Feb. 25, 1998

UK Women Recieve SEC Honors

Three University of Kentucky women’s basketball players have received Southeastern Conference honors, the conference office announced today. Junior forward Jaye Barnes was named to the All-SEC second team released by The Tennessean today. Barnes has led Kentucky in scoring throughout the season, scoring in double digits 10 straight games for UK. She ranks fourth in the SEC in field goal percentage (55.6) and 13th in scoring (14.6). For the first time in nine years a Kentucky freshman has been named to the SEC All-Freshman team. UK’s third-leading scorer Laura Meadows received the honor along with Georgia’s Coco Miller and Kelly Miller and Tennessee’s Tamika Catchings and Semeka Randall.

Meadows is averaging 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds and leads the team in three-point field goal percentage (33.9) and blocks per game (1.6). She ranks fifth in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage and blocks per game and 14th in assists per game (3.4). Kentucky’s last freshman to be named to the SEC All-Freshman team was Kristi Cushenberry in 1989.

For the second straight season guard Tiffany Wait has been named to the SEC’s Academic Honor Roll. Wait is majoring in pre-pharmacy and holds a 3.72 grade point average. Wait, a junior who has started in all 27 games for UK this season, is the Wildcats’ second leading scorer with 11.7 points per game.

Kentucky meets Mississippi State in the first round of the SEC tournament in Columbus, Ga., at the Columbus Civic Center on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. The Wildcats (13-14, 5-9), who defeated MSU on Feb. 15 in regular season action (71-62), leads the all-time series 13-5 against the Lady Bulldogs (13-13, 4-10). UK owns a 2-1 record when facing MSU in the SEC tournament after defeating the Lady Bulldogs in Baton Rouge in 1981 (106-82) and in Chattanooga in 1993 (84-73). UK lost to MSU (58-55) in the SEC tournament in 1985.

The winner of Thursday’s game will meet No. 1 Tennessee on Friday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m.