Jan. 23, 2003
Lexington, Ky. – The Kentucky women’s basketball team exploded on a 19-6 run in the second half to defeat Ole Miss, 83-66, on Thursday, Jan. 23 in conference action at Memorial Coliseum. Kentucky improves to 9-7 overall, 2-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
Five Wildcats scored in double figures, including double-doubles from freshman Jennifer Humphrey and senior Rita Adams. Sara Potts and SeSe Helm had 17 points each to lead all scorers. Humphrey followed with 15 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Adams nearly had a triple-double, recording 12 points, a career-high 10 boards and seven assists. It marked the first double-double of her career. Junior Kristen Grassi came off the bench to knock down two key three-pointers in the first half. She finished with 10 career-high points.
“It was a total team effort tonight,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. “We really challenged our post players to go out and dominate in the paint and they stepped up to that challenge. We really came out focused and kept our patience running the offense. I am very proud of them. With all the adversity with our injured players this week, we really came together and played well.”
The teams traded leads five times in the first half before Adams nailed a trey at the buzzer to tie the game at 32 apiece heading into the locker room.
The second half proved to be all Kentucky as the Wildcats hit 72 percent (18-of-25) from the field and allowed Ole Miss to shoot only 26.3 percent (10-of-38). UK outscored Ole Miss 51-34 in the second half for the win. Potts, who nailed four three-pointers in the game, scored 14 of her game-high 17 points in the final stanza. Humphrey also turned it up in the second half, dropping in 12 of her 15 points and grabbing seven second-half rebounds.
“Their post players set the tone tonight with their physical play,” Ole Miss Coach Ron Aldy said. “We just got physically outplayed inside. Our players didn’t battle. We felt like we matched up well with them inside, but today our post play was absent. Their guards fed off of that early, especially in the second half. I give Kentucky credit for getting after it on both ends.”
Guards Ashley Johnson and Carletta Brown were the only Lady Rebels to record double-digits with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Leading scorer Amber Watts, who entered the game averaging 12.3 points per game, was held to only five. Ole Miss falls to 11-6, 1-4 in the SEC.
Kentucky holds an impressive 23-1 mark when scoring 80 or more points under Coach Mattox.Ole Miss leads the series 17-5, including an 8-2 advantage in Lexington. UK snapped a two-game losing streak to the Lady Rebels with its win.
UK will hit the road this weekend to take on Coach Mattox’s alma mater, No. 24 Georgia. The Cats and the Lady Dogs will face off on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 2:30 p.m. ET in Stegeman Coliseum.
