The University of Kentucky women’s basketball team will travel to BatonRouge, La., on Thursday, Jan. 18 to take on the 12th-ranked LSU Lady Tigers. Game-time is slated for 8 p.m. ET in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The Wildcats (4-11, 0-4 Southeastern Conference) hope to end a four-gamelosing streak and capture their first win over LSU in Baton Rouge since winning63-49 in 1995. LSU, who lost to No. 4 Georgia on Sunday, 64-55, leads theall-time series with Kentucky 13-7. UK has won two of the last four meetingsagainst the Lady Tigers, including an 81-71 upset in the SEC Tournamentquarterfinals in 1999.
LSU is a veteran team and they start three seniors, UK Coach BernadetteMattox said. It will be a tough battle for our young squad, but if we come out ofthe game with intensity and take care of the basketball it’s anyone’s game.
Junior forward LaTonya McDole, who led the Cats in scoring both games lastweek, is averaging a team-best 13.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. She hasled the Cats’ scoring effort in six of the last seven games and has notchedteam-high rebounds in the last four games for UK. Freshman center SeSe Helmfollows in the scoring column with 11.9 ppg.
LSU (11-5, 2-2) is ranked No. 12 in the nation by the Associated Press and No.11 by the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. All of the Lady Tigers losses thisseason have been against ranked opponents, including two SEC foes, No. 2Tennessee (89-70) and No. 4 Georgia (64-55). They are led in scoring by seniorguard Marie Ferdinand’s 20.6 points per game. Also averaging in double-digitscoring this season is senior April Brown and freshman Roneeka Hodges with10.7 and 10.6 ppg, respectively.
The young Cats don’t get a break from tough competition anytime soon. UK willmeet No. 2 Tennessee twice in a six-day span (Jan. 21 and Jan. 27) and will faceAlabama on Thursday, Jan. 25.
