TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ? Junior guard Samantha Mahoney?s (Detroit) five-foot jumper with 1.8 seconds remaining Thursday allowed Kentucky to escape Coleman Coliseum with a 63-62 victory over Alabama – its first win in Tuscaloosa since the 2003 season. The Wildcats, who trailed for the majority of the game, were forced to overcome a seven-point halftime deficit for the win.
Kentucky (13-4, 2-0 Southeastern Conference), which trailed 62-59 with 46 seconds remaining, scored the final four points of the game as junior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) knocked in a shot with 35.4 seconds remaining. The Cats forced a steal with 19 seconds left, but a three-pointer by senior guard Jenny Pfeiffer (North Vernon, Ind.) went off the mark. UK instantly fouled Alabama?s Talisha Chandler, who missed her charity shot to set up Mahoney?s heroics.
Mahoney finished with a team-high 20 points, while Pfeiffer followed with 16 points including three clutch three-pointers. Elliott recorded her eighth consecutive double-figure scoring performance with 15 points, including 13 in the second half.
?Sam Mahoney was big for us all night,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?Give Alabama a lot of credit. They came out extremely hard and we just happened to be ahead when the horn went off. I just can?t say enough about the play of Samantha Mahoney tonight.?
Kentucky, which led only five times during the game, shot 36.7 percent (22-of-60) from the floor and was forced to overcome a hot shooting night by the Crimson Tide. Alabama connected on 48.1 percent (25-of-52) of its shots from the field, but was forced into 24 turnovers that resulted in 25 points by the Wildcats. UK was out-rebounded (40-31) for just the fifth time this season and was led by senior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey?s (Memphis, Tenn.) eight boards. Humphrey also dished out a career-high nine assists.
Freshman forward Lydia Watkins (Hopkinsville, Ky.) was one point shy of her career high with seven points, all of which came in the first half. Pfeiffer and Watkins led a strong effort by the Kentucky bench, which out-scored the Alabama reserves 26-10.
The Crimson Tide took a 32-25 advantage into the locker room at halftime after shooting an impressive 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from the floor. Leading scorer Kate Mastin had 11 points in the opening period and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.The two teams combined for 23 turnovers in the first half.
Alabama broke to an early 10-4 advantage at the 14:46 mark of the first half thanks to its sharpshooter Kate Mastin. Kentucky, however, forced four turnovers on Alabama?s next five possessions and used a 5-0 run over the next 1:14 to pull within one, 10-9. The Wildcats took their first lead of the game at 14-13 after a three-pointer by Pfeiffer and a jumper by Watkins on back-to-back possessions. From there, the Crimson Tide used an 8-2 run to go ahead 21-16 with 7:11 remaining until intermission. Alabama held its largest lead of the game, 32-23, with 49 seconds left in the opening period.
The Wildcats stormed out of the locker room with the first six points of the second half, including four from Mahoney, before the Crimson Tide scored four consecutive points to go up 36-31. After two three-pointers by Pfeiffer, including a four-point play, gave UK a 40-38 advantage, Alabama scored five in a row to go back in front by three with 11:39 left. The Cats led by as many as four, 51-47, after four consecutive free throws, but the Tide was relentless. Back-to-back baskets by Courtney Strauthers and Navonda Moore put Alabama ahead 60-59 with just over two minutes remaining.
Alabama was led by Navonda Moore?s double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, including four three-pointers. Mastin, the squad?s leading scorer, finished with 15 points.
Kentucky returns to action Sunday when it plays host to Ole Miss. Tip-off in Memorial Coliseum is set for 2 p.m. EST and the game will be carried live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with Neil Price.
The game is Fallen Solider Recognition Day as 565 members of fallen Kentucky soldiers will be recognized. Single-game general admission tickets are available for $5 adults/$2 senior citizens and children 6-18. Ages five and under are admitted free. UK students, faculty and staff also are admitted free with valid identification based on availability. For ticket information, log on to ukathletics.com or call the UK ticket office at 859-257-1818 or 1-800-928-CATS (2287).
