Wildcats remain undefeated in the SEC, improve to 10-4 overall.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Jan. 10, 2000) — Sophomore TaneshaSeaton came off the bench, shooting 9-for-9, toscore a team-high 18 points in the second half,sparking Kentucky to a 72-58 win over Florida atthe O’Connell Center.
The Wildcats (10-4, 2-0) won their third straightgame, second straight Southeastern Conferencegame by outscoring the Lady Gators 40-23 in thesecond half. Seaton nailed nine field goals in thesecond half to break a 51-51 tie with 8:25remaining. The Cats never looked back, going on a15-0 run to push the lead to 66-51.
Four other Wildcats scored in double-figures tobalance the scoring attack. Erica Jackson added 17points while LaTonya McDole and LauraMeadows followed with 11 points apiece.Meadows led the team in rebounds with seven andrecorded five assists. Senior center Shantia Owens,who went down with a sprained ankle againstAuburn on Thursday, returned to action to charted10 points and five assists.
“I am very pleased with this basketball team,” UKCoach Bernadette Mattox said. We didn’t start thegame very well. We sputtered and didn’t playdefense. Tiffany Travis and Tonya Washingtonplayed very well in the first half, but we stayedpoised 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 downby as many as eight points before Erica Jacksonnailed a three-pointer with two seconds remaining.Jackson led at the half with 11 points while Laura Meadows followed withnine.
UK outrebounded Florida on the offensive boards 24-18 and shot 55.2percent from the floor compared the Lady Gator’s 37.7 percent. TheWildcats scored 50 points in the paint to UF’s 24.
“We wanted to go to Tanesha because we knew they were tired and shewas 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 Travisfollowed with 16 points, all scored in the first half.
This marks UK’s second win over Florida in Gainesville after winning 80-70last season. The series is now tied at six when playing at the O’ConnellCenter.
Kentucky will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. versusVanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. The game will be televised live on CollegeSports Southeast. The Cats will face Arkansas on Sunday, Jan. 16 inMemorial Coliseum at 3 p.m., on Fox Sports South, the SEC game of theweek.
