Wildcats rally to beat Cardinals for second time this year.
(January 21, 1999) — Erica Jackson scored a career-high 25 points andpulled down six rebounds to lead three Wildcatsin double figures in Kentucky’s 69-56 win overLouisville on Wednesday.
The Wildcats, who defeated Louisville earlier thisseason, 73-62, in the first round of the RainbowWahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, trailed muchof the first half before tying the scoring at 24 on two of sophomore LauraMeadow’s 10 points. Also providing an offensive threat was freshmanCarolyn Alexander. She led the Cats in scoring in the first half with eightpoints, hitting 2 of 2 from behind the arc. Alexander finished the night with acareer-high 10 points and four rebounds.
UK quickly pushed the lead to six at the start of the second half on a TiffanyWait jumper followed by two Jackson free throws and a Jaye Barnes’jumper. Jackson, who missed Sunday’s game versus top-ranked Tennesseedue to a concussion sustained at LSU on Jan. 14, connected on 7 of 9 fromthe free throw line as UK hit 21 of 31 (67.7 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Lady Cards would battle back, however, to pull the game within five(39-34) with 11:19 remaining on the clock. Junior Katie Vieth, who missedthe last three games due to severe shin splints in both legs, responded with a15-foot jumper that sparked a 6-0 run by the Wildcats. “I’m am verypleased with our victory. We came into this game with a lot of confidence,”UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. “We knew Louisville was good andthey have a great cast of guards. We worked hard tonight on the boards andcaptured a great win.”
UK outrebounded U of L 47-38 and scored 16 points off Louisvilleturnovers.
With the win, the Wildcats (12-6, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) broke athree-game losing streak and gave the Lady Cards (14-6, 6-1 ConferenceUSA) their first loss at home this season. UK leads the overall series 25-9and 9-7 when playing in Louisville.
UK will return to Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 24 for the first time inthree weeks to face No. 18 Alabama at 2 p.m. The Cats are looking fortheir first win over Alabama since 1994. The first 300 fans will receive freemini-balls.
