Wildcats play the Rebels close but can’t hold.

OXFORD, Miss. (January 11, 1999) — Tarsha Bethley scored 15 points and pulled down 13rebounds to lead Ole Miss past Kentucky, 60-57, in Oxford on Sunday.The game remained tight throughout the first half, but the Lady Rebels took asix-point lead at the half, 30-24, after four straight Kentucky turnovers.Mississippi held UK leading scorer Jaye Barnes scoreless in the first half asthe ‘Cats shot 9-of-24 from the floor. Barnes ended the night with fourpoints.

Ole Miss (11-4, 2-2) exploded to an 11-point lead early in the second halfbefore UK (11-4, 2-2) cut the score to 40-38 with 12:41 remaining. JuniorTiffany Wait served as UK’s offensive threat as the 5-11 guard knockeddown four free throws, three field goals and one three-pointer in the secondhalf. The Lady Rebels, however, would again capitalize on the UKturnovers. UM pushed the lead to seven (38-31) with four minutes left in thegame. Made free throws in the final minute by junior Erica Jackson andfreshman Tanesha Seaton would help pull the lead within three, but theWildcats would not prevail.

“We can’t miss opportunities like we did tonight,” UK Coach BernadetteMattox said. “I felt we played very good defense, but we did not capitalizeon every opportunity we had.”

Wait led all scorers with a game-high 19 points. Junior Shantia Owensfollowed with 12 points, seven rebounds and a career-high five blocks. UMoutrebounded UK 41-35 with an 18-12 edge on the offensive boards. TheLady Rebels stretched their winning streak over Kentucky to seven, leadingthe overall series 15-2, including 7-1 when playing in Oxford. Kentucky willtravel to Baton Rouge, La., on Thursday, Jan. 14 to face LSU at 8 p.m.before it faces No. 2 Tennessee on Sunday, Jan. 20 in Knoxville.