STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — A’Dia Mathies and Bernisha Pinkett scored 13 points each to lead No. 13 Kentucky to a 76-40 victory Sunday over Mississippi State and clinch the Wildcats’ first regular season Southeastern Conference title in 30 years.
Kentucky (24-5, 13-3 SEC) opened the game on a 19-7 run and led 41-17 at the half. The Wildcats shot 40.3 percent (27-of-67) from the floor and hit 15-of-22 free throws. Kentucky will return home and celebrate its first title since 1982 later Sunday night on campus.
MSU (14-15, 4-12) shot 26.4 percent (14-of-53) from the field in the loss and turned the ball over a season-high 33 times.
Kendra Grant led MSU with 9 points.
The Bulldogs finished the season on a four-game losing streak. The loss also marked retiring MSU head coach Sharron Fanning-Otis’s last regular season game.
