The Kentucky women?s basketball team looks to snap a three-game losing skid and begin the new year on an upswing when it travels to Mobile, Ala., to face first-time opponent South Alabama Sunday, Dec. 30. Game time is 5 p.m. EST and it will be broadcast live on the Big Blue Sports Radio Network with Neil Price.
The Wildcats (4-7) are coming off a tough 71-62 loss to No. 23 Old Dominion in Lexington on Friday. Senior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) led UK in scoring and rebounding with 16 points and nine boards while also charting three blocks. Freshman Amber Smith (Winter Haven, Fla.), who entered the starting lineup for just the third time this season for injured veteran point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky.), followed with a career-high 11 points. Freshman guard Carly Morrow (Chattanooga, Tenn.) came off the bench to add 10 points, six coming from beyond the arc.
?I thought we played better in some areas last night but we shoot the ball so poorly,? UK Coach Matthew Mitchell said. ?We have to regroup because South Alabama is a great team and we don?t have long to prepare for them. They have been playing extremely well and I?m sure they are looking forward to getting back to game action after their holiday break. We have to find a way to get our shooting touch back.?
Senior guard Samantha Mahoney (Detroit) leads the team in scoring this season, averaging 16.1 points per game which ranks fourth in the Southeastern Conference. Elliott follows Mahoney in the scoring column with 12.5 ppg. She also pulls down a team-high 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
The Lady Jags (10-2, 1-1 SBC) enter the Kentucky game after an eight-day break for the holidays. In their last game on Dec. 22, USA fell 80-46 to Middle Tennessee. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak, dating back to Nov. 24.
Sophomore guard Shakira Nettles and senior guard Monique Jones lead the Lady Jags in scoring this season, averaging 11.2 and 9.4 points per game, respectively. On the glass, senior center Patriece Brunner is grabbing a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game. Senior guard Jessica Starling leads the Sun Belt Conference in three-point percentage (.444), hitting 12 of her 27 attempts on the year.
UK is 28-16 all-time vs. teams from the Sun Belt Conference, including a 1-1 mark this season after defeating Florida Atlantic on Nov. 18 and falling to Western Kentucky in overtime, 78-74, on Nov. 30.
Sunday?s game marks the second of three games in five days for the Wildcats. After the South Alabama game, UK returns home to face Xavier Tuesday, Jan. 1 in Memorial Coliseum.
