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  • Kentucky Ends Non-Conference Slate at Middle Tennessee Thursday

    UK Media Relations

    Wildcats look to end tough non-conference schedule with win at MTSU on Thursday night

    LEXINGTON, Ky. – Looking to conclude its non-conference schedule on a high note, the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team travels to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to square off against Middle Tennessee on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET inside the Murphy Center.

    The game will be live streamed through GoBlueRaiders.com with Dick Palmer and Duane Hickey on the call. Darren Headrick, in his first year with the program, will be calling the game on the UK Sports Radio Network. Fans in Lexington can hear Headrick’s call on 630AM WLAP. Live stats and free audio will be available online at ukathletics.com.

    Kentucky (8-5) is looking to get back in the win column following four straight losses before the holiday break. The Wildcats most recently are coming off consecutive losses to highly ranked teams, falling at home to No. 3 Louisville and No. 24 Cal. Thursday’s game continues a stretch of eight straight games for the Wildcats against a team that has been either ranked or receiving votes at some point this season. The game against Middle Tennessee completes non-conference play for Kentucky, who will begin the always tough SEC slate on New Year’s Eve at Noon against top-10 ranked Tennessee in Rupp Arena.

    This will be the 20th all-time meeting between Kentucky and Middle Tennessee in women's basketball with the Wildcats leading the all-time series, 15-4. Three of Kentucky's four losses in the series have come in Murfreesboro where the Cats have a 5-3 record. Kentucky has won five straight in the series with the last loss coming on Dec. 28, 2011. Each of Kentucky's last five wins in the series have come by double digits.

    Middle Tennessee enters Thursday's game with a 7-5 record, including a 4-0 mark at home, 2-4 mark in true road games and 1-1 record in neutral-site games. The Blue Raiders started the season with four straight wins before losing back-to-back games at Ole Miss and Georgia Tech. Middle Tennessee is coming off an appearance in the UTRGV Holiday Classic in Edinburg, Texas where it fell 57-72 to USC before a 55-45 win over Canisius.

    Senior guard Abbey Sissom leads Middle Tennessee in scoring this season by averaging 13.8 points per game while adding a team-best 33 assists. Junior guard Jess Louro is averaging 10.3 points per game with 6.4 rebounds per game, while Senior forward Rebecca Reuter is averaging 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

    As a team, Middle Tennessee is averaging 57.7 points per game, hitting 38.7 percent from the field, 32.2 percent from long range and a +3.9 rebounding margin. The Blue Raiders are averaging over 20 turnovers per game.
    Comments 11 Comments
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Matthew Mitchell calls a timeout with the Cats trailing 48-44. Middle Tennessee is on a 14-0 run.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Middle Tennessee just used its last timeout on a near turnover. Still 2:41 to go and Cats reclaimed the lead 51-50 on a pair of Maci Morris free throws.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Middle Tennessee up 54-52 with 1:22 left. Rice at the line for two free throws.

      Makes both, tied.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      No field goals for Kentucky in the last 4:34 and Middle Tennessee has a 4-point lead with 42.0 left. Cats take a timeout and advance the ball to halfcourt.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Kentucky gets a wide-open look from 3 by McKinney but its short. Savage back to the line to potentially ice the game.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      FINAL: Middle Tennessee 62, Kentucky 57. Cats lost fifth straight for the first time since 2004-05 season.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      @KyleTucker_SEC: Kentucky women just lost to MTSU, a team that lost to Louisville by 54. Matthew Mitchell losing half his team to transfer and dysfunction has finally caught up to him.

      @KyleTucker_SEC: That's five straight losses, 8-6 overall for a UK women's program that was knocking at the door of Final Fours not long ago. Mitchell's getting way too much money to let it fall this far. https://twitter.com/kyletucker_sec/s...90152096403456
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      UK Media Relations

      Morris, Rice Reach Double Figures for Wildcats

      MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Maci Morris scored 13 points and Alyssa Rice added 11 points and eight rebounds, but the Kentucky women’s basketball team fell to Middle Tennessee 62-57 on Thursday night at the Murphy Center.

      Kentucky (8-6) hit 11 of 20 shots in the first half, but the Wildcats connected on just eight of 28 shots after the break. Kentucky hit just four of its 17 shots from behind the arc in the game, while Middle Tennessee hit seven of 17. The Wildcats held the advantage in bench points (18-10) and points in the paint (20-18). But the Wildcats lost the battle of the boards 34-26.

