Jan. 17, 2002
Fayetteville, Ark. –
The Kentucky women’s basketball team remains winless in Fayetteville after dropping to the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks, 76-64, on Thursday. Sophomore SeSe Helm led the Wildcats in scoring for the fourth straight game with a game-high 25 points.
The Cats (8-9, 1-4 SEC) fell behind 46-29 at the half, shooting a sluggish 27.6 percent compared to Arkansas’ 50 percent shooting. UK hit only eight field goals in the opening stanza and was outrebounded 26-14.
“We missed a lot of easy baskets in the first half,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. “I thought we worked hard but our shots just weren’t falling. Arkansas had their backs against the wall and needed this win and that is what they did. They came out playing hard and their key three players stepped up tonight.”
The Cats eased back into the game after the break, cutting the lead to 56-46 with 11:10 remaining in the game. The Lady Razorbacks rallied with nine unanswered points, pushing the margin back to 19. UK could get only as close as 12 points in the final five minutes of play.
“We outplayed them in the second half, but we have to start playing like that from the beginning of the game. We are a good basketball team but we need to play more consistent.”
Arkansas (10-6, 1-3, SEC) came out firing at the start of play, opening with a 17-4 run in the first half. Helm’s field goal with 10:41 to go, brought the Cats within 12 (21-12). UK wouldn’t score again until the 6:40 mark, allowing Arkansas to open up the score again, 38-14.The Cats were outrebounded 49-36 in the contest and shot a season-low 34.4 percent compared to Arkansas’ 41.3.
Joining Helm in double figures was junior Rita Adams who tallied 13 points, five assists, and five steals. Freshman Sara Potts contributed eight, nailing two three-pointers. Senior LaTonya McDole charted only six points, but grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
For Arkansas, junior Dana Cherry scored a team-high 22 points, with fellow juniors Shameka Christon and India Lewis netting 18 and 11, respectively.
Arkansas now leads the all-time series 7-9 and is 7-0 when playing in Fayetteville. Arkansas has won four straight over the Wildcats.
Kentucky will travel to Columbia, S.C., on Sunday, Jan. 20 to take on No. 8 South Carolina at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be televised live on Fox Sports South.
