Dec. 4, 2002
Evansville, Ind. –
With 14 seconds remaining and Kentucky trailing 68-66, freshman Jennifer Pfeiffer’s three-point attempt failed and Evansville held on to upset Kentucky, 70-66, on Wednesday at Roberts Stadium. Sophomore Sara Potts tied her career-high 21 points while Rita Adams and Pfeiffer added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
After seven ties and five lead changes in the second half, the Purple Aces (2-2) took a 66-61 lead with 1:22 to go. The Wildcats (2-2) continued to hang around, forcing the Purple Aces to foul. SeSe Helm hit one of two from the charity stripe and Pfeiffer, fouled on a three-point attempt, nailed two of the three to pull UK back within two, 68-66, with 21 seconds left in regulation. The scrappy Cats then grabbed the offensive rebound from Pfeiffer’s free throw miss and called timeout to set up the inbounds play. Pfeiffer’s running three-point attempt with time running down bounced off the front of the rim. UK was then forced to foul and Evansville pulled out victory.
“We had a chance to win the game our shot just didn’t fall,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. “We have to bounce back from this and get ready for Western Kentucky on Saturday.”
The Purple Aces, who defeated Kentucky last season in Lexington 78-72, exploded from the start of the game, building a 19-5 lead by the 11:38 mark. Guard Alissa Krirby knocked down back-to-back three-pointers followed by another “three” from freshman guard Cammie Campell to extend the Evansville lead.
The Cats’ comeback began with less than eight minutes remaining in the half when Potts nailed one of her four three-pointers with 7:43 to go in the half. Pfeiffer then converted a four-point play followed by a layup by Helm to pull UK within four, 19-15, with 4:46 to go. Adams scored four consecutive points to tie the game with two minutes left. The teams traded baskets and went into the lockerroom knotted at 25 apiece. UK shot a dismal 26.5 percent in the first stanza while Evansville shot 30 percent.
Four Evansville players scored in double-figures led by Megan Liffick’s 19 points. Jamie Gray notched a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards while Kirby and Campbell followed with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Evansville hit 23 of 34 free throws in the game compared to UK’s 16 of 23. UK ended the game shooting 36.1 from the floor while Evansville shot 35.7 percent. UK was outrebounded 43 to 41.
Evansville now leads the series with Kentucky, 2-0.
Potts has hit at least four three-pointers in three of the last four games.
UK returns to Lexington on Saturday, Dec. 7 when it plays host to intrastate rival Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET in Memorial Coliseum.
