LEXINGTON, Ky. – Junior guard Jenny Pfeiffer (North Vernon, Ind.) scored a game-high 19 points and senior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey (Memphis) brought down a career-high 16 rebounds, but Kentucky?s second-half rally came up short in a 64-55 loss to Louisville on Wednesday in Rupp Arena.
Sophomore center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.), plagued with foul trouble for the entire game, added 12 points for the Wildcats, who were unable to overcome a poor shooting night in front of 10,192 fans ? the second-largest crowd for a women?s game at the downtown Lexington venue.
The Cats (9-2) shot just 24.2 percent (16-of-66) from the floor and failed to stop a dominant UL (8-2) post presence that out-scored UK in the paint 38-16. Kentucky overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to tie the score at 40 with 13:50 remaining in the game and hung tough with the Cardinals for much of the second half, but Louisville ended the game on a 10-5 run to seal the victory. The Cardinals shot 36.4 percent (24-of-66) from the field and out-rebounded UK 50-49.
?It?s a very disappointing loss,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?Offensively, we had another dismal night. When you have a young team and you don?t have somebody step up on the offensive end and stick it in the hole, it really messes with your confidence. When [Sarah] Elliott picked up that second foul and went out, we seemed to lose a little confidence on the offensive end.
?We didn?t have anyone step up until the second half. [Jenny] Pfeiffer stepped up and hit those threes and really got us back in the game. But, it was very disappointing on the offensive end. We played good enough defense to win the game with the exception of a couple transition situations. Our half-court defense was, once again, solid.?
Pfeiffer, whose 19 points came all in the second half, knocked down 5-of-8 shots from long distance and made 4-of-4 free-throws in 21 minutes of action. Humphrey, who posted 10 boards in the first half alone, tied her career-high with four blocks to complement her personal best in rebounds. Sophomore guard/forward Chante? Bowman (Detroit) added eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, while freshman point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky.) dished out a team-high five assists and brought down a career-high six rebounds. Elliott added two blocks in the game to move into sole possession of seventh place on UK?s career blocks list with 69.
?We let them get up and down the floor on us a couple of times in transition for some easy baskets,? DeMoss said. ?That was the result of some poor shot selection and some turnovers. Their athleticism possibly could have bothered us in the half-court offense because we were not getting great looks at the basket on the perimeter.?
After using a late 10-4 run to close the first half, the Cats remained close to open the second half, coming within seven, 39-32, after a three-point play by Elliott at the 16:27 mark. Pfeiffer followed with a pair of resounding three-pointers to cut UK?s deficit to two, 40-38. A jumper by Elliott in the paint capped off a 12-1 run by the Cats and tied the score at 40 with 13:51 left in the game.
The Cardinals then went on an 8-0 run over the next 4:38 to move back in front by eight, 48-40, before Pfeiffer?s third three-pointer ended the UK scoring drought. After falling behind by nine, 54-45, UK went on a 5-0 run capped off by a three-pointer from Pfeiffer to come within four, 54-50, with 3:09 left. The Cats, however, were unable to come any closer as the Cardinals were able to close out the win.
The Wildcats broke to a quick start to begin the game, scoring the first six points, including back-to-back baskets by Elliott. UK forced the Cardinals to miss their first five shots of the game. After an Ormerod three-pointer at the 14:37 mark put the Cats up 9-4, Louisville used an 11-4 run to move in front 15-11 on a jumper by Jessica Huggins with 9:59 left in the half.
From there, the Cardinals scored seven of the game?s next nine points to extend their lead to 22-13 with 6:42 remaining on a basket by Yuliya Tokova. UL?s Patrika Barlow had five points during that stretch. After a pair of free-throws by Ormerod cut UK?s deficit to eight, 24-16, the Cardinals scored seven consecutive points as part of a larger 16-5 run to move ahead 31-16 with 4:19 left in the period.
?I really felt like we started the game well,? DeMoss said. ?[Chante?] Bowman scored on a putback and [Sarah] Elliott scored and then went out with her second foul. When she went out, I don?t know if the rim got smaller for everyone else. [Sam] Mahoney obviously struggled tonight and when your players struggle like that, it messes with a young team?s confidence. It was a little different than the LSU game. We?ve got to get better offensively. We?ve got to find some people who can put the ball in the hole.?
Kentucky used a 10-4 run over the final 3:38 of the half, sparked by five points from Samantha Mahoney (Detroit). UK trailed 35-26 at the intermission after shooting just 24.3 percent (9-of-37) from the floor in the opening period.
The Cardinals were led by Angel McCoughtry?s team-high 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Kentucky returns to action Saturday when it travels to Winston-Salem, N.C., to take on Wake Forest. Tip off is set for 1 p.m. in the Lawrence-Joel Memorial Coliseum and the game will be broadcast live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with Neil Price.
Live audio and statistics for every UK Hoops this season will be available on ukathletics.com.
