Wildcats looking for ninth straight win over Bulldogs and a spot in the semifinals for the sixth consecutive season
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After a hard-fought 67-61 win over Vanderbilt in the 2015 Southeastern Conference Tournament second round on Thursday night, the No. 12/11 and sixth-seeded University of Kentucky women’s basketball team will have little time to rest as they face No. 11/13 and third-seeded Mississippi State Friday, March 6 in the quarterfinal round.
The game is scheduled to tipoff at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET, and will be shown live on the SEC Network and WatchESPN (http://es.pn/1EuYg6i) with Paul Sunderland and Carolyn Peck on the call. It also will be broadcast on the UK Radio Network with Neil Price and the SEC Radio Network on Sirius 219 / XM 190.
Paced by a game-high 19 points from senior guard Jennifer O’Neill (Bronx, N,Y), UK won its ninth straight over the Commodores, including the second with this season. O’Neill scored 16 of her 19 points and nailed three of her four 3-pointers in the decisive second half to catapult the Cats into the quarterfinals. Sophomore guard Linnae Harper (Chicago) came off the bench for 18 points, 10 coming in the first half, to go along with her team-high seven rebounds.
Kentucky (22-8) won the team’s only meeting against Mississippi State (26-5) on Feb. 12 in thrilling fashion as the Wildcats got a career night from sophomore point guard Makayla Epps (Lebanon, Ky.). She netted a career-high 42 points, scoring 15 of UK’s 18 points in the overtime periods as Kentucky defeated the Bulldogs, 92-90, in double overtime in Memorial Coliseum.
UK leads the all-time series with Mississippi State, 24-17, and is 4-2 when playing MSU in the SEC Tournament. UK has won the last eight games over the Bulldogs and two in a row in SEC Tournament play.
Mississippi State enters Friday’s showdown ranked 11th in The Associated Press poll, and 13th in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. The Bulldogs are 15-35 all-time in the SEC Tournament, including a 2-3 mark in Little Rock. Last season, MSU defeated Missouri, 73-70, in the opening round in Duluth, Ga. before falling to Florida, 71-67, in the second round.
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