South Carolina’s 78-66 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats in the final regular game of the regular season didn’t come easy for Dawn Staley’s 6th-ranked Gamecocks.

The score felt closer than the 12-point final margin of victory reflected. The Cats were down just five points heading into the fourth quarter and were down just a point at 65-64 with six minutes left before letting things go astray.

Unfortunately, the Gamecocks’ frenetic pressure began to take its toll, allowing the home team to feed off the crowd energy and close out UK 20-13 in the final period.

Despite losing the game by double-digits, it was clear that Kentucky has the pieces in place to compete at a very high level.

Clara Strack looked like the best player on the floor for much of the second half. She’d finish the game with 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Strack even added on two made 3s for good measure.

Georgia Amoore would score 16 points, but it took her 19 shots to get there.

The loss cemented UK as the 4-seed in the SEC tournament after finishing conference play with an impressive 11-5 record that included wins over potential top-four seeds Alabama, Tennessee, and Oklahoma.

If you thought South Carolina looked possessed in the fourth quarter, it was for good reason.

The Gamecocks had to win on Sunday to ensure they’d collect a share of the SEC regular-season championship. Their 15-1 record placed them in a first-place tie with Texas.

Kentucky will open up the SEC tournament on Friday at 2:30 PM ET.

They play either 5th-seeded Oklahoma, 12th-seeded Georgia, or 13th-seeded Arkansas.

If you’ve watched the Cats play this year you have to feel good about Kenny Brooks’ chances to take his team on a deep March run in his first season as UK’s head coach.

Having a one-two punch like Georgia Amoore and Clara Strack should always translate into UK having a solid shot to win.