (14.6 ppg.) and Spear led her team in three-pointers made (10) during the tourney, while Cardoso contributed 10.9 ppg. and 8.3 rpg. to her country's cause.

MILESTONE WATCH

• Rickea Jackson, who became the ninth Lady Vol to surpass 2,000 career points on Feb. 4 vs. Missouri, now has 2,180 (combining her time at Mississippi State and Tennessee) and passed Candace Parker (2,137, 2005-08) with 29 points in the South Carolina game on March 3 to move into sixth on UT's all-time scorers list, including transfers.
• In terms of Jackson's points tallied at Tennessee, the 49th Lady Vol to reach 1K now has 1,095 and sits in 42nd place after passing Peggy Evans (1,076, 1990-93) and Sidney Spencer (1,088, 2003-07) vs. Alabama in the SEC Tournament.
• Jackson is one point behind No. 41 Tiffany Woosley (1,096, 1991-95), four back of No. 40 Nicky Anosike (1,099, 2004-08), nine shy of No. 39 Paula Towns (1,104, 1980-84) and 33 behind No. 38 Lea Henry (1,128, 1979-83).
• Tamari Key became the 50th player to tally 1,000 career points for Tennessee, doing so against Texas A&M and pushing her total to 1,004. She now has 1,017 and has moved past Michelle Marciniak (1,004, 1993-96) into 49th and is one point behind Diamond DeShields in 48th (1,018, 2015-17) and 36 shy of No. 47 Taber Spani (1,053, 2009-13).
• Rickea Jackson's 19.3 ppg. career average in two seasons at Tennessee stands at No. 5 in school history with Candace Parker (19.4, 2005-08) just ahead of her. 
• Tamari Key is in sole possession of sixth on the SEC all-time blocks list after passing South Carolina's Aliyah Boston (330, 2019-23) with two vs. LSU.  Key now has 340 swats and is chasing Vanessa Hayden of Florida, who stands in fifth place with 357 from 2001-04. 
• On the glass, Tamari Key reached 700 career rebounds with six vs. Kentucky on March 7 (704) and joined Jackson, who eclipsed 700 at Vanderbilt on Feb. 18. 
• Against Kentucky on Thursday, Tess Darby's two threes moved her past Ariel Massengale (164, 2011-15) into fifth with 166 three-pointers made in her career at UT. 
• Darby ranks No. 7 in career three-pointers attempted at 447. Ariel Massengale (455, 2011-15) is in sixth.
• Jewel Spear hit six three-pointers in the Alabama game to surpass 300 treys (304) for her career.
• Spear has hit 63 threes in 2023-24 and needs six to move into the UT single-season top 10, where teammate Tess Darby's 70 treys last year rank No. 9.
• Jasmine Powell has a career-best 123 assists and needs 35 more to crack the UT season top 10.

PLAYING THREE NO. 1 TEAMS IN A SEASON

• UT's meeting with South Carolina marks the third time this season it has played the nation's No. 1 team.
• This is the fifth time in program history a Lady Vols squad has played three No. 1-ranked units in the same campaign.
• It is, however, only the second occasion when Tennessee faced the same team all three times. The other time came in 1999-2000, when the Big Orange played No. 1 UConn in three games.
• UT also took on No. 1 three times in 1983-84 (So. Cal., So. Cal, La Tech), 1996-97 (Stanford, UConn, UConn)and 2002-03 (Duke, Duke, UConn).
• Tennessee went 0-3 in 1983-84 and 1-2 in 1996-97, 1999-2000 and 2002-03.
• UT's last win over a No. 1 came on March 6, 2005, in Greenville, when No. 5/4 UT beat LSU, 67-65, in the championship game.

