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Kentucky shot a season-low 29.2 percent from the field, falling to Xavier 75-60 on Wednesday night in Memorial Coliseum. Sophomore Jenny Pfeiffer led UK with a season-high 21 points, hitting a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line.
The Wildcats (4-3) trailed by only three at the half (33-30) but couldn?t find the basket in the second half, going almost seven minutes without scoring while Xavier built a 20-point lead. UK went 19-of-65 from the field, including a dismal 1-of-16 from behind the arc.
“This was our worst performance of the year,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?We just didn?t perform well. I don?t have any reasons or excuses. We didn?t shoot the ball well, we didn?t defend well and we didn?t rebound well. The only positive thing I can say is we did fight at the end. We pressed and tried to get back in the game. We kept fighting and that is one positive thing.?
Xavier (5-2) posted a 15-0 run in the first seven minutes to break open the game, 48-30. UK shot only 21.9 percent in the second half (7-of-32) and was unable to get a field goal until the 13:09 mark. Xavier pulled away by its largest lead at 58-40 with 8:48 to go, but the Cats never gave up. UK used its stifling full-court pressure and defense to cut the margin to 11 (58-47) with 6:10 remaining. Each time the Cats threatened the lead the Musketeers would find an answer. Xavier scored its final 13 points from the charity stripe to seal the win.
?Tonight really caught me off guard,? DeMoss said. ?I?m really surprised we didn?t play any better. We just couldn?t get the ball in the basket. Penetration was about the only thing working for us. Tara Boothe did a great job for them. She works really hard to get the ball and we had no answer for her.?
Kentucky native Tara Boothe scored a season-high 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Xavier, leading all scorers and rebounders.
The first half of play saw six ties and 12 lead changes, as both teams were neck-and-neck throughout the entire first stanza.
?I think it was our defense that stifled them,? Xavier Coach Kevin McGuff said. ?We got a lot of stops, and that allowed us to get out in transition. We really tried to emphasize defense. The defense really sparked us on the offensive end.?
The last time UK shot under 30 percent was 28.8 percent vs. Tennessee on Jan. 27, 2001.
Sara Potts scored in double-digits for the Wildcats, finishing with 12 points, seven rebounds and only one three-pointer. Keiko Tate followed with nine points and seven rebounds.
SeSe Helm was held to a season-low four points but only needed a field goal to move past Stacy McIntyre into 10th place on UK?s all-time scoring list. She now has 1,218 career points.
Xavier now leads the all-time series with Kentucky 3-0.
The Cats return to action on Saturday, Dec. 13, when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa., to face Temple in the first of three straight road games. Game time is 2 p.m. ET.
