LEXINGTON, Ky. – A'dia Mathies scored 13 second-half points, including back-to-back 3-pointers during Kentucky's 19-6 run, to help the No. 10 Wildcats pull away from No. 8 Tennessee for a 78-65 victory on Sunday.
Mathies, Kentucky's No. 2 career scorer, finished with 16 points in her home finale. Jennifer O'Neill added four 3-pointers for 16 points as Kentucky (25-4, 13-3) claimed the No. 2 seed for this week's Southeastern Conference tournament.
Kentucky set the tone throughout but emerged from a 36-32 halftime lead with a big run set up by three steals and two rebounds by Samarie Walker (10 points). That put the Wildcats up 55-38 and they stayed safely ahead to make Matthew Mitchell the program's winningest coach with 139 victories.
Regular-season champion Tennessee (23-6, 14-2) played without center Isabelle Harrison, who sustained a right knee injury Thursday.
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