Five Kentucky players scored in double figures, led by senior Sara Potts? team-high 15 points, to pace the UK Hoops team to a 70-63 win over Northwestern Wednesday in Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Kentucky (4-2), which saw its 16-point second-half lead shrink to seven, 68-61, with 26 seconds left in the game, used a late 5-0 run from sophomore point guard Angela Phillips to propel the Cats to a hard-fought road victory. It marked the first time since Jan. 25, 2004 that five UK players have registered double-figure points in a game.
?Angela took the team on her shoulders late in the game,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?That was a classic case of having a player that is not going to let you lose. She is a kid that plays with a lot of heart.?
UK shot 44.6 percent from the field in the game (25-of-56) and connected on 67 percent of its free-throws (12-of-18), but was out-scored by Northwestern, 37-31, in the second half to make for an exciting finish. NU shot 45.2 percent from the field (28-of-62) and only 20 percent from long range (2-of-10).
Potts made a trio of three-pointers in the first half, to highlight a 5-for-12 shooting performance from the field. Junior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey and Phillips each tallied 11 points in the game, while Humphrey added seven rebounds. Junior transfer Nastassia Alcius chipped in 10 points and senior Keiko Tate led an uncharacteristically poor UK rebounding effort with eight boards. Kentucky was out-rebounded 42-31.
?We?re not satisfied with our board play,? Phillips said. ?We work our defense and rebounding a lot in practices. Defense is one of our main focuses and we just need to come out Sunday and improve.?
Freshman center Sarah Elliott scored 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field while providing an important post presence late in the game.
?Sarah came in off the bench and did a nice job,? DeMoss said. ?She provided post scoring for us tonight and we haven?t been getting consistency from the post. Sarah gave us a punch when we needed it.?
Northwestern (1-4) trimmed a 17-point halftime deficit down to 10, 56-46, with 12:39 to go in the game. Elliott allowed UK to hold its lead, scoring eight points over a two-minute span midway through the second half. Phillips then connected on one of her three treys with 12:24 remaining in the game to put Kentucky up 59-43.
An 11-2 Northwestern run, backed by six points by Ifeoma Okonkwo, cut NU?s deficit to 61-54 with 6:27 to go. Phillips then sparked a 5-0 Kentucky run, including a resounding three-pointer, to push the advantage back to 12, 68-56, at the 4:07 mark. NU refused to quit, cutting the lead to single digits in the last minute of the game, but two free-throws by freshman guard Samantha Mahoney secured the win for Kentucky.
Kentucky led 39-22 at the half powered by six three-pointers, including three by Potts, who led all scorers at intermission with 11 points. Alcius followed with eight as UK shot 50 percent from the field and 67 percent from beyond the arc.
Both teams struggled to find their shooting touches early in the game. With UK leading 6-4 in the opening minutes, the Wildcats went on a 12-4 run, capped off by a three-point play by Alcius, to take an 18-8 lead with 9:34 remaining. A lay-up by Tate allowed UK to extend its lead to 25-12 at the 7:33 mark of the opening stanza.
Okonkwo led Northwestern with her team-high 16 points.
UK leads the all-series with Northwestern 2-1 and has won two straight against the Wildcats. UK also defeated Northwestern last season in Lexington, 67-60.
The Wildcats will take on intrastate rival Louisville in their next game. The ?Battle of the Bluegrass? will take place Sunday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. ET in Freedom Hall. Kids under 18 get in FREE. For ticket information, call the UL ticket office at 502-852-5151.
