Feb. 18, 2002
Lexington, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s basketball team will take a break from Southeastern Conference action when it faces Conference-USA opponent, Cincinnati, on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. ET in the Shoemaker Center. The game will be carried live on WLXG-AM Sports Radio 1300 with Chris Cross.
The Wildcats (8-16, 1-11 SEC) hope to snap a 10-game losing streak while the Bearcats (21-4, 10-3 C-USA) ride an eight-game win streak and second place C-USA standing into Tuesday’s game.
“We will be playing a very good basketball team in Cincinnati,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. “They are a talented team and have a great inside force with freshman center Debbie Merrill. It will be an exciting game to watch.”
Kentucky’s force in the middle is All-SEC and All-America candidate SeSe Helm. The 6-4, sophomore averages a team-high 16.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. She has led the Cats in scoring in three straight games, including 22 versus No. 14 Florida last week. Following Helm in the scoring column is junior point guard Rita Adams and freshman shooting guard Sara Potts. The duo averages 10.9 and 9.4 points per game, respectively.
The Bearcats, who broke into the Associated Press top 25 poll this week at No. 25, are coming off back-to-back road wins, a 63-53 win at Marquette and a 75-51 win over DePaul. UC was led on Sunday over DePaul by Merrill’s game-high 26 points and career-high 19 rebounds. Sophomore guard Valerie King, UC’s leading scorer with 17.2 ppg, added 20 points in the winning effort. Merrill, who was named this week’s C-USA Player of the Week, is averaging 14.4 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game.
Kentucky leads the all-time series 16-4 and has won four of the last five meetings against Cincinnati. UK’s five-game win streak against UC was broken last season when the Cats fell 57-38, in Louisville, Ky., in a double-header game with the UK men versus Indiana. The Cats are 5-3 against the Bearcats in the Queen City.
UK will return to SEC play on Thursday, Feb. 21 when it plays host to No. 6 Vanderbilt and bids farewell to seniors LaTonya McDole and Niecee Patterson in Senior Night ceremonies.
