The Kentucky women’s basketball team looks to get back on the winning track when they take on No. 19/22 Auburn on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. ET in Memorial Coliseum. Tickets are available for $5 for adults and $2 for senior citizens and children ages 18 and under. UK students, faculty and staff are admitted free with valid identification.
The Wildcats (9-11, 1-6 Southeastern Conference) hope to bounce back after two hard-fought conference battles last week. UK met No. 1 Tennessee Thursday and trailed only five points with two minutes remaining. Despite a valiant effort, the Wildcats fell 81-72. UK then traveled to Ole Miss on Sunday, looking to snap the Lady Rebels’ six-game home win streak. The Cats almost pulled it off but missed seven of their final 13 free throws to fall in double overtime, 90-88.
“It was disappointing to lose like we did at Ole Miss but we’ve been working hard in practice and focusing on Auburn,” UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. “We are facing another good team and another ranked team, and like we are, I’m sure they are hungry for a win. It will be a hard fought battle and from what I can tell the UK-Auburn game is usually a good one.”
Kentucky and Auburn are meeting for the 29th time in school history. The Tigers have won four straight vs. UK, including three of the last four in Memorial, but in nine of the last 10 games, the game has been decided by seven points or less. Auburn owns a 19-9 advantage in the all-time series, including an 8-3 lead when playing in Lexington. The Cats’ last win in Lexington was a thrilling 71-69 win on Jan. 6, 2000 over the fifth-ranked Tigers.
Auburn (16-5, 4-3 SEC) is coming off an overtime loss to top-ranked Tennessee on Sunday, 68-61. The Tigers’ four wins in the conference include Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi State.
The Tigers are led by All-America candidate Le’Coe Willingham. The senior forward has posted four straight double-doubles, including 16 points and 10 rebounds vs. the Lady Vols. She leads the team with 15.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Also averaging in double-digit scoring is junior Natasha Brackett with 11.3 ppg.
Auburn Coach Joe Ciampi charted his 600th career victory vs. Arkansas last week, which brings him to 601-209, making him the 10th women’s coach in Division I history to reach the mark and the fourth fastest to 600. Ciampi is in his 25th season at Auburn, the 27th overall.
With Sara Potts’ combined 59 points in the last two games, the junior guard has taken over as the team’s leading scorer. She leads with 16.3 points per game, including 18.7 ppg in conference play. SeSe Helm and Jenny Pfeiffer, who will not see action due to mono, follow with 15.1 and 11.8 points per game, respectively.
DeMoss coached at Auburn under Joe Ciampi for two seasons (1983-85). The Tigers went to the NCAA Tournament in both of those seasons and in the four seasons following her departure, with the players DeMoss helped recruit, Auburn went 119-13 and advanced to two NCAA Final Fours.
