Tennessee’s late-season surge has produced another Southeastern Conference tournament championship and perhaps a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Meighan Simmons scored 17 points, including two go-ahead free throws with 1:45 remaining, and No. 6 Tennessee edged 12th-ranked Kentucky 71-70 on Sunday to win its 17th SEC tournament title.
The Lady Vols (27-5) have won seven straight, including a win over No. 5 South Carolina to close the regular season.
Tennessee came back from double-digit deficits in each of its three SEC tournament wins. Kentucky led by 10 points in the first half and kept small leads most of the second half.
The Lady Vols rallied from a 15-point deficit in Friday’s 77-65 win over LSU in the quarterfinals and then trailed by 10 points early in Saturday’s 86-77 semifinal win over No. 15 Texas A&M.