TENNESSEE IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT

• UT is making its 37th berth all-time in the semifinals and is 24-12 in previous contests after toppling No. 2 seed LSU here in 2023, 69-67.
• This marks the fourth straight season Kellie Harper has guided her squad into the semifinal round.
• In SEC Tournament play, the Big Orange women are 3-4 vs. South Carolina, dropping the past four.
• The Lady Vols are attempting to make their 25th trip to the SEC Tournament championship game. 
• UT last advanced to the title game a year ago as a No. 3 seed, defeating No. 14 seed Kentucky in the quarterfinals, 80-71; and No. 2 LSU in the semifinals, 69-67; before falling to No. 1 seed South Carolina, 74-58, in Greenville.
• Tennessee is seeking to capture its league-leading 18th SEC Tournament championship trophy and is 17-7 in title games. 
• UT won in 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.
• The Lady Vols have been runners-up on seven occasions, including 1982, 1990, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2015 and 2023.
• Tennessee is 86-27 (.761) all-time in the 45th year of the tourney.  
• The Big Orange women are 31-11 in SEC Tournament play since 2007-08.
• Tennessee made its seventh consecutive appearance in the SEC quarterfinals this year and its league-leading 44th trip all-time, holding a 37-7 record. 
• The Lady Vols are now 40-5 all-time in their opening game of the SEC Tournament (5-1 in second round games) after beating Kentucky and stand 28-12 in their second contest after beating Alabama.
• Tennessee has had 15 SEC Tournament MVPs through the years.
•  Isabelle Harrison (2014), Glory Johnson (2012), Shekinna Stricklen (2011) and Alyssia Brewer (2010) were the past four MVPs from Tennessee.
• The Lady Vols won the very first SEC Tournament title in 1980, defeating Ole Miss, 85-71, at Stokely Athletics Center in Knoxville.

HARPER IN THE LEAGUE TOURNEY

• Kellie Harper is 7-4 in SEC Tournament games as Tennessee's head coach, including 6-3 in Greenville and 1-1 in Nashville.
• She has taken UT to at least the semifinals the past four seasons, including the title game in 2023.
• The Lady Vols were the No. 6 seed in 2020, No. 3 seed in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and are fifth in 2024. 
• Kellie (Jolly) Harper had an 11-1 record at the SEC Tournament during her time as a student-athlete at UT with postseason tournament titles in 1996, 1998 and 1999. The only loss was in the 1997 semifinals.

SEC TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE

• Tennessee entered the 2023 event with eight active players possessing experience in the SEC Tournament, including Tess Darby, Jillian Hollingshead, Rickea Jackson, Tamari Key, Jasmine Powell, Sara Puckett, Karoline Striplin and Kaiya Wynn.
• The Kentucky game marked the first SEC Tournament action for two Lady Vols, including Jewel Spear and Avery Strickland, though those two had previous conference tourney experience in the ACC with Wake Forest and Pitt, respectively.
• Transfer Talaysia Cooper also has experience but is redshirting after playing in two games for South Carolina a year ago. 
• Two Lady Vols have been to the SEC Tournament with other teams, including Jillian Hollingshead with Georgia and Rickea Jackson with Mississippi State.
• Jackson saw action in the SEC event in 2019-20 and 2020-21, while Hollingshead did not play in the 2022 tourney in Nashville due to injury.
• Jackson made the SEC All-Tournament Team as a freshman in 2020 at MSU and in 2023 at UT.
• A year ago, Jackson averaged 25.7 ppg. and 7.7 rpg. through three contests.
• She poured in a season-high 34 points against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament, going a perfect 14 of 14 from the free-throw line to claim the program record for the highest free-throw percentage (100.0 pct.) with the most made attempts.
• She produced a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds in UT's SEC Tournament Semifinal win over No. 4/3 LSU.
• Jackson finished with a 17/9 effort vs. South Carolina in the title game in 2023.

