Coming off a 1-2 finish in the Paradise Jam that included three hard-fought and competitive games, the Kentucky women?s basketball team looks to get back on the winning track when it travels to Evanston, Ill., to face Big 10 opponent Northwestern Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. EST. The game will be played at Welsh-Ryan Arena and carried live on WLXG-AM Sports Radio 1300 with Chris Cross. Audio also will be available on .
The Wildcats (3-2) are coming off a 75-60 loss to No. 17/18 Rutgers on Saturday afternoon, a game in which four Wildcats scored in double figures. Freshman guard Samantha Mahoney posted a career-high 15 points while freshman center Sarah Elliott and senior guard Danyelle Payne scored 14 and 13 points, respectively. Junior guard Nastassia Alcius added 12 points for the Cats. UK will return the services of senior guard/forward Sara Potts, who played just eight minutes in the loss to the Scarlet Knights due to a stomach virus. Potts, who was named to the Paradise Jam all-tournament team, is averaging a team-high 18.8 points per game, which ranks third in the Southeastern Conference for scoring.
Junior forward Jennifer Humphrey leads a UK rebounding attack that has outscored its opponents 210-161 this season, a margin that ranks second in the SEC. Humphrey is tops in the conference, averaging 9.8 boards per contest. She has tallied double figure rebounds in three of the Wildcats? five games this season.
Despite Kentucky?s edge on the glass, UK Coach Mickie DeMoss looks for more intensity on the defensive end in Wednesday?s matchup with Northwestern.
?We are still trying to find a combination that will play on both ends of the floor,? DeMoss said. ?Right now we have a group that will score and punch on one end of the floor, but lacks defense on the other end. Our young kids are not used to the tempo of the game. We are going to have some ups and downs early on, hopefully we can get them worked out before we start conference play.?
NU has an overall 1-3 record after losing three of four games this season. Its last loss came on Saturday, Nov. 27 to DePaul 118-49. The Wildcats are led in scoring by senior forward Suzanne Morrison?s 11.0 points per game. Following her in the scoring column is senior center Sarah Kwasinski with 9.0 ppg. NU?s leading rebounder is freshman forward Melissa Miller with 6.3 rpg.
Coach Beth Combs is in her first season at Northwestern. She came to Evanston, Ill., from Colgate where she led the Raiders for three seasons. The former guard at Illinois was hired at NU on April 13, 2004.
The series between Kentucky and Northwestern is tied at 1-1. UK defeated NU last season in Lexington 67-60. NU?s last win over UK was a 78-42 decision in Evansville on Dec. 2, 1995. UK is 27-33 all-time vs. teams from Northwestern?s Big 10 conference.
