MADISON, Wisc. – Wisconsin out-rebounded Kentucky 54-35 and held a 28-10 advantage in second-chance points to end the Wildcats? season with a 67-61 win on Thursday in the third round of the Women?s National Invitation Tournament.
Kentucky, making its third consecutive postseason appearance, finishes its year at 20-14. The Wildcats have now posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1989-90 and 1990-91 campaigns. It marked the 10th time in program history that UK has eclipsed the 20-win plateau. Wisconsin (21-12) advances to the WNIT Quarterfinals where it will face Virginia on Sunday in Madison, Wisc. The Cavaliers defeated South Florida 73-71 on Thursday.
“I was pleased with the way we didn’t drop our heads and kept chipping away,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?We just gave away too many offensive rebounds. I’ve never seen a game that has boiled down to just one stat, but we gave up 25 offensive rebounds and that was the difference in the game. But to give up that many offensive rebounds and still be in the game says a lot about our defense.”
Kentucky allowed 25 offensive rebounds and the Badgers shot 78.8 percent (26-of-33) from the free-throw line. The Wildcats held Wisconsin to 30.6 percent shooting (19-of-62), while the Cats shot 81 percent (17-of-21) from the charity stripe.
“We’ve been to three postseason tournaments in three years, which is a record,? DeMoss said. ?We had another 20-win season and that gives us back-to-back 20-win seasons. I really believe our program is certainly moving in the right direction. We have a good recruiting class coming in next year that our fans will enjoy watching.”
Junior guard Samantha Mahoney (Detroit) led the Wildcats in scoring with 13 points, while sophomore point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky.) and junior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Senior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey (Memphis, Tenn.) led the Wildcats on the boards with 10 rebounds and also tied a career high with four blocks. Humphrey finishes her UK career as one of the most prolific rebounders in school history. She concludes her career with 964 career boards, which ranks second on UK?s all-time rebounding list. Humphrey became just the second Wildcat in school history to surpass the 900-rebound mark.
Seniors Nastassia Alcius (Lexington, Ky.) and Jenny Pfeiffer (North Vernon, Ind.) also finish their UK careers. Pfeiffer was known as one of the school?s most deadly three-point shooters, finishing with 162 career threes, good for third on the Cats? all-time list and also concluding her career with an 86.0 percent (247-for-287) mark from the free-throw line, which ranks first all-time in school history. Alcius was known for her heady defense and her ability to provide a spark off the bench.
“Jennifer Humphrey, Jenny Pfeiffer and Nastassia Alcius have certainly meant a lot to this program,? DeMoss said. ?They stayed for their fifth year. They all had graduated and could have easily moved on. We will miss them and thank them for what they have given to this program.”
Wisconsin, which led for the majority of the game, trailed 55-54 with 3:01 remaining before going on a 7-0 run to expand its lead to 62-55 with 1:03 left in the game. Kentucky got as close as five, 64-59, with 49 seconds remaining, but was unable to close the gap.
The Badgers were led by Jolene Anderson?s game-high 22 points, while Janese Banks finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
The two teams traded leads for the early part of the first half before the Badgers used a 5-0 run to expand a 12-11 advantage to a 17-11 lead with 9:16 remaining in the opening period. With the Wildcats trailing 20-14, Humphrey and Mahoney hit back-to-back baskets to bring UK within two, 20-18, with 5:32 left until intermission. Behind 29-22 at the 2:42 mark of the opening period, Kentucky scored the final six points of the first half, including four from junior guard/forward Chante? Bowman (Detroit), who finished with eight points, to go into the locker room down 29-28.
Wisconsin registered the first five points of the second half, capped off by a three-pointer from Anderson at the 18:06 mark, to extend its advantage to 34-28. A basket by Bowman and a pair of free throws by freshman Amani Franklin (Decatur, Ga.) brought the Cats within two, 38-36, before the Badgers knocked down three consecutive charity shots to go back up by five, 41-36.
Watkins then drove in for a lay-up and Ormerod hit two free throws to bring Kentucky as close as one, 41-40, with 9:30 left in the game. With the Wildcats down 50-45, Ormerod and Mahoney connected on back-to-back hoops to bring UK within 50-49 with 5:44 remaining. The two teams traded leads late in the game, before Wisconsin went on its late 7-0 run.
