March 25, 2012

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Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is now 28-6, while Gonzaga is 28-6.
• Kentucky’s 28th win tied the school record set in 2010.
• This was the first meeting between the teams.
  • UK is 2-1 all-time against teams from the West Coast Conference.
• UK is now 11-8 all-time in its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance.
  • UK is 3-0 in regional semifinal games (1982, 2010, 2012).
• Coach Matthew Mitchell is now 144-84 overall and 114-55 at UK.
  • UK is 7-2 under Mitchell in the NCAA Tournament, including 2-0 in regional semifinal games.
• Kentucky is 656-470 in 38 years of varsity play.
• Kentucky advances to the Kingston Regional final on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against No. 1-seed Connecticut.
  • The Wildcats are 0-2 all-time in regional finals and are looking for their first Final Four appearance.
  • UK is 1-2 all-time vs. Connecticut, last meeting a 68-62 UConn win on Nov. 24, 1999.

First Half Notes

• Kentucky used the starting lineup of Amber Smith, A’dia Mathies, Bria Goss, Kastine Evans and Samantha Drake for the 10th time this season. The Wildcats are 9-1 with this lineup.
  • UK has started a freshman in 137-of-169 games in the Matthew Mitchell era, including 104 straight.
• Kentucky’s first basket was a three-pointer by Bria Goss and the Wildcats held the lead the remainder of the first half.
• Leading 24-21, UK went on an 11-2 run for a 35-23 lead.
• UK scored the final five points of the half and led 43-28 at intermission.
• UK hit eight 3-pointers in the first half, the most since netting nine vs. Mississippi State on Jan. 8.
• UK is now 23-0 this season when leading at halftime.

Second Half Notes

• UK increased its lead to 21 points at 58-37 when Gonzaga rallied.
• The Bulldogs went on a 14-1 run, cutting the lead to 59-51, when Keyla Snowden hit a three with 6:47 remaining. Snowden and Samarie Walker combined to score UK’s next 17 points to restore UK’s lead to 76-59.

Team/Game Notes

• The Wildcats hit 12 three-pointers today, most ever for UK in an NCAA Tournament game
  • UK now has 205 on the season, extending the UK single-season record for threes.
  • UK extended its streak of consecutive games with a triple to 291.
• UK dominated bench points 44-10 as all 10 Wildcats who played also scored.
• UK won the rebounding, 44-34, UK is 21-0 this season when outrebounding the opponent.
• UK won second-chance points, 17-15. UK is 23-1 this season when having more second-chance points by the opponent.
• Kentucky forced 10 turnovers in the game, a season-low for a UK opponent.
  • UK has forced double-digit miscues in 116 consecutive games. The Cats are 85-31 during that span.
  • UK has forced at least 20 turnovers in 29 of 34 games this season.
  • Kentucky has forced an SEC-high 921 turnovers this season (27.1 per game), also a single-season school record for UK.
  • Kentucky has forced at least 10 turnovers in 54 of 68 halves this season.

Individual Notes

• A’dia Mathies scored 15 points and tied a career high with seven assists.
  • Has made 104 three-pointers as a Wildcat, moving into ninth place on the UK career list.
• Keyla Snowden came off the bench to score 17 points.
  • Snowden has scored in double figures in all five of UK’s tournament games (two SEC Tournament, three NCAA Tournament) and is averaging 15 points per game in the postseason.
  • Snowden hit a season-high tying five 3-pointers. She also netted five vs. LSU on March 3.
  • Five threes gives her 175 in her UK career and moves her into a tie for second on UK’s all-time 3-pointers made list with Stacey Reed (1991-95).
  • Now has 59 3-pointers this season which moves her up to No. 7 on UK’s single-season list.
• Samarie Walker had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
  • Her third double-double of the season, including second-straight NCAA Tournament game.
  • Averaging 13 points and 12.7 rebounds in three NCAA Tournament games.
• Amber Smith had three points and three assists.
  • Smith played the 122nd game of her career, moving into a tie for sixth place on the UK career list.
• Bria Goss had 10 points, including her first three-pointer since Feb. 16.
  • This was her 22nd game in double figures, tying Maria Donhoff for third place on the UK freshman list.
• Kastine Evans had five points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
  • Has made a three-pointer in eight-straight games.