Feb. 6, 2002
Lexington, KY. – Kentucky, which dropped three straight home games last week and extended its losing streak to seven games, hopes the road will be kinder when it faces Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. ET. WLXG-AM Sports Radio 1300 with Chris Cross will broadcast the game live from C.M. “Tad” Smith Coliseum.
Sophomore SeSe Helm, who leads UK (8-13, 1-8 Southeastern Conference) in scoring and rebounding, looks to break out of a scoring slump after being held to eight and seven points, respectively in the last two games. If history repeats itself, Helm could have a break out game against the Lady Rebels. She recorded a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds last season against Ole Miss. Freshman Sara Potts, hopes to continue her shooting streak from beyond the arc. She has nailed at least two three-pointers, including four treys against Alabama and three against No. 19 Georgia in UK’s last game.
“Ole Miss is a very good basketball team,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. “Like us, they have lost some close games and are looking to get a win this week. We were not ready to play in our last game against Georgia and we have to be ready against Ole Miss. We’ve stepped up the intensity in practice and I am looking for that same intensity to carry over on Thursday.”
The Lady Rebels are 10-12 overall, 2-7 in the SEC. Ole Miss broke a six-game losing streak on Jan. 31 by upsetting nationally-ranked Auburn, 63-53, in Auburn, Ala. The Lady Rebs dropped their last game at LSU, 81-70. UM’s only other conference win came against Arkansas in Oxford, 81-46, in the opening game of league play on Jan. 6.
Freshman guard Ally Kelly leads two players in double-figure scoring this season with an average of 11.0 points per game. Senior guard Sherika Wright is the second leading scorer with 10.7 points per game. UM’s leading rebounder is 5-10 senior forward TaShondrea Moton with 5.8 boards per game.
Ole Miss leads the all-time series with Kentucky 16-4, including an 8-2 advantage when playing in Oxford. However, the Cats have won two of the last three outings and defeated the Lady Rebels, 59-57, in the last matchup in Oxford on Feb. 24, 2000. Last season, Ole Miss upset the Cats in their final game in Lexington, 75-54.
