Depree Bowden scored 21 points, and seventh-seeded Florida beat 10th-seeded South Carolina 71-57 on Thursday in the opening round of the SEC women’s basketball tournament in Nashville.

The Gators (18-12) earned the right to play second-seeded Tennessee at 3:30 p.m. EST today.

“Her shots were not just big in terms of momentum, it made everyone around her confident,” Florida coach Amanda Butler said of Bowden.

South Carolina (15-15) lost its opening round game for the 14th time since joining the SEC in the 1991-92 season.

Sha Brooks sank 14 points for Florida, and Aneika Henry scored 10.

Ilona Burgrova led South Carolina with 12 points.

With the score tied at 10, the Gators launched a 21-3 run that ended when Henry hit a jumper to put Florida up 31-13 with 6:03 to go before halftime.

Bowden sank a long 3-pointer with time expiring to give the Gators a 34-17 edge at the break.

Bowden went 5-for-6 from behind the arc and her 19 first-half points outscored the Gamecocks.

“I hit my first two, and I kind of got confidence from there,” she said. “They beat me on my senior night, and I wanted to get back at them.”

The teams split their regular season games, each team winning on the road. South Carolina beat Florida 69-65 on Feb. 24, the Gators’ senior night and final home game.

The Gamecocks missed 25 of 31 shots in the first half, shooting 19.2 percent on field goals and 20 percent on 3s.

Georgia 71, Alabama 62: Christy Marshall and Ashley Houts each scored 15 points, and the No. 23 Lady Bulldogs survived a surprisingly tough first-round game against the Crimson Tide.

Fifth-seeded Georgia (22-8) won for the fifth time in six games and will play No. 4 seed Kentucky in the quarterfinals at 7:30 tonight.

The No. 12 seed Crimson Tide (8-22) came in having lost 13 consecutive SEC games with a roster featuring 10 underclassmen — starting two freshmen and two sophomores. But Alabama made it tough on the Lady Bulldogs for at least the first 25 minutes, with three ties and eight lead changes before finishing the season with a 14th loss.

Alabama outshot Georgia and managed a tie at 32 in rebounds. But the Tide turned it over 19 times, which Georgia turned into 18 points.

Tasha Humphrey scored 11 points for Georgia.

Tierney Jenkins led Alabama with 18 points. Katie Hancock had 14 and Varisia Raffington 13.

Ole Miss 54, Mississippi State 49: Bianca Thomas’ 18 points led the eighth-seeded Rebels past the ninth-seeded Bulldogs.

Mississippi (13-15) won its first-round game for the fifth consecutive year.

The Rebels will play top-seeded and SEC regular-season champion LSU at 1 p.m. today.

“We knew it would be ugly,” Ole Miss coach Renee Ladner said. “We thought it would be a slugfest, and I think for the most part it was. I think we had the final run, and I’m very, very proud of my kids.”

Mississippi State (16-14) lost for the fourth consecutive year in the opening round. The Lady Bulldogs led 37-32 on a three-point play by Tysheka Grimes with 10:50 left. But Danetra Forrest scored seven of her nine points to key a 14-2 run by the Rebels. Her three-point play put Ole Miss up 46-39 with 5:12 to go.

Alexis Rack hit a 3 as State cut its deficit to 51-49 with 21.8 seconds left. Thomas made one of two free throws with 18 seconds left and two more with eight seconds left.

Rack led Mississippi State with 13 points.

Auburn 73, Arkansas 51: DeWanna Bonner’s 26 points and 14 rebounds helped the sixth-seeded Tigers eliminate the 11th-seeded Razorbacks (17-13).

Auburn (20-10) won all three meetings between the teams this season.

The Tigers are 52-1 when scoring 70 points or more under coach Nell Fortner.

Oklahoma State 72, Baylor 68: Andrea Riley scored 27 points and Shaunte Smith added 17, as the No. 20 Cowgirls (23-6, 11-5 Big 12) beat the No. 8 Bears (24-5, 12-4) in Waco, Texas, to dash Baylor’s chance of sharing the Big 12 regular season championship.

Texas A&M 73, Oklahoma 59: Danielle Gant had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the No. 17 Aggies (23-7, 11-5 Big 12) won at home for to their sixth straight win and third in a row over a Top 25 team. Courtney Paris had 27 points and 11 rebounds for No. 11 Oklahoma (21-7, 11-5).

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