Wildcats look to snap two-game losing skid on the road to the Lady Tigers
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 10/11 University of Kentucky women’s basketball team will travel to Baton Rouge, La., Sunday, Jan. 18, looking to snap a two-game losing skid on the road to LSU and chart their first win in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center since 2010. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. ET and be televised live on ESPNU and WatchESPN with Roy Philpott and Brooke Weisbrod calling the action. The game also can be heard live on the UK Sports Radio Network with Neil Price.
“It’s a big challenge for us,” UK Hoops head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “Baton Rouge is always a tough place to play. LSU’s always well-coached, always has good players and this year’s no different. They won a big game last night, showed a lot of toughness on the road against Mississippi State and so it’ll be a huge challenge for our team to go on the road and see if we can earn a victory. It’ll be tough.”
The Wildcats (15-3, 4-1 SEC), one of just three teams with one loss in league play, is coming off a 62-56 win over Florida at home on Thursday. In their first game since losing starting point guard Janee Thompson (Chicago) to a season-ending leg injury, the Cats struggled to find their groove offensively. UK shot just .397 percent from the field, including .136 from beyond the arc but its defensive prowess once again saved the day. The Cats forced the Gators into 27 turnovers on 13 steals which resulted in 21 points. The sophomore guard duo of Makalya Epps (Lebanon, Ky.) and Linnae Harper (Chicago) led the way as Epps netted a game-high 20 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Harper added 14 points, a game-high nine rebounds and a career-high six steals.
Another highlight of the game was the return of seniors Bria Goss and Jelléah Sidney. After missing six straight games with a broken left thumb, Goss returned to the starting lineup on Thursday, charting two points, two rebounds and two steals in 23 minutes. Sidney, who had missed 13 straight games with soreness in both knees, saw just five minutes of action but grabbed two crucial rebounds and a steal in the back-and-forth battle.
Senior guard Jennifer O’Neill (Bronx, N.Y.) is the team’s leading scorer off the bench again this season with 14.4 points per game, while Epps and Harper follow with 13.2 and 10.9 ppg, respectively.
Despite standing at just 5-foot-8, Harper is the team’s leading rebounder with 6.8 boards per game. She has pulled down a team-high 56 offensive boards and is the only player under 5-9 to rank in the top 14 of the SEC rebounding statistics. In SEC games only, Harper also leads the league in steals with 3.2 per game. Senior center Azia Bishop (Toledo, Ohio), who ranks second on the team in rebounding with 6.4 rpg, has swatted a team-high 32 blocks and currently ranks second in the SEC in blocks per game (1.8).
LSU enters Sunday’s game at 9-8 overall, 3-2 in conference play after upsetting No. 15 Mississippi State in double overtime on the road Thursday, 71-69. Three players are averaging in double digits led by senior guard DaShawn Harden with 11.9 ppg. Sophomore guard Raigyne Moncrief and junior guard Danielle Ballard, an All-SEC First-Team selection, follow with 10.8 and 10.7 ppg, respectively. Ballard returned to action against Vanderbilt on Jan. 8 after missing the first 14 games due to a violation of team rules. Since her return, the Lady Tigers are 2-1.
LSU, coached by fourth-year head coach Nikki Caldwell, is 1-3 vs. ranked teams this season, falling to No. 22 Rutgers (64-57), No. 1 South Carolina (75-51), No. 9 Texas A&M (55-48) and defeating No. 15 Mississippi State (71-69, 2OT).
LSU leads the all-time series with Kentucky 31-12, including a 13-3 advantage when the game is played in Baton Rouge. The past five regular-season matchups have been decided by the home team. UK won last year’s game in Lexington, 63-56. UK has lost two straight in Baton Rouge, the last win coming on Jan. 28, 2010 (71-62).
Seven of the last 10 meetings have been decided by 10 points or less. UK went 4-3 in those close contest.
