OXFORD, Miss. ? The Kentucky women?s basketball team used a big second half Thursday to overcome a 16-point first-half deficit and notch a 69-61 win against Ole Miss in C.M. “Tad” Smith Coliseum. Senior guard Jenny Pfeiffer (North Vernon, Ind.) scored a team-high 16 points, including 8-of-8 free throws, to lead four Wildcats in double figures as the Cats posted their second consecutive win.
“This win is huge for us,” UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. “We needed this win and our players knew we needed this win. Ole Miss has been playing extremely well, and for us to come down here and beat a good team on their home floor says a lot about where we are right now.”
Kentucky (16-9, 5-5 Southeastern Conference) out-rebounded the Rebels by 20 (47-27) ? its largest rebounding edge in a conference game this season ? and had two players tally double-figure rebound performances for the first time since Nov. 18, 2006. The Wildcats, who dropped a 67-65 overtime decision to Ole Miss (18-7, 7-3) in Lexington earlier this season, have now won five of the last seven meetings between the two teams and two consecutive in Oxford.
Senior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey (Memphis, Tenn.) led the UK rebounding effort for the 15th time this season with a game-high 16 boards, while junior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) charted her fourth double-double this season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Elliott also tallied a double-double against the Rebels earlier this season. The Cats held Ole Miss, the league’s leader in offensive rebounds at 20.0 per game, to just 12 offensive rebounds and seven second-chance points.
“I thought the one key to tonight?s game was that rebounding stat,” DeMoss said. “An area that we have really been focusing on is our board play. We denied them a lot of second-chance points, and Ole Miss has had a lot of success this season with their second-chance opportunities. Sarah Elliott and Jennifer Humphrey had 20 defensive rebounds between them, and that was huge.”
Junior guard Samantha Mahoney (Detroit) scored 13 points, all in the second half, brought down a season-high eight rebounds and dished out five assists. Sophomore point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky.) scored in double figures for the fifth time in the last six games with 11 points to complement six assists.
Kentucky, which trailed by 16 points at 24-8 with 6:51 remaining in the first half, began employing a stifling 3-2 zone that allowed the Wildcats to close the period on a 15-3 run to enter the locker room down just four, 27-23.
“We couldn?t get the ball inside early and had to take some outside shots,” DeMoss said. “We finally started connecting on them, and I really thought that swung the momentum. We went to a zone and played really well. It was a good move for us. I was concerned about how we would rebound out of our zone, but that?s something we had worked on all week.”
Kentucky stormed out of the locker room after intermission and quickly knotted the score at 30-30 on a lay-up by Ormerod at the 17:11 mark of the second half. After another tie at 32-all, Ole Miss went back in front 36-33 after a pair of free-throws by Danetra Forrest with 14:17 remaining. From there, the Wildcats used a 9-0 run and held Ole Miss scoreless for more than three minutes to take a 42-36 advantage after back-to-back baskets by Elliott and Mahoney. A pair of free-throws by Pfeiffer pushed the Wildcats ahead by seven, 46-39, with 6:54 left, but Ole Miss would not go away.
A hoop by Shawn Goff and a three-point play by Alliesha Easley allowed the Rebels to get back into the game at 46-44 with 6:09 remaining. With UK leading 50-48, the Wildcats went on a 9-0 run that was capped off by a three-pointer from Pfeiffer to take an 11-point lead at 59-48 with 1:47 left in the game. Ole Miss began fouling, but the Cats were clutch. Kentucky made 10-of-11 charity shots in the game?s final 1:08 to seal the victory.
The Wildcats shot an impressive 63.6 percent (14-of-22) from the floor in the second half to finish with a 47.9 percent (23-of-48) mark from the field for the game. Ole Miss shot just 33.3 percent (11-of-33) in the final period and connected on 36.5 percent (23-of-63) of its shots for the game.
Ashley Awkward scored a game-high 22 points to lead Ole Miss. Senior Armintie Price, who is second in the SEC in scoring at 18.9 ppg, was limited to 13 points to complement 10 rebounds.
Kentucky returns to action Sunday when it travels to Knoxville, Tenn., to face the No. 3 Tennessee Lady Vols. Tip-off is slated for 5:25 p.m. EST in Thompson-Boling Arena. The game will be carried live on espn2 and the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with Neil Price.
