Jan. 21, 2013

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky women’s basketball senior guard A’dia Mathies was named the Southeastern Conference’s Player of the Week, the league office in Birmingham, Ala., announced Monday.

Mathies, a 5-foot-9 guard from Louisville, Ky., earned the honor after averaging 22.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and shooting .600 percent (15-of-25 from the floor), including an impressive .727 percent (8-of-11) from the 3-point line.

The reigning SEC Player of the Year and preseason favorite scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds in 24 minutes vs. Mississippi State. UK defeated the Bulldogs 100-47, marking the largest margin of victory over an SEC team in school history.

Mathies followed that performance with a season-high 24 points vs. Auburn, scoring a game-high 16 points in the first half. She recorded a near perfect game against the Tigers, hitting 8-of-9 (.889) from the field, 5-of-6 (.833) from beyond the arc and 3-of-4 (.750) from the free-throw line. She also charted two assists and two steals in the 97-53 win. The five 3-pointers tied her career high.

This is Mathies’ first SEC Player of the Week honor this season.

Overall, Mathies leads No. 5/5 Kentucky (18-1, 6-0) in scoring (15.4 ppg), 3-point field goal percentage (.422), 3-point field goals made (43) and 3-point field goals attempted (102). She has reached double-figure scoring in 17-of-19 games, including 10 in a row.

In SEC play, Mathies leads the league with 19.8 points per game. She also is the SEC’s leading 3-point shooter, hitting .553 percent (21-of-38) from beyond the arc.

UK returns to action Thursday for its fourth matchup of the season against a top-25 team, when it travels to Columbia, S.C., to take on No. 18 South Carolina at 7 p.m. EST on SportSouth, FS Southwest and Sun Sports. The Cats, who have won a school-record 17 consecutive games, are looking for their third-straight win over the Gamecocks.