The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
11-12 3-7
Kentucky
8-14 1-9
Kirk Leads Lady Rebels Past Kentucky
2/7/2002 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2002
OXFORD, Miss. - ,Ole Miss got it's second win in three games behind a career-high 24 points from senior Von Kirk as the Lady Rebels defeated Kentucky 76-66 in Oxford on Thursday night.
The Lady Rebels (11-12, 3-7) were carried by the hot hand of Kirk and senior Sherika Wright off the bench on the offensive end, and used a pressure defense to force the Wildcats (8- 14, 1-9) into bad decisions to pull away after a tight first half.
"I can't say enough about the way we shot the ball tonight, especially the shooting of Von Kirk," said Ole Miss head coach Ron Aldy. "Our depth was definitely a key to the game. We had some players give quality minutes in what they did to provide a spark, and we had some provide scoring."
The Wildcats made a run at the Lady Rebels early in the second half to take a brief lead 39-34 lead. Ole Miss responded with its pressure defense and regained the lead when Wright stole the ball from Kentucky's Rita Adams and passed the ball to Tenisha Gist for a layup to take a 40-39 lead. Ole Miss would not trail again.
Wright scored 18 points on the night while Carletta Brown added 12 points of her own. Kirk, who led all scorers, had a career night as she was perfect from the charity stripe, hitting all nine attempts. Kirk also tied a season-high with five three pointers.
"I thought for a while, no one was going to show up for us tonight," Aldy said. "It's one of the unexplainable things as to why we had so little emotion. In the second half we seemed to find that desire.
"Don't be fooled by Kentucky's record," Aldy said. "They are a much better team than their record indicates. They fight hard in every game. If the ball bounces a little differently a couple times, they have a different season."
Kentucky had two players score in double digits as LaTonya McDole and SeSe Helm both notched 20 points on the night. Adams added eight assists and seven steals for the Wildcats.
Ole Miss made 25-of-54 shots from the field, good for 46.3 percent. UM hit 5-of-14 from beyond the arc and cashed in on 21-of-24 free throws. The Lady Rebels out-rebounded UK 36- 24.
Kentucky made 28-of-58 shots from the floor, including 4-of-14 from the three-point line. The Wildcats hit 6-of-9 from the foul line.
Ole Miss returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 10, when they host Florida at Tad Smith Coliseum. Game time is set for 2 p.m. (CT).
