Kentucky (18-6, 7-4)
at Mississippi (6-18, 1-10)
Sunday, Feb. 19 – 3:00 p.m. ET
– Starkville, Miss
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Backed by a three-game winning streak, the Kentucky women?s basketball team looks to capture its first win in Starkville, Miss., since 1997 and chart the first four-game winning-streak vs. SEC opponents in school history when it takes on Mississippi State Sunday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. EST in Humphrey Coliseum. The game will be carried live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with Neil Price.
Playing with a new-found verve since coach Mickie DeMoss introduced Kentucky?s new six-game season after the Florida home loss, the Wildcats won their third consecutive Southeastern Conference game, 65-61 over Ole Miss on Thursday in Memorial Coliseum. The Cats, who were picked to finish ninth in the preseason SEC polls, boast a 7-4 conference record and are currently tied for third in the conference standing with No. 13 Georgia.
?This will be a tough game for us as Mississippi State is hungry for a win and it?s the final game for four of their seniors,? DeMoss said. ?We have been playing well on the road but we have to maintain that focus and not overlook Mississippi State. They have been close to winning several games this season and a lot of their losses have come in the last five minutes of the game.?
Mississippi State (6-18, 1-10) is looking to snap a nine-game losing streak after a heartbreaking loss to Alabama, 61-59, last Sunday. It was the fourth league game that MSU has lost in the last five minutes of play this season. Freshman Robin Porter leads the Bulldogs in both scoring (10.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg). Mississippi State will honor four seniors (Blessing Chekwa, Chalandra Hilliard, Mamie McKinney and Doceide Warren) during Senior Day ceremonies. Former UK Coach Sharon Fanning is just one win shy of her 500th career win. She has totaled a 499-369 career record in her 30th year as a head coach.
This is the 30th meeting between Mississippi State and Kentucky. MSU leads the all-time series 15-14 and has won nine of the last 10 meetings. UK has dropped five in a row in Starkville. The Cats? last win in Humphrey Coliseum was in 1997, 74-57.
Sunday marks DeMoss? 200th career game. She is 92-107 overall in seven seasons as a head coach and holds a 46-39 record in three seasons at UK.
UK is sporting its best record since the 1998-99 season. That year the Wildcats went 21-11 overall, 7-7 in conference and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore guard Samantha Mahoney (Detroit), who scored a team-high 16 points against the Lady Rebels, leads four Wildcats averaging double-figure points with 11.7 ppg. Junior guard Jenny Pfeiffer (North Vernon, Ind.) averages 11.0 ppg, while sophomore center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) and freshman point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky.), the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, are adding 10.4 and 10.1 ppg, respectively. Senior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey (Memphis) is the squad?s leading rebounder, averaging 9.4 boards per game.
UK returns home for its final regular season game vs. Alabama on Sunday, Feb. 26 in Rupp Arena. The game time is set for 1 p.m. EST. It will be televised live on FSN South and the Big Blue Sports Network.
