FIRST ROUND
Thursday, February 28
Game 1 - #8 Alabama 60, #9 Georgia 64 - Game Stats
Game 2 - #7 Arkansas 78, #10 Ole Miss 60 - Game Stats
Game 3 - #5 Mississippi State 72, #12 Kentucky 75 - Game Stats
Game 4 - #6 Florida 57, #11 Auburn 70 - Game Stats

#8 Alabama 60, #9 Georgia 64

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Camille Murphy scored 17 points as No. 24 Georgia survived a late rally and held off Alabama 64-60 Thursday in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

The Lady Bulldogs (19-9) will play third-ranked Tennessee, the SEC's regular-season champ and the tournament's top seed, in the quarterfinals Friday.

Alabama (17-11) trailed most of the game but pulled within 60-55 on a basket by LaNisha Cartwell with 27.2 seconds left. Shondra Johnson stole Ebony Felder's long inbounds pass, but Beth Vice missed a shot.

Camille Murphy hit two free throws with 13.1 seconds left to help seal the victory, the Lady Bulldogs' seventh straight over Alabama.

Kara Braxton added 10 points for the Lady Bulldogs.

Cartwell led Alabama with 15 points. Johnson added 14, and Vice finished with 10.

Georgia had a distinct height advantage, with four starters 6 feet or taller, compared to just two for Alabama. That helped the Lady Bulldogs outrebound the Tide 38-28 and compensated for poor first-half shooting as Georgia hit just 13-of-37 (35.1 percent).

Cartwell scored six points in an 8-0 run that gave the Tide its last lead at 16-15.

Georgia responded with a 13-2 spurt to lead 30-22 at halftime, an advantage it never lost. Mary Beth Lycett's basket put the Lady Bulldogs back on top for good. Jessica Pierce followed with back-to-back buckets, and Murphy hit the game's first 3.

The Lady Bulldogs shot much better in the second half (56 percent) and led by as many as 10 points three different times, the last on a 3-pointer by Murphy at 3:48. A shot at the buzzer by Alabama's Beth Vice put the final margin at four.

The victory improves the NCAA tournament hopes for Georgia, the SEC tournament's defending champion. The Lady Bulldogs went 6-8 in conference play.

#7 Arkansas 78, #10 Ole Miss 60

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Dana Cherry scored 22 points and India Lewis added 17 as Arkansas defeated Mississippi 78-60 Thursday afternoon in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

Seventh-seeded Arkansas (18-10) will play 12th-ranked South Carolina in the quarterfinals Friday.

The win avenged an 81-46 loss to Ole Miss (11-17) in the Lady Razorbacks' SEC opener, the team's worst loss of the year. Arkansas, which now has won five of its last six games, is 10-2 when holding opponents under 40 percent shooting. Ole Miss shot 36.5 percent from the field.

The Lady Razorbacks trailed only once, 1-0 on Tywanna Inmon's second free throw attempt, in the opening minutes. Shameka Christon quickly hit a 3-pointer to put Arkansas on top, and the Lady Razorbacks led 34-28 at halftime.

The Lady Rebels improved their shooting early in the second half to pull within 43-42 on a shot by Amber Watts at 14:19. But they didn't score again until almost two minutes later, allowing Arkansas to rebuild its lead.

``When we get off to a slow start it kind of carries throughout. We don't have the confidence we need,'' Ole Miss coach Ron Aldy said. ``Not only shooting, it effects other parts of our game too.''

Ole Miss stayed close throughout most of the second half, and had several opportunities to take over the game, but the Lady Rebels couldn't capitalize on open shots and committed some silly turnovers and finished with 21 compared to 12 by Arkansas.

The Lady Razorbacks closed the game with a 23-8 run.

Lakishia Harper closed out double-digit scoring for the Lady Razorbacks with 12. Amy Wright had six points despite playing with either a case of flu or food poisoning.

``We went out to eat last night _ and I won't name the restaurant _ and all ate just about the same thing, but a couple hours later Amy looked at us and said, 'Guys, I don't feel so good,''' Lewis said with a laugh. ``We all stayed away because we didn't know what she had.''