BACK IN GREENVILLE

• This marks the seventh time Greenville has played host to the SEC Tournament. 
• UT stands at 10-5 in games played in the city after defeating Alabama in the 2024 quarterfinals.
• Kellie Harper is 6-3 as a head coach in SEC Tourney games played at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, taking her team to the championship game in 2023.
• No. 2 seed Tennessee defeated #1 seed LSU in the tourney title game, 67-56, on March 6, 2005, the first time the event was held in Greenville.
• Shyra Ely was named the SEC Tournament MVP that year, while Shanna Zolman and Brittany Jackson joined her on the all-tournament team.
• UT beat Auburn in the second round (64-54) and Vanderbilt in the semifinals (76-73) that year.

RECAPPING THE ALABAMA GAME

• No. 5 seed Tennessee continued to display its strength down the stretch this season, rolling past No. 4 seed Alabama, 83-61, on Friday afternoon and advancing to the semifinals of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
• The Lady Vols, who led 19-14 after the first quarter, improved their overall record to 19-11 this season and upped their mark in SEC quarterfinal round action to 37-7 all-time by outscoring the Crimson Tide (23-10) by a 23-15 count in the second stanza and a 26-15 margin in the third frame to turn the game into a blowout. The victory avenged a 72-56 loss to UA in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 8.
• UT senior guard Jewel Spear turned in a stellar performance, connecting on eight of 11 field goal attempts, including a 6-of-6, season-best day beyond the arc, to lead all scorers with 24 points. Fifth-year forward Rickea Jackson came up a rebound shy of a double-double, turning in a 22-point, nine-rebound effort, while junior forward Sara Puckett was in double figures for the second day in a row with 10 points to go along with seven boards.
• Alabama had two scoring in double figures, with Sarah Ashlee Barker leading the way with 17 and Loyal McQueen adding 15.

POSTGAME NOTES VS. THE TIDE

• FEAR DA SPEAR: Jewel Spear put on a show vs. Alabama, tallying a team-high 24 points and notching a perfect 6-of-6 mark from deep, hitting her season high in threes and tying for the 11th-most in a game in UT history. That shooting effort tied a UT record for most threes in a perfect shooting effort and set an SEC Tournament record in that category. She also surpassed 300 treys in her career, moving her total to 304. The guard's performance marked her seventh game with 20+ points and her 11th contest with 3+ 3-pointers in 2023-24. Spear has now led the Lady Vols in scoring on seven occasions this season.
• FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS: Tennessee shot 50 percent or better the first three quarters while holding the Tide to 43 percent or under in all four periods. The Lady Vols, who hit 50.8 for the game vs. Alabama on Friday, have shot 50 percent or better in three or more quarters in seven games this season, including four quarters above the 50-percent mark in their season opener vs. Florida A&M. UT marked its seventh game of 2023-24 with 50-percent shooting or better and its eighth straight contest of holding foes to 41 percent or less shooting from the field.
• ANOTHER 20+ POINT GAME FOR KEA: With 22 points in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, Rickea Jackson posted her 10th 20+ point game this season and the 26th of her two-year tenure at UT. That mark ranks fifth all-time in a career on Rocky Top.
• REBOUNDING EFFORT CONTINUES: The Lady Vols, who entered ranked No. 9 nationally in rebounds per game at 43.54, carried their impressive rebounding effort into the postseason, out-rebounding Alabama, 43-28. UT has won the rebounding war 122 times in 157 games through the UA contest in the Harper era, including 89 by double digits. In 2023-24, UT has out-rebounded foes in 19 of 30 contests thus far.  The effort also flipped the script on a 42-39 deficit the last time these teams played on Feb. 8 in Tuscaloosa.
• LOVE YA, BLUE!: Tennessee donned its historic Lady Vol blue uniform combination on Friday, and UT improved to 4-1 in that kit, including 3-0 this season. UT beat Florida (88-81) and Missouri (80-69) on Jan. 11 and Feb. 4, respectively, in 2023-24 before breaking it out again against Alabama. Tennessee re-introduced the blue on Jan. 15, 2023, in a 68-55 home triumph over Georgia, and the only loss in Lady Vol blue came on Feb. 6, 2023, in a road setback at Mississippi State.

