January 21, 1999
Erica Jackson scored a career-high 25 points and pulled down six rebounds to lead three Wildcats in double figures in Kentucky’s 69-56 win over Louisville on Wednesday.
The Wildcats, who defeated Louisville earlier this season, 73-62, in the first round of the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, trailed much of the first half before tying the scoring at 24 on two of sophomore Laura Meadow’s 10 points. Also providing an offensive threat was freshman Carolyn Alexander. She led the Cats in scoring in the first half with eight points, hitting 2 of 2 from behind the arc. Alexander finished the night with a career-high 10 points and four rebounds.
UK quickly pushed the lead to six at the start of the second half on a Tiffany Wait jumper followed by two Jackson free throws and a Jaye Barnes’ jumper. Jackson, who missed Sunday’s game versus top-ranked Tennessee due to a concussion sustained at LSU on Jan. 14, connected on 7 of 9 from the free throw line as UK hit 21 of 31 (67.7 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Lady Cards would battle back, however, to pull the game within five (39-34) with 11:19 remaining on the clock. Junior Katie Vieth, who missed the last three games due to severe shin splints in both legs, responded with a 15-foot jumper that sparked a 6-0 run by the Wildcats. “I’m am very pleased with our victory. We came into this game with a lot of confidence,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. “We knew Louisville was good and they have a great cast of guards. We worked hard tonight on the boards and captured a great win.”
UK outrebounded U of L 47-38 and scored 16 points off Louisville turnovers.
With the win, the Wildcats (12-6, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) broke a three-game losing streak and gave the Lady Cards (14-6, 6-1 Conference USA) their first loss at home this season. UK leads the overall series 25-9 and 9-7 when playing in Louisville.
UK will return to Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 24 for the first time in three weeks to face No. 18 Alabama at 2 p.m. The Cats are looking for their first win over Alabama since 1994. The first 300 fans will receive free mini-balls.
