Bowling Green, Ky. ? The Kentucky women?s basketball team withstood a late rally from Western Kentucky to beat the Lady Toppers 76-63 Monday night at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. Four Wildcats reached double-digits, led by SeSe Helm?s second straight double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Helm and sharp shooter Jenny Pfeiffer came out on fire in the first half, teaming up to score 16 of UK?s first 18 points and boosting the Cats to an eight-point lead. The Lady Toppers cut the margin to four, 22-18, but the Cats outscored WKU 17-8 down the stretch, including a 5-0 run in the final minute, to push open a 39-26 halftime lead. Helm led all scorers at the break with 16 points, and Pfeiffer contributed 13 points with three treys in the first 20 minutes.
?This is a great win for our program,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?This was one of our better performances of the year. I?m proud of the way we came out on the defensive end in the first half. We were able to answer their runs at the end. It was a big game for both schools and we were proud we able to hang for the win.?
The Wildcats (6-4) built on a 13-point halftime cushion by opening up an 8-1 run to open the second half. UK took its largest lead, 47-30, with 16:42 to go in the game but the Lady Toppers wouldn?t give up. Five different players scored during a 10-4 run to narrow the margin to 11, 51-40, at 9:01. WKU (3-6) cut the lead below double digits for the first time since the first half when Tifany Zaragoza nailed a three-pointer with 8:00 remaining, 59-48. The Lady Toppers continued to chip away at UK?s lead, coming as close as five before Keiko Tate stopped a three-minute UK drought with a three-point play at the 5:28 mark. The Cats never looked back, going 9-of-10 from the free-throw line in the final minute to seal the 13-point victory.
?It was a pride thing tonight,? Helm said. ?We haven?t beaten them since I?ve been here and this team really pulled together. We couldn?t ask for a better Christmas present.?
Helm?s double-double was the 14th of her career and the fifth this season. The last time a UK player had back-to-back double-doubles was in December of 1999, when LaTonya McDole and Shantia Owens both recorded consecutive games against Cincinnati and UTM.
Sara Potts, who scored only two points in the first half, finished with 17 while Tate added 13 points. Angela Phillips scored all six of her points off free throws in the final minutes and dished out a career-high tying nine assists.
The Cats now lead the all-time series with the Lady Toppers 15-12 and evened the series at 6-6 when playing in Bowling Green.
UK will return home on Tuesday, Dec. 30, when it plays host to Ohio Valley Conference opponent Austin Peay at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum.