      Middle Tennessee (8-5) got on the board first on an Abbey Sissom free throw, but Kentucky scored the next eight points of the game to take an early 8-1 advantage. The Wildcats would extend the lead to 11-2 on a layup by Paige Poffenberger with 2:40 left in the first period. MTSU answered by scoring the next seven points to cut Kentucky’s lead to 11-9. But just before the end of the period, McKinney nailed a three-pointer to give the Cats a 14-9 lead after one period.

      In the second period, the Blue Raiders cut Kentucky’s lead to 16-14, but the Wildcats went on a quick 7-0 run, sparked by four points from Wyatt, to make it 23-14 with 5:32 left in the half. Middle Tennessee would cut the lead to 23-17 before Kentucky finished the half on a 9-3 run, capped by a Jaida Roper three ball, to lead 32-20 at the break.

      Kentucky held the lead throughout the third period, and the Cats led 44-34 with 2:34 left in the quarter. But MTSU mounted a rally, scoring the final eight points of the period to cut the UK lead to 44-42 after three quarters. Kentucky hit just five of 17 shots in the period, while MTSU hit six of its 11 shots.

      In the fourth quarter, the Sisson hit a three-pointer to give MTSU a 45-44 lead, their first lead since it was 1-0. The Blue Raiders would lead by as many as four before the Cats clawed back. Kentucky would take a 51-50 lead on a pair of free throws by Morris with 2:53 remaining in the game. But MTSU took the lead back before Kentucky was able to tie the game at 52 and 54. MTSU took a four-point lead, 58-54, before a McKinney three cut the lead to 58-57. After a pair of free throws by Charity Savage made it 60-57 with 10 seconds left in the game, Kentucky had one final possession to try for a tie. But McKinney’s three-pointer was no good and MTSU added a pair of free throws to provide the final margin.

      Kentucky returns to action on Sunday, as the Wildcats open SEC play against Tennessee at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for noon ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.

      KENTUCKY WBB POSTGAME NOTES

      Kentucky at Middle Tennessee

      Murphy Center – Murfreesboro, Tenn.

      Dec. 28, 2017

      FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 62, MTSU 57



      Team Records and Series Notes

      - Kentucky falls to 8-6 this season, while MTSU rises 8-5.

      - Matthew Mitchell is in his 11th season as head coach at Kentucky. He is the winningest head coach in program history at 249-106.

      - Kentucky still leads the all-time series between the two teams, 14-5.

      - Kentucky will open Southeastern Conference play on Sunday, welcoming Tennessee to Rupp Arena at noon ET. The game will be broadcast live on SEC Network and on the UK Sports Radio Network with Darren Headrick calling the action.



      Team Notes

      - Kentucky used the starting combination of senior Alyssa Rice, senior Makenzie Cann, junior Taylor Murray, junior Maci Morris and freshman Keke McKinney.

      o UK is 2-3 with that starting-five combination.

      - Middle Tennessee scored the first point of the game, but UK followed with an 8-0 run and did not trail again in the contest.

      - UK held MTSU to just nine first quarter points, ending the first stanza with a 14-9 lead.

      - The Wildcats ended the first half with its largest lead of the game, stretching it to 12 (32-20) by ending the half on a 5-0 run.

      - MTSU used a 14-0 run across the third and fourth quarters to take a 48-44 lead with 6:37 to go.

      - Kentucky regained its lead at the 2:53 mark as Maci Morris hit two clutch free throws to go up 51-50, but MTSU responded with two free throws of its own from Abbey Sissom on the other end.

      - Middle Tennessee stretched its lead back to four with 40 second to go before Keke McKinney hit a 3 on the other end to make it 58-57, but the Wildcats could not overcome the deficit.

      - After shooting 55 percent (11-20) in the first half, the Wildcats shot just 28.5 percent (8-28) in the second half.

      - Ten UK players scored in the outing.

      Player Notes

      - Maci Morris led UK in scoring with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting in the game.

      o Morris has scored in double digits in all but one contest this season and has led UK in scoring nine times this season.

      - Alyssa Rice added 11 points, eight rebounds and a career-high four blocks.

      o It was the fifth time she’s led UK in rebounds this season.
    1. kingcat's Avatar
      kingcat -
      UK back to being a mediocre ladies program.

      I know it's probably just me but, it just feels all wrong at UK this season.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Baseball and volleyball were awesome!
    1. kingcat's Avatar
      kingcat -
      Quote Originally Posted by Darrell KSR View Post
      Baseball and volleyball were awesome!
      Yeah they were.

      Basketball seems to be very low profile for both the men and women
      Relatively speaking that is.