Arkansas women end No. 12 Gamecocks’ 4-year SEC tourney rule

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Chelsea Dungee scored 31 points and Arkansas upset No. 12-ranked South Carolina 95-89 on Friday to end the Gamecocks’ run of four straight Southeastern Conference Tournament titles.

Alexis Tolefree made four 3-pointers and scored 18 points, Malica Monk had 16 points and six assists and Jailyn Mason had 14 points for the Razorbacks (19-14), who became the first 10-seed to reach SEC semifinals since 1993. Kiara Williams grabbed 10 rebounds to go with eight points. The Razorbacks made half of their 22 shots from the arc and 26 of 32 free throws.

Mikiah Herbert Harrigan scored a career-high 27 points for the second-seeded Gamecocks (21-9). Tyasha Harris added 24 points, Alexis Jennings 16 and Bianca Cuevas-Moore 10. South Carolina made only 7 of 25 3-point attempts, including 1 of 12 in the first half, though they only trailed 43-39 at the break.

Arkansas led by as many as 11 in the second quarter and rebuilt a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter before the Gamecocks outscored the Razorbacks 21-10 the remainder of the period for a one-point lead, their first since late in the first quarter.

But Dungee, who had 31 points in a second-win over Georgia on Thursday, hit a 3-pointer to open the final period and the Razorbacks would cling to the lead the rest of the way. Dungee made two free throws for a 93-86 lead before Herbert Harrigan answered with a 3-pointer with 29.6 seconds remaining. But the Gamecocks missed their final four shots while the Razorbacks went 2 of 4 from the free-throw line.