Feb. 15, 2003
Lexington, Ky. – In its 10th conference game of the season, the Kentucky women’s basketball team travels to Starkville, Miss., to take on the 16th-ranked Lady Bulldogs on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. ET. The game is the first meeting of the schools this season and marks the beginning of a stretch of which the Cats will face three of their next five opponents on the road.
The Wildcats (9-12, 2-7 Southeastern Conference) have struggled on the road as they still search for their first road win (0-8). The Cats also look to break out of their five-game losing streak after falling to No. 13 Arkansas on Thursday (80-70). Mississippi State has lost two of its last three games. The Lady Bulldogs (17-6, 5-4 SEC) are coming off a non-conference win over New Orleans on Wednesday. Prior to that game, MSU dropped to nationally-ranked Georgia, 76-71, and LSU, 77-72.
“I think both teams are hungry for a conference win,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. “I was very pleased with how we played in our last game without our leading scorer, Rita Adams. We asked people to step up and take up the slack and that is exactly what they did. I am looking for that same intensity on the road this weekend. Mississippi State has dropped its last two league games and has one of the best players in the country in LaToya Thomas. It’s going to be a battle.”
Thomas is MSU’s leading scorer. Her 24.9 points per game leads the Southeastern Conference this season. The three-time Kodak All-American and Lady Bulldog all-time leading scorer, also is the team’s leading rebounder with 8.4 boards a game. The only other Lady Bulldog averaging in double-digits is sophomore Tan White with 17.8 ppg. White was named AP’s SEC Newcomer of the Year last season.
MSU Coach Sharon Fanning, former Kentucky coach, is in her eighth season at the helm of the Lady Bulldogs. Fanning owned a 134-97 overall record coaching the Cats from 1987-95. She is 5-7 against UK.
No. 16 Mississippi State is UK’s third straight opponent to be ranked in The Associated Press top 25 poll. The Cats are 0-6 this season against ranked opponents.
Kentucky has four players averaging in double-digit scoring this season. Rita Adams leads with 14.3 points per game and Sara Potts follows with 12.3 ppg. SeSe Helm and Jenny Pfeiffer are averaging 11.0 and 10.3 ppg, respectively. Helm is UK’s leading rebounder, grabbing 6.8 boards a game.
Kentucky nearly upset 13th-ranked Arkansas on Thursday despite being without starting guard Adams (death in family). The Cats, who led by as many as five in the second half, shot 46.3 percent from the field (25-for-54) and connected on six shots from long range but Arkansas sealed the win with free throws in the final minute. The game saw 12 ties and 13 lead changes.
The Cats lead the all-time series with MSU 14-10 but are 4-5 when playing in Starkville. Mississippi State has won five of the last six games over Kentucky, however, the Cats own a one-game win streak over the Lady Bulldogs. UK upset fifth-seeded MSU in the first round of the SEC Tournament last season in Nashville, 75-72. UK’s last win in Starkville was in 1997.
