February 21, 1999
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Point guard Erica Jackson netted a career and season-high 30 points to lead Kentucky past South Carolina, 93-65, its last regular season conference game in Memorial Coliseum on Sunday.
The Cats (18-9, 7-7) recorded their seventh Southeastern Conference win, the most in school history, by jumping to a 50-24 halftime lead on a 21-point shooting spree from Jackson. She came out on fire in the first half, hitting 8-of-10 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from the three-point line. Jackson, who hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer two weeks ago versus the Lady Gamecocks in Columbia, also recorded a game-high seven steals. “When you play a team the second time, great players learn from the first time and use that to their advantage,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. “Erica saw how South Carolina defended her the first time and she took advantage. That’s the mark of an outstanding player.” Jackson ended the Lady Gamecock massacre, shooting 12-of-15 from the floor, 4-of-5 from the three-point line and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe. UK outrebounded the Lady Gamecocks 42-23 as sophomore Laura Meadows and freshman LaTonya McDole led with eight rebounds apiece. McDole also scored 14 points while Meadows and junior Tiffany Wait added 10 points each. Freshman guard Jocelyn Penn paced USC (11-15, 0-14) with a team-high 20 points and seven rebounds. Lone senior Jaye Barnes recorded six points and six rebounds in her last regular season game in Memorial. A season-high 5,533 fans were in attendance for UK’s Senior Day ceremony and matchup with the Lady Gamecocks.
“Kentucky is definitely one of the better teams in this league and this town should definitely be proud,” USC Coach Susan Walvius said. “They are getting ready for the NCAA’s and they deserve to be there.” The Cats will have to prepare for the SEC tournament first in Chattanooga, Tenn. UK, the sixth-seeded SEC team, is slated to play No. 11-seed Arkansas in the first round at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25. UK fell to Arkansas in regular season action in Fayetteville, 74-69, in overtime. The Cats are 1-1 versus the Lady Razorbacks when playing in the SEC tournament are 5-6 in the all-time series. The winner of Kentucky and Arkansas will meet No.3-seeded Georgia on Friday, Feb. 25 at 9:30 p.m. All games are played at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Arena.
