Feb. 6, 2003
Auburn, Ala. – Kentucky dropped a heartbreaker, 63-56, to Auburn on Thursday in overtime in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. The Wildcats fall to 9-10 overall, 2-5 in the SEC while Auburn improves to 16-5, 4-4 in league play.
The Wildcats led by two points at halftime 23-21 and went on to lead by as many as 11 with 10 minutes remaining in the game before Auburn began to chip away at the lead. UK’s lead dwindled to four 45-41 with 1:53 to play in regulation when Auburn’s Mandisa Stevenson hit a layup to make it 45-43. Keiko Tate attempted a short jumper on the next play but again Auburn came up with the basketball. AU’s LaKeisha Johnson drained a bucket near the Tiger bench with only 11 seconds remaining, tying the game at 45. UK lost the ball on its next possession and Auburn’s desperation shot at the buzzer was no good, sending the game into extra minutes.
In overtime, the Tigers went on to score six unanswered points and hit 10-of-11 from the charity stripe to pull away with the victory. Rita Adams hit three of her game-high four three-pointers in OT but it was too late. Adams finished with a team-high 16 points while Sara Potts, who was battling flu-like symptoms prior to the game, added 12. Adams’ four three-pointers matched her career-high set three previous times.
“We did a good job defensively tonight but Auburn controlled the boards in the last three minutes of the game,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox. “It just shows our young players that you can’t let up. You have to find a way to win. I thought we took a couple of quick shots in OT but Auburn just did a great job on the boards.”
Auburn led most of the first half but Kentucky’s defense wouldn’t allow the Tigers to pull away. The Tigers’ lead would get no larger than six before key UK reserves came in to provide a spark. Sophomore Keiko Tate converted a three-point play en route to five points and team-high six rebounds at the break. Tate, along with Jennifer Humphrey’s six points and a combined 10 points from Adams and Potts, put UK up 23-21 at the half. Kristen Grassi also came off the bench and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds, four in the first half. Tate ended the game with a team-high nine boards, just one shy of her career-high.
Auburn was led by Natasha Brackett with 17 points, 10 of which came in overtime. Le’Coe Willingham added 15.
UK is now 12-13 all-time in overtime while Coach Mattox is 4-3.
The Cats are now 4-1 when leading at the half this season. Auburn owns an 18-9 advantage in the all-time series, including a 7-4 lead in Auburn. UK remains winless on the road at 0-8.SeSe Helm finished with nine points and needs only 11 more to become the 22nd member of UK’s 1,000-point club.
The Cats return to Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 9 when they play host to nationally-ranked Vanderbilt at 2 p.m. ET. The Cats look to avenge an 84-50 loss to the Commodores in Nashville earlier this season in conference play.