UT/USC SERIES NOTES

• Tennessee is 23-5 in Knoxville, 21-5 in Columbia and 7-5 at neutral sites vs. South Carolina.
• The Lady Vols are 3-4 vs. USC in the SEC Tourney.
• UT is 5-5 vs. USC in the postseason and is 1-0 in OT, taking a 79-73 extra-frame decision over the Gamecocks in the Palmetto State on Feb. 15, 1996. 
• Tennessee captured the regular-season meeting three years ago, coming from 16-down and erasing a 15-point third-quarter deficit en route to toppling the No. 2/3 Gamecocks in Knoxville, 75-67, on Feb. 18.
• Kellie Harper has a 2-10 record vs. USC as a head coach. She is 1-7 while at UT and was 0-1 at Western Carolina and 1-2 at NC State. 
• Harper was 5-0 vs. USC as a player, participating in the only OT game between these schools in 1996.
• This marks the second time UT and USC have met three times in a season. It also happened in 2018.

A LOOK AT THE GAMECOCKS

• Kamilla Cardoso (14.2), MiLaysia Fulwiley (11.4) and Te-Hina Pao-Pao (11.3) fuel the nation's third-highest scoring unit (86.7) and leader in scoring margin (+31.5).
• Cardoso is tops (9.8) for a team ranked No. 4 in rebounds per game (46.83).
• USC's defense is ranked No. 1 in FG% defense (31.6).

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

• Dawn Staley is in her 16th season at South Carolina, forging a 432-106 mark there.
• She led USC to NCAA titles in 2017 and 2022.
• South Carolina has won eight SEC regular season and seven postseason tourney titles under Staley.
• Staley won three Olympic gold medals as a player and guided the USA to gold in 2020 as head coach.

SOUTH CAROLINA'S MOST RECENT GAME

• Kamilla Cardoso scored 17 points and Tessa Johnson 13 as No. 1 South Carolina overcame a slow start to the postseason to beat ninth-seeded Texas A&M 79-68 Friday at the SEC Tournament and reach 30 wins for a third straight season.
• The Gamecocks (30-0) will play fifth-seeded Tennessee in Saturday's semifinals.
• Aicha Coulibaly had a career-high 32 points to lead Texas A&M (19-12).

LAST UT/USC CONTEST

• Tennessee continued its strong play to close out the regular season, challenging No. 1 South Carolina in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,000 at Colonial Life Arena before falling, 76-68, last Sunday afternoon.
• The Lady Vols (17-11, 10-6 SEC), who fell behind by 15 in the third period and entered the fourth down 11, never surrendered and trimmed the deficit to three with 4:58 to go. The Gamecocks, though, managed to stave off the effort by the Big Orange and improve to 29-0 on the season and 16-0 in SEC play.
• Tennessee, which had played the Gamecocks to an 11-point setback in Knoxville on Feb. 15, was led in scoring by fifth-year forward Rickea Jackson, who shined in the spotlight with 29 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Jewel Spear and Jasmine Powell also were in double figures, each tallying 12 points on the afternoon.
• South Carolina featured five players scoring in double figures, led by the 18-point, 14-rebound effort of 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso. Te-Hina Paopao tossed in 14, with MiLaysia Fulwiley, Bree Hall and Ashlyn Watkins contributing 13 each.

LAST SEC TOURNEY MEETING

• UT and USC met in last year's SEC Tournament title game, with the Gamecocks prevailing, 74-58.
• Lady Vol Rickea Jackson had 17 points and nine boards and earned SEC all-tourney honors.
• It was UT's 24th championship game appearance.

COMING UP

• The winner of the UT vs. South Carolina game will move on to Sunday's championship tilt and face either No. 2 seed LSU or No. 3 seed Ole Miss at 3 p.m. ET. 
• That contest will be televised by ESPN, and it will be broadcast on Lady Vol Network radio stations and via live stream on UTSports.com, provided UT advances.