LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- After a shocking 27-point loss to Georgia earlier in the week, Tennessee coach Pat Summitt was just happy to get a win -- even if her second-ranked Lady Vols nearly blew a 20-point lead to Kentucky.

"I told our team that we could have won this game or lost this game. We had a situation where either could have happened," Summitt said after Sunday's 71-65 victory, which Tennessee iced with four free throws after Kentucky closed to within 67-65 in the final seconds.

"I think we have to build on the fact that we won this game," Summitt said. "We made our free throws, which we did not do in other close games," including losses to Louisiana Tech and Connecticut.

Natalie Martinez brought Kentucky (11-7, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) within two on her 3-pointer with 13 seconds left, but both Tamika Catchings and Semeka Randall hit a pair of free throws to secure the win for the Lady Vols (14-3, 4-1).

Michelle Snow led Tennessee with 18 points and seven rebounds, dominating her inside matchup with Kentucky's Shantia Owens, who got into early foul trouble and finished with just two points and five rebounds.

"We were struggling offensively getting into our halfcourt," Summitt said. "I thought she (Snow) came up with big plays -- rebounds and points. She just did a nice job for us."

Tennessee won in its first game since losing 78-51 at No. 7 Georgia on Monday, the Lady Vols' worst loss ever in the SEC.

Early on, they looked like they would cruise against the Wildcats, using a 16-2 run midway through the first half to build a 20-point lead.

Kentucky chipped away in the second half, though, with point guard Erica Jackson scoring all of Kentucky's points in an 11-2 run that closed the gap in the final minutes and gave Tennessee a scare.

Kara Lawson finished with 15 points, Randall with 15 and Catchings had 11 for the Lady Vols.

LaTonya McDole led Kentucky with 18 points and seven rebounds, Jackson had 11 points and Laura Meadows had 10.

Tennessee has now won 17 straight games against Kentucky, with the last Wildcats' last win coming in January of 1986.

Though Summitt characterized the defeat as a "good loss" for Kentucky, which last year made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight seasons, Kentucky coach Bernadette Mattox responded, "No loss is good."

"I think our players just need to realize how good a basketball team they are," Mattox said.

After halftime, with Kentucky trailing 40-24, Mattox switched the Wildcats to a zone defense that helped limit the Lady Vols to 34.8 percent shooting (8 of 23) over the final 20 minutes. Tennessee shot 53.1 percent (17 of 32) from the field in the first half.

In the first half, it was all Tennessee, as the Wildcats were caught flat-footed by the Lady Vols' aggressive man-to-man defense and committed 17 turnovers, leading to 19 Tennessee points.

With the score tied at 8, Tennessee went on a 16-2 run that included a pair of 3s by Lawson and four points by Randall.

A putback by Gwen Jackson with 4:46 left in the half gave Tennessee its biggest lead of the game at 35-15.