Jada Walker, a freshman, matched her season-high of 21 points. Kentucky defeated Mississippi State 83 to 67 in Round 2 of the Southeastern Conference women’s tournament.
The Wildcats (16-11), seventh-seeded, won their seventh consecutive game and moved up to 5-0 in round 2. In the quarterfinals, they will face sixth-ranked LSU Friday night.
Dre’una Eds was a Kentucky player who scored 18 points and took 14 rebounds. Rhyne Howard had 14 points. Jazmine Massengill, Robyn Benton each had 12.
No. No. 10 seed Mississippi State (15-13), lost its sixth consecutive game, a skid that started with a Kentucky road loss.
Mississippi State’s JerKaila was the leading scorer with 21 points. Caterrion Thompson had 19 points, while Anastasia Hayes had 13.
The Bulldogs led by seven points and led 21-16 at the end of the first quarter. Jordan scored 12 points, which was close to Jordan’s average scoring. Kentucky started the second quarter with a 12-2 run that saw Jordan score just one point. Howard’s 3-pointer with 7 minutes left put Kentucky ahead 26-23.
After the third quarter, Kentucky led 57 to 44. The Wildcats extended that lead to 21 in the fourth quarter, cruising to victory.
