Jan. 10, 2000
GAINESVILLE, Fla.–Sophomore Tanesha Seaton came off the bench, shooting 9-for-9, to score a team-high 18 points in the second half, sparking Kentucky to a 72-58 win over Florida at the O’Connell Center.
The Wildcats (10-4, 2-0) won their third straight game, second straight Southeastern Conference game by outscoring the Lady Gators 40-23 in the second half. Seaton nailed nine field goals in the second half to break a 51-51 tie with 8:25 remaining. The Cats never looked back, going on a 15-0 run to push the lead to 66-51.
Four other Wildcats scored in double-figures to balance the scoring attack. Erica Jackson added 17 points while LaTonya McDole and Laura Meadows followed with 11 points apiece. Meadows led the team in rebounds with seven and recorded five assists. Senior center Shantia Owens, who went down with a sprained ankle against Auburn on Thursday, returned to action to charted 10 points and five assists.
“I am very pleased with this basketball team,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. We didn’t start the game very well. We sputtered and didn’t play defense. Tiffany Travis and Tonya Washington played very well in the first half, but we stayed poised and confident in the second half. Tanesha (Seaton) came out and gave us some big minutes.”
Kentucky trailed 35-32 at the half and was down by as many as eight points before Erica Jackson nailed a three-pointer with two seconds remaining. Jackson led at the half with 11 points while Laura Meadows followed with nine.
UK outrebounded Florida on the offensive boards 24-18 and shot 55.2 percent from the floor compared the Lady Gator’s 37.7 percent. The Wildcats scored 50 points in the paint to UF’s 24.
“We wanted to go to Tanesha because we knew they were tired and she was a fresh body,” Mattox said. “I was also pleased with Shantia’s (Owens) play inside. I felt she dominated in the paint when she needed to.”
Tonya Washington led the Lady Gators with 18 points while Tiffany Travis followed with 16 points, all scored in the first half.
This marks UK’s second win over Florida in Gainesville after winning 80-70 last season. The series is now tied at six when playing at the O’Connell Center.
Kentucky will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. versus Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. The game will be televised live on College Sports Southeast. The Cats will face Arkansas on Sunday, Jan. 16 in Memorial Coliseum at 3 p.m., on Fox Sports South, the SEC game of the week.
