Davis' banked 3 lifts No. 12 Lady Vols by Auburn 64-61

Mar 2, 2018, 02:28 am

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Rennia Davis scored 16 points and banked in a 3-pointer from the left wing with a half-second lift, lifting 12th-ranked Tennessee to a 64-61 win over Auburn on Thursday night in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

The seventh-seeded Lady Vols (24-6) advanced to meet second-seconded South Carolina in Friday's quarterfinals after a desperation shot at the buzzer came up short.

There were 13 ties and 15 lead changes.

The last tie came when Daisa Alexander caught an errant UT inbounds pass with 21.8 seconds to go and turned that into a drive down the lane, making it 61-61 with 11.2 seconds to go.

Jaime Nared led Tennessee with 17 points but missed the last half of the fourth quarter after falling hard under the basket. Mercedes Russell had 12 points and 15 rebounds, going 10 for 10 from the foul line.

Auburn made 4 of 5 free throws while Tennessee went 20 of 24.

Janiah McKay had 24 points for 10th-seeded Auburn (14-15) and Alexander 16.