NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Victoria Dunlap scored 22 points and No. 16 Kentucky withstood a late rally to beat Vanderbilt 69-56 in the Southeastern Conference semifinals on Saturday night.

The Wildcats (24-7) will make their third SEC championship appearance, meeting No. 4 Tennessee in a rematch of last year's final. The Lady Volunteers won that game 70-62 and took this year's regular-season meeting, 73-67.

Kentucky, which opened the game on a 22-2 run, led by 27 points with 10:34 to go when Elan Brown hit a 3-pointer to open a 24-7 run that cut the margin to 53-38 with 6:06 to go.

Brown hit another 3 with 1:40 left to cut it to 60-52, but Dunlap tipped in a missed layup by Bernisha Pinkett with 1:10 left to put Kentucky back up by 10, and the Commodores (20-11) would get no closer.

View Comments

Tiffany Clarke led Vanderbilt with 18 points and 17 rebounds.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.