Central Plains FFA Chapter

03/04 12:27 CST No. 17 Kentucky women begin the SEC Tournament with a 94-64 victory over Arkansas No. 17 Kentucky women begin the SEC Tournament with a 94-64 victory over Arkansas GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) --- Clara Strack had 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, Amelia Hassett scored 18 points and made six 3-pointers, and No. 17 Kentucky started the second half on an 18-2 run to help beat Arkansas 94-64 on Wednesday in an SEC Tournament opener. It was the largest margin of victory in Kentucky's SEC Tournament history. The Wildcats (22-9), the No. 9 seed, advance to play 22nd-ranked Georgia in the second round on Thursday. Tonie Morgan and Jordan Obi also had double-doubles for Kentucky. Morgan had 14 points, six rebounds and 10 assists, and Obi added 14 points and 10 boards. Starters Teonni Key chipped in with 12 points and Asia Boone had 10. Taleyah Jones scored 21 points for Arkansas (12-20), which was coming off its first SEC win of the season to snap a 16-game losing streak with a 70-41 win over Auburn on Sunday. Freshman Bonnie Deas added 10 points. Boone gave Kentucky its first double-digit lead of the game at 16-4 less than five minutes into the game. Then Hassett made two 3-pointers during an 11-0 run to extend the Wildcats' lead to 27-7. Kentucky was limited to just 13 points in the second quarter but still held a 42-33 lead at the break. Obi scored seven points and capped Kentucky's big third-quarter run for a 60-35 lead, while Arkansas missed nine of its first 10 shots after the break. Morgan scored 10 points in the third quarter to match Arkansas' point total as the Razorbacks went 4 of 17 from the field. The Razorbacks shot just 36% from the field, including 6 of 28 from 3-point range.

Up next Arkansas: Season comes to an end under the direction of first-year coach Kelsi Musick. Kentucky: Looks to avenge a 72-67 loss to Georgia on Jan. 24. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball