COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tessa Johnson scored 16 points, and the No. 6 South Carolina women’s basketball team claimed a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship with a 78-66 victory over No. 15 Kentucky on Sunday.
No. 1 Texas defeated Florida 72-46 on Sunday, so the Longhorns and Gamecocks both finished 15-1 in conference play. Because the teams split the season series, a coin flip Sunday determined that South Carolina would have the No. 1 seed for this week’s SEC tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey flipped the coin from Birmingham, Alabama, during halftime of LSU’s game against Mississippi to determine the top seed. The flip was broadcast live on the SEC Network, and a loud cheer could be heard from the South Carolina locker room immediately afterward.
“We watched in the locker room and it was kind of exciting,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “I know when you’re part of the equation it doesn’t feel good to have your fate in a coin flip. I didn’t know eight other sports use a coin flip. That was news to me. I feel better about it now.”
Texas players watched from their home floor after their blowout win.
“We can’t control the way the coin landed. It is what it is,” center Taylor Jones said. “Whatever team we play, we…
