No. 19 Kentucky rallies past Mississippi State, 76-65, to land in first SEC final since 1982

No. 19 Kentucky rallies past MSU, 76-65

DULUTH, Ga. — Kentucky rallied after trailing by 14 points in the second half to beat Mississippi State 76-65 on Saturday night, advancing to only its second Southeastern Conference tournament title game.

A’dia Mathies scored 25 points, including 18 in the second half, and Victoria Dunlap added 22 for No. 19 Kentucky (25-6). The Wildcats will play No. 4 Tennessee on Sunday night.

Kentucky won the 1982 title in its only other appearance in the championship game, while regular-season champion Tennessee will play for its 14th tournament title.

Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell led an impromptu pep rally on the court in front of Kentucky fans after the win.

Mississippi State (19-12) led 35-24 at halftime and stretched the lead to 14 early in the second half.

Kentucky, which made only 8 of 28 shots (28.6 percent) from the field in the first half, rallied behind Mathies, Dunlap and Amber Smith, who had 14 points. Dunlap had nine rebounds, five blocks and five steals.

Tysheka Grimes led Mississippi State with 19 points. Armelie Lumanu had 18 and Chanel Mokango added 13.

Lumanu scored at the end of the first half to give Mississippi State a 35-24 lead. The Lady Bulldogs stretched the lead to 40-26 early in the second half before Kentucky launched its comeback.

Dunlap scored after a steal by Amani Franklin to cut the Lady Bulldogs’ lead to 40-36, and a basket by Smith cut the lead to 45-44.

Grimes hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push Mississippi State’s lead to 53-46. Kentucky scored the next eight points. Following the final tie at 57-all, Kentucky took control with a 12-2 run capped by a 3-pointer by Mathies.