Kentucky Wildcats (17-11, 6-7 SEC)
@ Florida Gators (7-21, 1-12 SEC)
Sunday, Feb, 25, 2007 – 3 p.m. ET
Stephen C. O?Connell Center (12,000) – Gainesville, Fla.
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The Kentucky women?s basketball team looks to end the regular season on a winning note when they travel to Gainesville, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 25 to take on the Florida Gators at 3 p.m. EST in the Stephen C. O?Connell Center. The game will be broadcast live on the Big Blue Sports Network with Neil Price. Due to an overlap with the men’s game at Vanderbilt beginning at 2 p.m. EST, the women’s game will be carried live on WMJK-FM (105.5) in Lexington.
Kentucky is 17-11 overall and owns a 6-7 conference record. The Wildcats currently sit in seventh position in the SEC standings. A win over Florida would mean the Cats secure the No. 7 seed and face No. 10 seed Arkansas in the first round of the SEC Tournament Thursday, March 1 at 3:30 p.m. EST.
Florida (7-21, 1-12 SEC), which has locked up the No. 11 seed, is coming off a 78-62 loss at Auburn on Thursday. Sophomore Sha Brooks led the Gators with 17 points, while junior Depree Bowden recorded 14 points. Prior the Auburn game, Florida snapped its 13-game losing streak with a 66-64 win at Alabama.
The Wildcats enjoyed a much-needed bye this week. In their last game on Sunday (Feb. 18), UK defeated Arkansas in Rupp Arena, 87-60. It was the largest margin of defeat in SEC play since a 20-point win over Alabama on Senior Day last season.
?We had our bye-week this week and I thought it was good for us,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?We have a couple of people kind of banged up a little bit, so it was a good time to kind of recover. We?re looking forward to going to Florida and finishing up the regular season. I know it will be a really emotional game for the Florida players since Carolyn Peck is stepping down after this season. They got a win the other night at Alabama, so they?re probably feeling a little bit more confident.?
Junior center Sarah Elliott has scored in double-figures five straight games and is averaging a squad-best 13.7 ppg, including a team-high 13.8 ppg in SEC play. Junior guard Samantha Mahoney follows close behind with 13.0 ppg. Senior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey is averaging a team-best 10.1 rpg and ranks 25th nationally and third in the SEC in rebounding.
Sophomore Sha Brooks leads three Gators in double-figure scoring. She averages 14.8 ppg while Marshae Dotson and Bowden follow with 13.5 and 13.2 ppg, respectively. Dotson and Bowden are the leaders on the glass, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game apiece.
Former UK assistant Carolyn Peck is in her fifth and final season at UF where she has compiled a 70-75 record. She will step down as head coach following the SEC Tournament.
Sunday will mark the 39th meeting between the schools. Florida owns a 20-18 lead in the all-time series, including a slight 8-7 advantage when the game is played in Gainesville. However, UK has won three of the last four meetings, including an 84-74 decision earlier this year in Lexington. UK also won last year?s meeting in Gainesville, 80-65.
Three Wildcat seniors (Nastassia Alcius, Jennifer Humphrey and Jenny Pfeiffer) will play their final regular season game on Sunday. Florida will honor its two seniors (Kim Dye and Brianna Phillips) in pre-game Senior Day ceremonies.
The SEC Women?s Basketball Tournament is scheduled for March 1-4. This year the SEC Women?s Basketball Tournament will be held in Duluth, Ga., at the Gwinnett Center. Order tickets online at secsports.com or call (404) 249-6400. Prices are: reserved tournament book, $75; general admission Dr Pepper Six-Pack tournament book, $45; reserved single-session (six sessions total), $15; general admission single-session, $10.
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES – FEB. 23
Head Coach Mickie DeMoss
?We had our bye-week this week. I thought it was good for us. We have a couple of people kind of banged up a little bit, so it was a good time to kind of recover. We had some good preparation. We?re looking forward to going to Florida and finishing up the regular season. I know it will be a really emotional game for the Florida players since Carolyn Peck is stepping down after this season. They got a win the other night at Alabama, so they?re probably feeling a little bit more confident. I think the biggest thing will be to match their emotional intensity as they will to try to win that game for their coach.?
On getting the team to focus on its last game despite being a ?bubble team??
?I think they all know that if we look too far ahead and anticipate what?s going to happen, we won?t have many options. We?ve got to certainly take care of our business on Sunday in Gainesville.?
On being ?backed into a corner? as far as postseason aspirations?
?We just look at our win-loss record and who we have left. Our players are smart enough to know that we can?t have a losing conference record. There would be a slight chance, but you don?t want to put yourself in that position that there?s some doubt in the committee?s mind. I think that we?re certainly playing with a purpose. It?s kind of heartbreaking when you look back over the season and you look at the overtime games we lost. We could have been very easily in a position right now where there wouldn?t be any doubt. But that?s how this season has gone. We still are alive and I think our players believe that. That?s what we?re playing for. We still have to focus on the process ? what you?ve got to do to make that happen.?
On the seeding for the conference tournament?
?We do look ahead as coaches, a little bit, but my focus right now is on Florida and taking care of things at Florida. As many close games as we?ve had this year, we certainly can?t afford to look ahead.?
On the players believing that the team is still in the hunt for a postseason berth?
?I certainly think that they feel that way. We competed with everybody strong in this league. I think the LSU and Tennessee games probably got away from us pretty early, but every other game, we have been playing it to the wire. Those games are going to pay off for us. I just keep thinking that there?s a reason why those games happened and we?ve learned and grown from them, so when we?re in that situation again, I feel confident we will handle them differently.?
On whether she considers Kentucky an NCAA bubble team?
?I do. I would have to think the committee has got to look at us. We?ve had some quality wins in the league and then playing teams close. We?re obviously very, very competitive.?
On Carolyn Peck being fired as Florida?s head coach?
?I have the utmost respect for Carolyn. Now she blames me for getting her into the profession. Sometimes timing is everything. You get into a situation sometimes and sometimes it?s a great fit and the timing is right and everything is lined up for you. I think with her, some things just happened. You look at last year and she had a good year ? beat Tennessee at Tennessee last year, beat LSU. She had some great wins last year. Unfortunately, some things just didn?t work out in her favor this year. I know Carolyn; she?s very bright, she?s an excellent coach and I know that there are a lot of opportunities waiting for her down the road.?
On handling Florida?s full-court pressure?
?We?ve worked a lot on our press breaks. I thought in the game here, they had a nothing?to-lose kind of attitude the last seven minutes of the game. They kept putting us at the free-throw line. I think we?re much more prepared to handle that full-court pressure and put in a few more of those press breaks to get looks and better spacing. We?ll be prepared for that.?
On the strength of the Southeastern Conference this season ?
?It?s just been, to me, a crazy year. I just think on any given night, anything can happen in this league. I think it?s good for women?s basketball. I think it?s the growth of the sport, there?s more parody. I think the coaching is good; people are coming up with different strategies. It makes for a much more interesting conference. It doesn?t do much for the nerves of coaches, but it certainly, I think is good for women?s basketball.?
