KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – The Tennessee Lady Vols are back in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings for the first time in 15 weeks following a strong showing at the SEC Tournament.
The Lady Vols came in at No. 23 in the Week 18 edition of the poll, their first appearance in the rankings since they occupied the same rank in Week 3.
Tennessee finished runners-up in the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina over the weekend. Kellie Harper’s team entered as a No. 3 seed and defeated Kentucky in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals against No. 4 LSU.
Led by 26-points from Rickea Jackson, the Lady Vols erased a 17-point deficit to advance to the SEC Tournament Championship game. The turnaround marked the biggest comeback in the Kellie Harper era and the second-biggest comeback in tournament history.
Tennessee snapped its 11-game losing streak to AP ranked opponents. The loss dropped LSU five spots to No. 9 in the latest AP rankings.
In Tennessee’s first SEC Championship appearance since 2015, the Lady Vols were unable to overcome undefeated, top-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks.
After entering the season ranked No. 5 in the nation, Tennessee endured a challenging regular season with the loss of star center Tamari Key for the season after blood clots were discovered in her lungs and forward Martha Suarez stepped away from the team for personal reasons.
The team will now await the results of the NCAA Selection Show on 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 12. The show will be broadcast on ESPN. The NCAA Tournament will begin on Wednesday, March 15.
