Feb. 22, 2003
Lexington, Ky. – The Kentucky women’s basketball team travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face Alabama on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. ET in Coleman Coliseum for the second meeting between the two schools this season. The Cats defeated the Tide in the teams’ conference-opener in Lexington, 59-55.
Both teams are coming off wins over Florida. Kentucky (10-13, 3-8 Southeastern Conference) defeated the Gators in its last game in Lexington. Senior Rita Adams returned from a two-game absence (death in family) to lead the Cats to a 49-47 victory, snapping UK’s six-game losing streak. Adams, who had a team-high 13 points, made a three-pointer with 1:21 left in the game to seal the Cats’ win. The Tide (12-12, 2-9 SEC) snapped a five-game losing streak with a 69-65 win over the Gators in Tuscaloosa on Sunday.
The Cats have won four out of the last five meetings with Alabama but trail 3-8 in the all-time series in games played in Tuscaloosa. Alabama leads the overall series 14-13. Last year, the visiting team was the winner in both games. UK defeated UA 63-62 in Tuscaloosa and the Tide defeated the Cats in Lexington 61-58.
Beth Vice, a Louisville, Ky., native, leads two Tide players in double-digit scoring with 11.8 points per game. Jamilah Johns follows close behind with 11.5 ppg. Johns also is UA’s leading rebounder with 7.9 rpg.
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 12.2. Potts also leads the SEC in three-pointers made with 2.55. SeSe Helm and Jenny Pfeiffer are averaging 10.7 and 10.3 ppg, respectively. Helm is UK’s leading rebounder, grabbing 6.8 boards a game.
“With only two conference games left after this weekend, we need to take advantage of this road trip,” UK Coach Bernadette Mattox said. “Alabama has improved since we met them in January but I think we have improved as well. We’ve really struggled on the road this season but we know what we are capable of doing and we just have to go down there and execute it.”
Kentucky currently ranks ninth in the conference standings while Alabama is 10th. The winner of this game will get a leg up in the bid for a higher seed in the SEC Tournament in Little Rock, Ark., March 6-9.
The teams have posted nearly identical conference records and have beaten the same league opponents in Ole Miss and Florida. The seeds will likely be decided in next week’s action when Kentucky faces South Carolina and Tennessee and Alabama meets Auburn and Arkansas in the final two games of the regular season.
