Lady Rebels Come Up Short At Kentucky 59-54

LEXINGTON, Ky. Sarah Elliott scored 14 points to go along with 12 rebounds and Kentucky finished with 38 points in the paint as the Wildcats held off a late Ole Miss rally en route to a 59-54 victory over the Lady Rebels Thursday evening from Rupp Arena.

Kentucky forward Victoria Dunlap also finished with 12 points, while guard Chelsea Chowning hit two three-pointers late in the game to complete her night with 12 points as well.

Ole Miss junior center Shawn Goff finished with a game-high 18 points to go along with six rebounds and three blocks in 40 minutes of action.  With her three blocked shots, Goff moves into a tie with Amber Watts for the fifth most blocks in a season in school history with a total of 50. 

Trailing by nine points with just over six minutes remaining, Ole Miss put together one final run to close the gap to just two points with 1:37 left to play.  Lady Rebel sophomore guard Shantell Black started the comeback as she converted on a layup before Goff sunk two free throws to cut the UK deficit to five points. 

After Dunlap scored at the 4:03 mark to extend UK’s lead back to seven points, Black answered on the other end by swishing a three-pointer to get the Lady Rebels within four points with just over three minutes remaining.  Following a missed shot by the Wildcats, Ole Miss secured the rebounded and converted on the other end as Black cut the basket and raced in for a layup, cutting the Kentucky lead to 55-53 with 1:37 on the clock.

Ole Miss (9-12, 3-5 SEC) got a defensive stop on the ensuing Kentucky possession as sophomore guard LaKendra Phillips pulled down the rebound after Samantha Mahoney’s shot attempt bounced short off the rim.  On the other end, Lady Rebel senior Carla Bartee attempted to give Ole Miss the lead, but her three-point attempt hit off the back of the rim and rolled out.  Kentucky went on to grab the rebound and ultimately secure the victory.

Kentucky finished the game shooting 38.7 percent, while the Lady Rebels ended the contest after shooting 32.1 percent.  The Wildcats also won the battle of the board as UK pulled down 47 rebounds while limiting Ole Miss to 31. 

Kentucky sprinted out to a seven point lead early in the first half as the Wildcats got four points from Elliott in the first six minutes to take a 11-4 lead.  Ole Miss responded with a 13-4 run to take its first lead of the game at the 10:01 mark as Goff nailed a jumper in the lane to put the Lady Rebels ahead 17-15. 

The Wildcats answered with an 11-0 run of their own over the next five and a half minutes to open up a nine point advantage before taking a 32-24 lead into halftime. 

The Lady Rebels opened the second half on a 16-7 run over the first seven minutes to get within a point at 40-39, but Kentucky failed to surrender its lead it built midway through the first half. 

Ole Miss returns to action Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. (CT) when the Lady Rebels travel to Columbia, S.C., to take on South Carolina. 

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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