Riding a two-game winning streak in league play, the Kentucky women?s basketball team travels to Starkville, Miss., Thursday in search of its first Southeastern Conference road win. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. EST in Humphrey Coliseum and the game will be carried live on WLXG 1300 AM with Chris Cross. The Wildcats are coming off back-to-back SEC wins over No. 18 Georgia and Ole Miss heading into Thursday?s contest.
Kentucky (13-5, 2-1 SEC) defeated Ole Miss 70-63 on Sunday after hitting clutch free-throws down the stretch. Senior guard/forward Sara Potts, playing her second consecutive 40-minute game, led four UK players in double figures with a team-high 17 points and freshman guard Chante? Bowman notched her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Potts is leading the team with 14.8 points per game, while freshman center Sarah Elliott follows with 11.2 points per game. Junior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey is bringing down a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game, while sophomore point guard Angela Phillips has dished out a team-high 75 assists this season.
?This is an important road game for us,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?Mississippi State is playing extremely well at home and they are on a nine-game winning streak there. They have one of the best players in the conference in Tan White and she is very hard to contain. We must go there focused and ready to play and be ready to stay intense on defense.?
Mississippi State (13-3, 2-1 SEC) is coming off of an 83-71 loss at Arkansas on Sunday which snapped the team?s 12-game winning streak. The Lady Bulldogs are riding a school record nine-game home winning streak. Senior guard Tan White ranks second in the nation in scoring with a 22.3 points per game average. She has tallied five double-doubles on the season, including a 29-point, 10-rebound performance against the Lady ?Backs. White also is the team?s leading rebounder with 7.9 boards per game.
The Lady Bulldogs are coached by former Kentucky head coach Sharon Fanning, in her 10th year at Mississippi State. Fanning?s record with the Bulldogs is 166-116. She compiled a 134-97 record in her eight seasons with the Wildcats. Fanning is 7-4 against UK since joining Mississippi State. UK Coach Mickie DeMoss is 1-4 in her career vs. the Bulldogs.
The Wildcats lead the all-time series with the Bulldogs 14-13, but Mississippi State has won eight of the last nine meetings between the two schools, including five straight in Starkville. UK?s last win in Humphrey Coliseum was in 1997, 74-57. This is first of two meetings against the Lady Bulldogs this season. UK also will play host to MSU on Feb. 20.
