UK Hoops Advance to Quarterfinals
[caption id="attachment_174818" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
photo via UK Athletics[/caption]
In the second round of the 2015 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament, the Kentucky Wildcats pick up a 67-61 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores to advance to the quarterfinals.
Kentucky came out aggressive, taking a 16-2 lead. Back on February 8, when these two teams met in Nashville, Linnae Harper led the team with 22 points. She looked to continue that success against Vandy, hitting five of her first six shots, scoring ten of the teams’ first 20 points. With a little under eight minutes to go in the first half, Vanderbilt regrouped and began a 16-3 run to give the Commodores a 25-24 lead at halftime. During this run, Kentucky made just one of their final nine shots, also throwing the ball away six times. UK made only 1-10 three-pointers, and 1-6 free throws in the first half.
Coming out of the locker room, the game remained even for the opening of the second half. With 8:57 left in the game, Alexis Jennings was fouled on a shot attempt, leading to two made free throws. Vanderbilt head coach Melanie Balcomb wasn’t happy with the call and picked up a technical foul, leading to Bria Goss also knocking down a pair from the charity stripe. This gave the Wildcats a twelve-point lead, and it looked Vanderbilt could get blown out. But the Commodores wouldn’t go away. They kept it close by focusing on their defense, forcing UK to miss ten of their eleven field goal attempts from 10:32 to 4:14. Despite going cold, though, Matthew Mitchell's team clung to a six-point lead with just under four minutes remaining. Under one minute left on the game-clock, Vanderbilt leading scorer, Rebekah Dahlman, had a layup that would’ve cut the UK lead to two, waved off after an offensive foul was called. Kentucky hit their free throws to close it out and live another day, while Vanderbilt’s season is likely over.
She struggled in the first half, but bounced back, and SEC 6th woman of the year Jennifer O’Neill led the team with 19 points on 6-17 shooting. Sophomore Linnae Harper was the driving force for the Cats tonight, though, scoring 18 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. At 9:30 tomorrow night, UK will face the no. 11 Mississippi State Bulldogs for the second time this season. If you recall, the first time they met on February 12th in Lexington, it was the night Makayla Epps scored 42 points, as well as hitting the game-winner at the buzzer in the double-overtime. You can catch the game on the SEC Network. Check out the bracket below:
photo via UK Athletics[/caption]
In the second round of the 2015 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament, the Kentucky Wildcats pick up a 67-61 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores to advance to the quarterfinals.
Kentucky came out aggressive, taking a 16-2 lead. Back on February 8, when these two teams met in Nashville, Linnae Harper led the team with 22 points. She looked to continue that success against Vandy, hitting five of her first six shots, scoring ten of the teams’ first 20 points. With a little under eight minutes to go in the first half, Vanderbilt regrouped and began a 16-3 run to give the Commodores a 25-24 lead at halftime. During this run, Kentucky made just one of their final nine shots, also throwing the ball away six times. UK made only 1-10 three-pointers, and 1-6 free throws in the first half.
Coming out of the locker room, the game remained even for the opening of the second half. With 8:57 left in the game, Alexis Jennings was fouled on a shot attempt, leading to two made free throws. Vanderbilt head coach Melanie Balcomb wasn’t happy with the call and picked up a technical foul, leading to Bria Goss also knocking down a pair from the charity stripe. This gave the Wildcats a twelve-point lead, and it looked Vanderbilt could get blown out. But the Commodores wouldn’t go away. They kept it close by focusing on their defense, forcing UK to miss ten of their eleven field goal attempts from 10:32 to 4:14. Despite going cold, though, Matthew Mitchell's team clung to a six-point lead with just under four minutes remaining. Under one minute left on the game-clock, Vanderbilt leading scorer, Rebekah Dahlman, had a layup that would’ve cut the UK lead to two, waved off after an offensive foul was called. Kentucky hit their free throws to close it out and live another day, while Vanderbilt’s season is likely over.
She struggled in the first half, but bounced back, and SEC 6th woman of the year Jennifer O’Neill led the team with 19 points on 6-17 shooting. Sophomore Linnae Harper was the driving force for the Cats tonight, though, scoring 18 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. At 9:30 tomorrow night, UK will face the no. 11 Mississippi State Bulldogs for the second time this season. If you recall, the first time they met on February 12th in Lexington, it was the night Makayla Epps scored 42 points, as well as hitting the game-winner at the buzzer in the double-overtime. You can catch the game on the SEC Network. Check out the bracket below:
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