NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With postseason play on the line, the Kentucky women?s basketball team rebounded from a tough loss to South Carolina in its regular-season finale to upset No. 23/21 Georgia, 57-50, in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament and advance to the semifinals Saturday, March 8 vs. top-seeded LSU.
Game time is slated for 6:30 p.m. EST at The Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn. The game will be carried live on FSN South and the Big Blue Sports network (radio) with Neil Price.
Public tickets for the 2008 SEC Tournament can be purchased through the Sommet Center (615-770-2000) and Ticketmaster. Tickets may also be purchased through one of the member institutions’ ticket offices according to each school’s ticket policies. Tickets prices are: reserved tournament book, $75; general admission Dr Pepper Six-Pack tournament book, $45; reserved single-session (six sessions total), $15; and general admission single-session, $10.
?We came down here to win the tournament,? UK Coach Matthew Mitchell said. ?We knew we had a good SEC run and we were confident that we could come down here and make a run at the tournament. We’ll go out and play to win against LSU and see if we can get a victory. It’ll be very difficult, but I told our coaches, any time you play on Saturday in the SEC tournament it’s going to be a difficult game. I’m proud of the way we fought against Georgia and we gave LSU a heck of a game down in Baton Rouge, so I’m going to point that out to our players and tell them they need to gain confidence in that.?
One of the biggest turnarounds of the week came from senior Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky). The 6-6 center, who despite playing just eight minutes and scoring only two points against the Gamecocks on her Senior Day last week, responded by tallying a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds against the Lady Bulldogs. She also added two assists and two blocks. Senior Chelsea Chowning (Berea, Ky.) also came out with her guns loaded, netting nine points all on three-pointers (3-of-3). Sophomore Amani Franklin (Decatur, Ga.) came off the bench for eight points and nailed a crucial three-pointer in the second half that gave UK a lead it would not relinquish.
The Wildcats (15-14, 8-6 SEC), who have been relying on their defensive prowess all season, held Georgia to 35.2 percent shooting in the game, including just 29.0 percent in the first half. Georgia?s 50 points also were its second-lowest point total this season. The Lady Bulldogs? lowest point total was 44 and that also was against UK in the regular-season matchup.
Senior Samantha Mahoney (Detroit) continues to lead UK offensively as she averages a squad-best 13.0 points per game. Elliott follows with 10.8 points and is second on the team in rebounding with 6.3 boards per game. All-SEC Freshman Team selection Victoria Dunlap (Nashville, Tenn.) is the team’s leading rebounder with 6.4 rpg and ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 7.1 ppg.
This marks UK?s seventh appearance in the tournament?s final four. The Cats are 1-5 in the semifinals, their lone win coming against LSU, 85-71, in 1982. UK went on to win the SEC Tournament Championship that year, defeating Tennessee in the title game. UK?s last semifinal appearance was in 2006. UK fell to LSU, 79-52.
The Lady Tigers lead the overall series 25-7, including a 6-2 advantage in the SEC Tournament. UK has lost 13 consecutive games to LSU, including both meetings this season. However, the Cats took then-ranked No. 6 LSU down to the wire in Baton Rouge, La., on Feb. 21, falling just short in the final seconds, 52-48. UK is 2-6 against the Lady Tigers in the SEC Tournament. The Wildcat?s last win over LSU was in the SEC Tournament in 1999. UK upset the 17th-ranked Tigers, 81-71.
LSU (26-4, 14-0) defeated Ole Miss, 80-36, to advance to the semifinals. The Lady Tigers are led on both sides of the ball by SEC Player of the Yeaer and All-American center Sylvia Fowles. She averages 17.0 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Quianna Chaney is the only other player averaging double-digit scoring with 15.0 ppg.
