Jan. 2, 2002
Lexington, Ky. – The Kentucky women’s basketball team will open Southeastern Conference play on Thursday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum against Mississippi State for the first time since 1993.Kentucky (7-5) has opened its conference schedule with Auburn the past four seasons and is 3-3 in conference-openers under Coach Bernadette Mattox.
The Cats are 13-9 in the overall series versus the Lady Bulldogs. However, MSU holds a four-game win streak over UK after defeating the Cats in Starkville last season, 74-66. UK holds a 7-3 advantage over the Lady Bulldogs when playing in Lexington. UK’s last win over MSU was on Feb. 15, 1998 (71-62) in Memorial Coliseum.
“Mississippi State has one of the best players in the country in LaToya Thomas,” Mattox said. “They have lost their last two games and they will come in here hungry for win. We have to be focused and patient. We can’t make bad decisions against this good team.”
The Cats are looking to extend their two-game winning streak after defeating Southern Mississippi and Lafayette in the Blue Sky Restaurant Group Classic at Dartmouth last weekend.Sophomore center SeSe Helm, who leads the Cats in scoring and rebounding, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after scoring team-highs of 22 and 17 points, respectively. Senior forward LaTonya McDole was also named to the All-Tournament team, charting 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds versus Southern Miss and 11 points and a team-high six boards against Lafayette. Helm leads three Wildcats in double figure scoring, averaging a team-high 17.1 points per game. Junior guard Rita Adams and freshman guard Sara Potts follow with 10.3 and 10.0 ppg, respectively.
Mississippi State hopes to snap a two-game losing streak after dropping games to Cincinnati and Xavier.
The Lady Bulldogs were down three points at halftime and held a seven-point lead with under a minute remaining but still fell to the Musketeers, 74-72. MSU also loss to nationally-ranked Cincinnati in the Queen City, 74-57.
Thomas is a junior on the Lady Bulldog roster and paces three players in double figures with a league-leading 22.5 points per game. She is also the team’s leading rebounder with 9.6 rebounds per game. Freshman Tan White and senior Jennifer Fambrough follow in the scoring column, averaging 18.7 and 12.6 ppg, respectively.
Sharon Fanning, former Kentucky coach, enters her seventh season at the helm of the Lady Bulldogs. Fanning owned a 134-97 overall record coaching the Cats from 1987-95. She has led MSU to four straight post-season appearances and has charted an overall record of 106-82 in Starkville.
