Wildcats 8-0 run in final minutes falls short.
HONOLULU (November 29, 1998) — Kentucky leading scorer JayeBarnes was held to a season low two points asNo. 12 UCLA handed the Wildcats their first lossof the season, 64-54, in the finals of the 20thAnnual Rainbow Wahine Classic on Sunday.
UK (5-1) fell early in the first half and were forced to play catch up afterwatching the Bruins (4-2) take an 11-4 lead.
UCLA went on to take a 34-20 half time lead by holding the Cats to onlynine field goals and no three-pointers.
Kentucky came out solid in the second half, sparking an 8-0 run with 4:08remaining in the game. UK pulled within four points, 47-51, but the Bruinsanswered with five straight points to pull away for good.
Leading scorers for Kentucky were Shantia Owens and Laura Meadowswith 12 apiece. Owens also charted her first career double-double with 12points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
Also netting double figures for the Cats were Erica Jackson and Tiffany Waitwith 11 and 10 points respectively.
UCLA was led by Marie Philman’s 19 points while tournament MostValuable Player, Maylana Martin, charted 11 points and 14 rebounds.Barnes, who scored 36 points throughout the three-game tournament, wasnamed to the All-Tournament Team along with St. John’s Ebany Dickerson,Nebraska’s Nicole Kubik, UCLA’s Janae Hubbard, Hawaii’s RayleneHoward and North Carolina’s Chanel Wright.
The Cats will return to Lexington on Tuesday, Dec. 1 before traveling toAuburn, Ala., on Dec. 6 to take on the Lady Tigers in their first conferencematchup of the year.
