Jan. 16, 2012

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky women’s basketball junior guard A’dia Mathies was named the Southeastern Conference’s Player of the Week, the league office in Birmingham, Ala., announced Monday.

Mathies, a 5-foot-9 guard from Louisville, Ky., earned the honor after averaging 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 blocks and 2.5 steals per game in UK’s two wins over ranked opponents.

She scored a career-high 34 points in UK’s upset of No. 6/7 Tennessee on Thursday, while also grabbing nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. She hit the game-winning shot vs. Lady Vols with 4.2 seconds left to snap Tennessee’s 36-game conference winning streak, give UK its first 4-0 start in conference play in program history, and give UK its third win over a top-10 ranked opponent this season.

Mathies’ 34 points vs. Tennessee are the most scored by a UK player since Dec. 20, 1987, when Bebe Croley netted 40 points vs. Morehead State. She also became just the fifth Wildcat in school history to score 34 or more points in a game.

In the win over No. 24 South Carolina, Mathies tied a career high with three blocks, while also getting three steals. She added eight points which moved her up to No. 16 on UK’s all-time scoring list with 1,208. She ranks ninth on UK’s career steals list with 220 and needs just four more to tie Sandy Harding at No. 8.

This is Mathies’ second SEC Player of the Week honor this season. She was named Co-SEC Player of the Week on Dec. 5, 2011.

Overall, Mathies leads No. 9/8 Kentucky (16-2, 5-0) in almost every statistical category as she averages a team-high 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game.

UK returns to action Thursday for its third straight matchup against a top-25 team, when it travels to Athens, Ga., to take on No. 19/16 Georgia at 7 p.m. ET. The Cats look to snap a two-game losing skid to the Lady Bulldogs and capture their first win in Stegeman Coliseum since 2008.