LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky women’s basketball players Victoria Dunlap and A’dia Mathies were named the Southeastern Conference Player and Freshman of the Week after leading the Wildcats to back-to-back road wins over No. 18/19 LSU and Mississippi State last week, the league office in Birmingham, Ala., announced Monday.
Dunlap, a 6-2 junior forward from Nashville, Tenn., earned her second Player of the Week honor of the season after averaging a double-double with 21.5 points and 11.0 rebounds. She posted her ninth 20-plus point performance of the season in UK’s 71-62 upset at No. 18 LSU on Thursday. She scored 13 of her game-high 24 points in the crucial second half, including seven points in the final 8:57 of the game to help UK grab its first win in Baton Rouge since 1995. She also became the 27th member of UK’s 1,000-point club on Sunday after registering her 19th career double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Mississippi State. She again was clutch in the second half, scoring 14 of her game-high 19 points after intermission.
Mathies, a 5-9 guard from Louisville, Ky., earned her second FOW honor this season after averaging 11.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals in the wins. She scored nine of her 13 points in the second half vs. Mississippi State and her three-pointer with 3:31 remaining gave UK a 59-53 cushion and ignited a 12-0 decisive run. In the win over LSU, she charted nine points to go along with a career-high-matching eight rebounds and a team-high four assists. She made two free throws then hit a three-pointer to give UK a 65-57 advantage with 4:16 remaining. Her five points bookended a key 8-1 run that gave UK the lead for good.
Kentucky (18-3, 6-2 SEC) currently ranks second in the league standings and is riding a school-record five-game SEC winning streak. The Wildcats look to keep that streak alive when they play host to Ole Miss (14-7, 5-3 SEC) Thursday, Feb. 4 in Memorial Coliseum. The game will be televised on the Big Blue Sports Network and FSN South. It will air live in Lexington on the CW (Insight Channel 5) at 7 p.m. EST and be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis at 9 p.m. EST on FSN South.
