OTHERS….

Tamari Key and Kamilla Cardoso have met twice this season.

In the two games against Lady Vols basketball, Cardoso scored 18 points in each contest. She presents a tough matchup for Key due to her physicality and scoring ability.

Even though it’s a challenge, Key is excited to get one more shot at Cardoso and the No. 1 Gamecocks.

“I love the matchup,” Key said. “South Carolina is a great team, and, you know, it’s a lot of excitement around women’s basketball when Tennessee and South Carolina are playing each other. So we’re excited about the game.”

Rebounding isn’t something done by just the frontcourt. In the last meeting, Jewel Spear and Jasmine Powell combined for 13 rebounds. That wasn’t enough, as South Carolina out-rebounded Tennessee by 16.

In the second matchup, the Lady Vols know they have to improve their rebounding.

“It is a struggle, but at the same time, we have just got to be physical on offense,” Spear said. “We have got to crash the boards, and then on defense, we have to put our body on somebody and box them out.”

Tennessee and South Carolina have played two tough games. The Lady Vols were forced to respond to South Carolina’s level of toughness and did so but did not have enough talent to go with it.

Coming into the third matchup, the Lady Vols have played two physical games in a row. That’s the nature of the SEC Tournament. Every game you play is going to be physical, and a team needs to win several physical games in a row to win the conference.

“We know this is the SEC,” Tennessee forward Sara Puckett said. “That’s just what it is. It’s the toughest conference in the nation, and so to be able to go out tomorrow, we know it’s going to be physical, and we’re going to take it on just like we have in the past two games.”

The Lady Vols are the only team to hold South Carolina to a single-digit margin of victory in Columbia. Tennessee has competed with the Gamecocks in both matchups and has been one of the most competitive teams against South Carolina.