Jan. 19, 2012

Recap | Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery 

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky improves to 17-2, 6-0 SEC, while Georgia falls to 15-4, 4-2 SEC.
  • It is the first time in program history that UK has started conference play 6-0.
• Kentucky is 13-34 against Georgia all-time, and 4-16 when the game is played in Athens.
  • UK head coach Matthew Mitchell is 4-5 against the Bulldogs.
  • This is UK’s first win at Stegeman Coliseum since Jan. 31, 2008 (47-44).
• UK is 3-0 in SEC road games this season.
• Coach Matthew Mitchell is 133-80 overall and 103-51 at UK.
• Kentucky is 645-466 in 38 years of varsity play.
  • The Wildcats are 138-213 all-time in SEC play, and 41-25 under the direction of Mitchell.
• Kentucky’s win Thursday night gave Georgia its first loss at home this season. The Lady Bulldogs were 9-0 at home prior to tonight’s game.
• Kentucky plays again Sunday at 2 p.m. ET vs. Florida in Memorial Coliseum. The game will be televised by the SEC Network.

First Half Notes

• Kentucky used the starting lineup of Amber Smith, A’dia Mathies, Bria Goss, Kastine Evans and Brittany Henderson. UK is 7-0 with this lineup.
  • UK has started a freshman in 122-of-154 games in the Matthew Mitchell era, including 89 straight.
• After falling behind 5-0 in the opening 50 seconds of the game, Kentucky rallied to tie the game 11-11, paced by 3-pointers from A’dia Mathies, Bria Goss and Kastine Evans.
• UK outrebounded Georgia 25-17 in the opening stanza.
• The Wildcats’ bench outscored the Bulldogs’ bench 19-0 in first half.
• Kentucky trailed Georgia 32-36 heading into the locker room.
  • The Wildcats are 4-2 this season when trailing at the half.
  • Thursday night’s halftime deficit (-4) was its largest in SEC action.

Second Half Notes

• Trailing 47-38 at the 14:59 mark, Kentucky went on a 7-0 run to pull within two (47-45).
• Kentucky held Georgia without a field goal from the 15:42 mark to the 12:00 mark.
  • UK went on a 9-4 run during the Georgia drought.
• With the Bulldogs leading 52-47, freshman guard Bria Goss scored seven straight points for UK to give the Wildcats a 54-52 lead.
• After cutting the Georgia lead to five at 47-52, Kentucky went on a 15-2 run to take a 62-54 lead at the 7:06 mark, its largest lead of the game.

Team/Game Notes

• Kentucky has beaten five teams ranked in the top 25, including three top-10 teams, and is 5-1 vs. ranked teams this season. It ties for the most wins against ranked teams in a single season. UK also won five games vs. ranked opponents in 1982-83 and 2009-10.
  • Kentucky has defeated top-25 ranked teams in three straight games.
• Kentucky is 43-28 (.606) in games decided by 10 points or less in five seasons under Coach Mitchell.
  • Kentucky is 5-1 this season in such games, with a seven-point win over No. 6/5 Duke, a three-point win at Florida, a one-point win over No. 6/7 Tennessee, an eight-point win over No. 24/RV South Carolina, a five-point win over No. 15/14 Georgia and a nine-point loss to No. 3/3 Notre Dame.
• Kentucky forced 13 turnovers in the game.
  • UK has forced double-digit miscues in 101 consecutive games. The Cats are 74-27 during that span.
  • Kentucky has forced an SEC-high 560 turnovers this season (29.5 per game).
  • Kentucky has forced at least 10 turnovers in 33 of 38 halves this season.
  • Kentucky outscored Georgia 13-8 in points off turnovers.
• UK got great production from its bench, outscoring UGA’s bench 34-0.
  • The Wildcats are 15-1 when its bench outscores the opponent’s bench.
• The Wildcats outrebounded Georgia 47-36.
  • UK has won or tied the rebounding battle in 13 of 19 games, including eight by more than 10.
• Kentucky lost the turnover battle (15-13) for just the second time this season.
• With six made 3-pointers, UK extended its streak of consecutive games with a triple to 276.
• Attendance was 3,043.

Individual Notes

• Freshman guard Bria Goss scored a career-high 22 points, including a career-high tying three 3-pointers. She scored 17 of her team-high points in the decisive second half.
  • In the UK freshman record books, Goss’ 12.0 points per game average is on pace to be the sixth highest, her 15 double-figure scoring games are tied for the ninth most, and her 25 made 3-pointers are tied for the eighth most by a UK freshman.
• Sophomore forward Samarie Walker was one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with a career-high 18 points and a career-high nine rebounds in just 20 minutes of play.
• Junior guard A’dia Mathies grabbed a career-high tying 10 rebounds, while also scoring seven points and dishing out four assists.
  • Mathies’ seven points give her 1,215 points for her career and she is tied with Stacy McIntyre at No. 15 on the UK all-time scoring list.
  • Mathies had one steal, giving her 221 for her career. Mathies is now three shy of tying Sandy Harding at No. 8 on the all-time steals list. Mathies has recorded at least one steal in 19 straight games.
• Sophomore guard Bernisha Pinkett scored seven points, her most since scoring 10 points vs. Mississippi State on Jan. 8.