Feb. 11, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky women’s basketball senior guard A’dia Mathies was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week and espnW’s National Player of the Week, it was announced on Monday.
Mathies, who collects her second SEC Player of the Week honor this year, led Kentucky (21-3, 9-2) to road wins over Arkansas and Vanderbilt last week by averaging a team-high 21.5 points, along with 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
The Louisville, Ky., native led the charge in a come-from-behind overtime win at Arkansas on Thursday. Mathies scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half and overtime period as the Wildcats erased an 11-point first-half deficit and charted their first win in Fayetteville since 2010. In the clutch moments of the game, Mathies hit four of her last six shots. She also grabbed a season-high tying nine rebounds and had a team-best five assists in the win.
Against Vanderbilt on Sunday, the 5-foot-9 guard poured in a season-high 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. The 28-point effort was the third largest point total of her career and helped her move up to No. 3 on UK’s all-time scoring chart (1,815). The five 3-pointers in the game tied her career high and she again dished out a team-high five assists.
On the season, Mathies leads the Wildcats in scoring (15.8 ppg), assists (2.5 apg), 3-points field goals made (50) and 3-point percentage (.397). She ranks second in the SEC in scoring and 3-point field goal percentage in league games only, averaging 18.8 ppg and shooting .452 percent from beyond the arc. She has reached double figures in 22-of-24 games, including 15 in a row.
The No. 9/8 Wildcats return home this week as they play host to No. 16/12 South Carolina on Thursday, Feb. 14 in Memorial Coliseum at 7 p.m. EST. Thursday is UK’s annual Play4Kay game. The Wildcats will don pink NIKE uniforms and shoes in an effort to raise awareness for the Play4Kay initiative and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
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