Nov. 29, 2002
Seattle, Wash. – Sharp-shooter Sara Potts nailed a career-high five three-pointers to lead Kentucky over the University of the Pacific 77-61 in the first round of the Seattle Times Husky Classic on Friday in Washington’s Bank of America Arena. Potts scored 19 points while Rita Adams also had an impressive night with 13 points, nine assists and four steals.
The Wildcats (2-0) were forced to claw back from a first-half deficit after Pacific jumped out to a 13-2 lead. With a spark from junior center SeSe Helm, Adams and freshman reserve Jenny Pfeiffer, the Cats took a 40-37 lead at the half.
Helm, who charted 12 points and seven boards for the game, led the comeback with 10 in the first half. Pfeiffer came off the bench and poured in eight points in the Wildcat effort. She also ended the game in double-digits with a career-high 10 points.
“It all goes back to the maturity level I’ve been talking about,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. “When we got down by 12, we didn’t let it rattle us. They stayed focused and fought back. I think they are seeing what it is going to take to win basketball games.”
The Cats carried their intensity over into the second half of play, scoring a quick eight points before letting the Tigers reach the hoop. Potts led the attack, netting eight of the first 10 points for UK in the half. The Cats surged on, leading by an eventual 21 points with 6:30 left in the game on a Raquel Ellis lay-up.
The Tigers never again threatened, giving the Cats a 77-61 win and a trip to the tournament finals tomorrow night.
“We didn’t put our heads down,” Potts said. “We are a running team and our bench has depth. We knew we could come back.”
UK outrebounded the Tigers 43-35 as Keiko Tate led the Cats with a career-high tying 10 boards. The Cats also dominated the paint, scoring 40 points inside the blocks compared to Pacific’s 18.
Pacific (0-3) was led by Nancy Dinges with 13 points. Corinne Wong and Gillian d’Hondt followed with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Cats are 72-29 in regular season tournaments and have won at least one tournament title in four of the last six years. Washington, who plays St. Bonaventure in the first round, has advanced to the tournament championship game in all 15 years of the Seattle Times Classic, including nine tournament titles.
UK will play the winner of the Washington vs. St. Bonaventure game on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 10 p.m. ET. WLXG Sports Radio 1300 with Chris Cross will carry the game live or log on to ukathletics.com to hear the broadcast.
