(8) Tennessee 89, (12) Georgia 79

(8) Tennessee 89, (12) Georgia 79

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Candace Parker had 26 points and 12 rebounds to help No. 8 Tennessee pull away for an 89-79 win over No. 12 Georgia in the SEC tournament semifinals Saturday night.

Tye'sha Fluker added 19 points and Shanna Zolman had 16 for the Lady Vols, who advanced to play No. 3 LSU in Sunday night's championship game. Tennessee will make its 17th appearance in the title game -- the Lady Vols have won the tournament 11 times.

Tennessee (27-4) led 74-70 before going on an 8-0 run late in the game. Nicky Anosike made a pair of free throws, and Zolman followed a Georgia turnover with a 3-pointer to make it 79-70.

After another Georgia turnover, Parker was fouled with 4:09 remaining. She made one of two free throws, Tennessee rebounded the miss and Parker made a reverse layup to push the lead to 12.

The Lady Bulldogs (21-8) had possession down 85-79, but lost it on a jump ball with 1:18 to play. Georgia then forced a shot clock violation, but Tasha Humphrey's 3-pointer rimmed out. Parker, the SEC freshman of the year, rebounded with 36 seconds left and made two free throws.

Sherill Baker led Georgia with 20 points and Humphrey added 18.

Tennessee beat Georgia twice during the regular season by a combined 12 points, and this was by far the most competitive game of the tournament's first three days. None of the previous games had been decided by less than 15 points -- earlier in the day, LSU beat Kentucky 79-52.

Georgia started 1-of-8 from the field and fell behind 16-5, but rallied to 34-32 at halftime and the teams exchanged leads early in the second.

Zolman made four 3-pointers for a season total of 82, breaking Kara Lawson's school record of 79. She also had seven assists. Anosike added 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lady Vols haven't been their dominant selves this season, losing to two unranked teams in one season for the first time since the women's ranking started in 1976. Point guard Alexis Hornbuckle was lost last month with a broken wrist.

Parker took over much of the ball-handling responsibility against Georgia's press, and although Tennessee had 18 turnovers, the Lady Vols made up for it with a 40-22 rebounding edge.

Tennessee and LSU will meet in the SEC title game for the third time in four years. LSU won the championship in 2003 in North Little Rock, and the Lady Vols won a season ago.