No. 5 Kentucky downs No. 4 Florida
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Makayla Epps had 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and No. 13 Kentucky beat 25th-ranked Florida 92-69 in the Southeastern Conference women's tournament Friday.
Janee Thompson added 19 points for the Wildcats, who won their eighth consecutive game. Evelyn Akhator chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season and third in a row.
Kentucky advanced to play top-seeded and third-ranked South Carolina in the semifinals Saturday. If coach Matthew Mitchell's team plays like it did against Florida, the Gamecocks could have their hands full.
The fifth-seeded Wildcats (23-6) scored 33 points in a blistering second quarter and added 28 more in the third, building a 21-point lead that was too much for the No. 4 seed Gators (22-8) to overcome. Since 1995, Kentucky is 12-1 when scoring 70 or more points in the SEC tournament.
Kentucky made 13 of 20 shots (65 percent), including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, in the second and outscored Florida by 20.
Carlie Needles led Florida with 15 points. Eleanna Christinaki added 12.