Cats Snap Losing Streak
[caption id="attachment_174330" align="alignnone" width="600"]
(photo via UK Athletics)[/caption]
The 13th ranked UK Hoops led for all but the first 45 seconds of the game. After leading by as many as 17 points, Arkansas had the lead down to one possession under 20 seconds to go, but Kentucky held off the run and leaves Fayetteville with a 56-51 win.
The weather kept the crowd down to a minimum for Arkansas’ senior night, maybe the reason for the slow start by the Razorbacks. After Arkansas scored the first basket of the game, UK went on a 13-0 run, followed by a 9-point run shortly after. Kentucky had a seventeen-point lead with a little over seven minutes left in the first half. Bria Goss hit her first four shots of the game, accounting for 9 of the teams’ first 14 points. On the other hand, Arkansas’ Kelsey Brooks and Jessica Jackson struggled early, a combined 2-18 from the field, while they as a team hit only 3 of their first 23 shots.
In his first season as head coach, former Kentucky assistant and ESPN analyst, Jimmy Dykes, desperately needed to pick up a win in order for his team to have a shot at making the NCAA tournament. Knowing what’s at stake, Arkansas made a 9-0 run of their own, cutting the Kentucky lead to just three under two minutes remaining in the first half.
The first ten minutes of the second half mostly featured Arkansas eliminating the lead, with UK matching it every time. At the 8:11 mark, senior Kelsey Bowen was carried off the floor after rolling her ankle. Kentucky was already on a 6-0 run when this occurred, and after the injury took even more momentum from Arkansas, Kentucky extended the lead to 11 with about five minutes to go.
But Arkansas wouldn’t go away. Azia Bishop, the teams’ leading scorer tonight, picked up her fourth foul by running into a player 50 feet from the basket with just under two minutes left. Kelsey Bowen, who taped up and returned, about twelve seconds later draws Bishop’s fifth foul while hitting a basket down low. Bowen banks in the free throw, cutting UK’s lead to just two, and it looked like everything was going Arkansas’ way. After Linnae Harper missed the front end of the first shot on the bonus, Arkansas had the ball with 30 seconds left and a chance to tie. They weren’t able to get a shot off, though, as Bria Goss comes up with a huge steal and layup with 15 seconds left on the clock to seal the victory.
Azia Bishop lead the way, scoring 12 points on 6-8 shooting, also grabbing 6 rebounds and 2 blocks before fouling out. Makayla Epps, returning from her Achilles injury, was, as expected, a step slow. Although she struggled shooting (2-7), she had 4 of the teams’ 5 assists (0 TO). Other main contributors in the game include Jennifer O’Neill and Bria Goss, who combined for 22 points and 13 rebounds, as well as Linnae Harper with 8 points, 7 rebounds.
With just one match remaining in the regular season, Kentucky trails Mississippi State by one game for the four-seed in the SEC tournament. While Mississippi State plays a very winnable game against an unranked Ole Miss team, UK will host #2 South Carolina. In order for Kentucky to grab the last double-bye of the tournament, Matthew Mitchell may need to pick up the biggest win of his career. Tonight’s win gives Kentucky their twentieth win of the season, snapping a three-game losing skid. Come out and send off the four seniors in Memorial Coliseum at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
(photo via UK Athletics)[/caption]
The 13th ranked UK Hoops led for all but the first 45 seconds of the game. After leading by as many as 17 points, Arkansas had the lead down to one possession under 20 seconds to go, but Kentucky held off the run and leaves Fayetteville with a 56-51 win.
The weather kept the crowd down to a minimum for Arkansas’ senior night, maybe the reason for the slow start by the Razorbacks. After Arkansas scored the first basket of the game, UK went on a 13-0 run, followed by a 9-point run shortly after. Kentucky had a seventeen-point lead with a little over seven minutes left in the first half. Bria Goss hit her first four shots of the game, accounting for 9 of the teams’ first 14 points. On the other hand, Arkansas’ Kelsey Brooks and Jessica Jackson struggled early, a combined 2-18 from the field, while they as a team hit only 3 of their first 23 shots.
In his first season as head coach, former Kentucky assistant and ESPN analyst, Jimmy Dykes, desperately needed to pick up a win in order for his team to have a shot at making the NCAA tournament. Knowing what’s at stake, Arkansas made a 9-0 run of their own, cutting the Kentucky lead to just three under two minutes remaining in the first half.
The first ten minutes of the second half mostly featured Arkansas eliminating the lead, with UK matching it every time. At the 8:11 mark, senior Kelsey Bowen was carried off the floor after rolling her ankle. Kentucky was already on a 6-0 run when this occurred, and after the injury took even more momentum from Arkansas, Kentucky extended the lead to 11 with about five minutes to go.
But Arkansas wouldn’t go away. Azia Bishop, the teams’ leading scorer tonight, picked up her fourth foul by running into a player 50 feet from the basket with just under two minutes left. Kelsey Bowen, who taped up and returned, about twelve seconds later draws Bishop’s fifth foul while hitting a basket down low. Bowen banks in the free throw, cutting UK’s lead to just two, and it looked like everything was going Arkansas’ way. After Linnae Harper missed the front end of the first shot on the bonus, Arkansas had the ball with 30 seconds left and a chance to tie. They weren’t able to get a shot off, though, as Bria Goss comes up with a huge steal and layup with 15 seconds left on the clock to seal the victory.
Azia Bishop lead the way, scoring 12 points on 6-8 shooting, also grabbing 6 rebounds and 2 blocks before fouling out. Makayla Epps, returning from her Achilles injury, was, as expected, a step slow. Although she struggled shooting (2-7), she had 4 of the teams’ 5 assists (0 TO). Other main contributors in the game include Jennifer O’Neill and Bria Goss, who combined for 22 points and 13 rebounds, as well as Linnae Harper with 8 points, 7 rebounds.
With just one match remaining in the regular season, Kentucky trails Mississippi State by one game for the four-seed in the SEC tournament. While Mississippi State plays a very winnable game against an unranked Ole Miss team, UK will host #2 South Carolina. In order for Kentucky to grab the last double-bye of the tournament, Matthew Mitchell may need to pick up the biggest win of his career. Tonight’s win gives Kentucky their twentieth win of the season, snapping a three-game losing skid. Come out and send off the four seniors in Memorial Coliseum at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
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