Jan. 27, 2000
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama’s Taquilla Allen hit a layup with one second remaining to defeat Kentucky 68-67 in Coleman Coliseum. Erica Jackson scored 13 second half points to lead the Wildcats with 17 points.
Kentucky (11-8, 3-4) led by two points with :15.6 second to go in the second half after a 10-foot jumper by Laura Meadows. Alabama’s LaNisha Cartwell hit the front end of the bonus with seven seconds remaining to pull the game within one, 67-66. Meadows rebounded the ball, but lost it out of bounds underneath Alabama’s basket. The Tide threw a short inbounds pass to Boo Barnes who passed to Allen for the game winning shot.
“This is still a great basketball team,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox. “Rebounding hurt us, obviously, and it showed that we need to have Shantia Owens in the game. Erica Jackson also stepped up for us and I’m very proud of her. I’m still very proud of this team.”
Owens, who charted 11 points and seven rebounds, fouled out of the game with four minutes to go. The Cats are now 0-3 when Owens fouls out of the game.
Meadows added 16 points in the Cats’ effort while LaTonya McDole and Tiffany Wait followed with 11 points apiece.
Although the Cats shot 52.8 percent from the floor compared to Alabama’s 35.8 percent, the rebounding woes continued. Alabama (12-6, 2-3) won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Kentucky 45-32. UK has yet to outrebound a SEC opponent.
“Ball security is real important,” Alabama Coach Rick Moody said. “We ended up turning the ball over 17 times, and I think that was about the first time all year we’ve had less turnovers than our opponents.”
In the first half UK struggled offensively, but finally connected late in the half, taking a 35-32 lead at intermission. Meadows led with eight points while Owens added seven.
The Wildcats have not defeated Bama since a 74-58 win in 1990.
Kentucky will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 30 when it faces No. 4 Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., at 2 p.m. The Cats met the Lady Vols last Sunday in Lexington, dropping 71-65 despite a 20-point deficit in the first half. The game will be televised live on Comcast Sports Southeast.