The victory ties Arkansas coach Gary Blair with John Sutherland for 174 victories. Blair tied Sutherland earlier this year for tenure at Arkansas with nine years each.

Saundra Jackson led Ole Miss with 13 points, while Von Kirk had 11.

#5 Mississippi State 72, #12 Kentucky 75

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Sese Helm scored 19 points and Kentucky went 4-of-6 at the free throw line in the final 25 seconds to snap a 13-game losing skid and upset fifth-seeded Mississippi State 75-72 Thursday night in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

The 12th-seeded Wildcats (10-19) now find themselves playing in the second round, against No. 4 seed LSU, for the second time in the past three years despite only one winning season in that time.

``We finished with a lot of heart and a lot of determination to pull this game out tonight,'' Kentucky coach Bernadette Mattox said.

Mississippi State (18-11) now has lost five of seven games, and the Lady Bulldogs have only themselves to blame for not putting away Kentucky.

``Hopefully, we'll have the opportunity for postseason play and hopefully we'll learn from it ... and play to win instead of to keep from losing,'' Mississippi State coach Sharon Fanning said.

Helm hit a bucket that put Kentucky ahead 67-65 with 3:02 left. Mississippi State had its chances when Tan White hit a 3-pointer with 19.3 seconds left to pull within 73-72. But she fouled out defending on the inbounds and trying to force the turnover.

Danyelle Payne hit one free throw, and Renea Jones lost the ball near the 3-point line for the Lady Bulldogs. Rita Adams added another free throw with 3.6 seconds left, and Keisha Stringfellow's desperation 3-pointer fell way short at the buzzer.

Shambrica Jones scored a career-high 18 points for Kentucky, and Adams and Payne each had 12.

LaToya Thomas, the nation's leading scorer, had 23 for Mississippi State. White had a team-high 25, and Stringfellow added 10.

The Wildcats set the tone when Jones scored the first bucket of the game for the early lead, and the teams swapped the lead nine times with five ties in the first half alone as they went into halftime tied at 36. Kentucky outworked Mississippi State, rushing the Lady Bulldogs into 25 turnovers and outrebounding them 40-26.

Mississippi State looked ready to put away the game by opening the second half by scoring the first six points for its biggest lead at 55-47, but Kentucky wouldn't go away.

#6 Florida 57, #11 Auburn 70

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Le'Coe Willingham scored 22 points and Auburn upset No. 22 Florida 70-57 Thursday night in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference tournament.

Eleventh-seeded Auburn (16-12) had lost eight of its last nine games and had its lowest seeding ever for a team that has four SEC tourney titles. But the Tigers improved to 6-1 against Florida (18-10) in this tournament and will play sixth-ranked Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals Friday night.

Florida had lost a tiebreaker for the sixth seed, and lost in the first round for the first time since 1992 _ also to Auburn. It must wait to see if they earned an NCAA tournament bid having lost three of its last four.

The Lady Gators have only themselves to blame. Courtney Cooper scored the first six points of the game, and they led by as much as nine points during the first 16 minutes. But Auburn outshot Florida 48 percent (28-of-58) compared to 30 percent (20-of-66).

Willingham's putback at 3:46 gave the Tigers their first lead at 29-28. They would never trail again and led 36-30 at halftime.

Nicole Louden added 12 points, Natasha Brackett had 11, and Nancy Derrick 10 for Auburn.

Cooper finished with 20 for Florida, and Vanessa Hayden had 19.

Florida got as close as five a couple times in the second half, the last at 45-40 on a bucket by Hayden at 16:40. Brackett hit a 3-pointer with 14:38 to go for a 52-42 margin. The Tigers suddenly went cold from the floor, but the Lady Gators were even worse as they went through a 7:11 stretch without a point.

By the time Cooper hit a bucket with 7:50 to go, it was too late with Auburn up 55-44. The Tigers led by as much as 60-44 on a bucket by Crispinia Correira, and the Lady Gators never got closer than nine the rest of the way.