February 26, 1999
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) – If Kentucky hadn’t already earned some respect inthe Southeastern Conference this season, the Wildcats got it Friday.
Shantia Owens and Laura Meadows each scored 20 points as Kentucky upset17th-ranked LSU 81-71 in the Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinals.
Seventh-seeded Kentucky (20-9) will make its first appearance in thetournament semifinals since 1992 on Saturday night against either No. 14Georgia or Mississippi State.
“I guess our motto is If you don’t believe it, nobody else will,” saidKentucky coach Bernadette Maddox.
LSU (20-7), coming off the biggest upset in school history with its victoryover then-No. 1 Tennessee last weekend, never led against the Wildcats andmanaged only one tie at 2-2.
Coach Sue Gunter said she was baffled by her Lady Tigers’ play and didn’tthink they were still thinking about beating Tennessee.
“We simply didn’t have an answer for what Kentucky did,” she said.
“There are no bad teams in this conference, and if you don’t respect thatand don’t execute, you pay a price. And we paid the price.”
Kentucky took the lead for good on an 18-foot jumper by LaTonya McDolewithin the first minute.
The Wildcats, who now have won four straight games, built their lead to asmuch as 11 at 51-40 on a three-point play by Owens with 13:22 to go in thegame.
Kentucky played the second half with three starters – LaTonya McDole, EricaJackson and Tiffany Wait – in foul trouble. LSU managed to whittle away atKentucky’s lead with an 11-3 run that got the Lady Tigers within 54-51 midwaythrough the half.
But LSU, which turned the ball over 21 times, compared to just 14 forKentucky, could get no closer than two down the stretch. LaTasha Dorsey’sjumper with 4:05 pulled LSU within 65-63, but McDole pushed the lead back outwith a three-point play to seal the victory.
Kentucky wound up going to the line 40 times and connected on 30 compared toLSU, which was 16-of-20 at the line.
“We were soft,” said LSU’s Dorsey. “They were aggressive, and we werejust soft.”
Wait added 14 points for Kentucky.
Dorsey finished with a game-high 23 for LSU followed by Marie Ferdinand with13, Katrina Hibbert 11 and April Brown 10.
By TERESA M. WALKER
AP Sports Writer
