Kentucky survives scare from 13th-seeded Hampton University

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Kentucky couldn't wear out Jericka Jenkins and the Hampton Lady Pirates. So, it settled for outlasting them.

Brittany Henderson scored four of her six points in overtime and the Wildcats survived a scare Saturday, beating Hampton 66-62 in the NCAA tournament. "They really gave us a tough, tough contest today, so my hat's off to Hampton," Wildcats coach Matthew Mitchell said.

"I am extremely proud of the Kentucky team for finding a way to win this game." The Wildcats did it by turning up the defense and turning to their depth, with 11 of 12 players scoring and grabbing at least one rebound.



No. 13 Hampton women lose in overtime to Kentucky 66-62

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —— It was oh so close for Hampton in Saturday's opening round of the NCAA women's tournament. The 13th-seeded Lady Pirates fell to No. 4 Kentucky 66-62 in overtime in a game that easily could have turned out differently.

"Tremendous, tremendous basketball game," said Hampton coach David Six.

"If you're a basketball fan you saw everything. You saw two great teams going at each other. And, unfortunately we came out on the short end of that. I'm proud of my kids. We didn't come here to be a bump on someone's schedule. We came here to play at a high level and I thought that we did that today."

Hampton (25-7) had a chance to go ahead late in regulation as Quanneisha Perry spotted up along the baseline to try and break a 56-all tie.

Hampton falls to Kentucky in OT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Brittany Henderson scored four of her six points in overtime, and Kentucky survived a scare from Hampton, beating the Lady Pirates 66-62 on Saturday in the Spokane Region of the NCAA tournament.

Keyla Snowden led the fourth-seeded Wildcats (25-8) with 19 points but missed a jumper at the buzzer that would have won the game in regulation, and Victoria Dunlap added 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Allowing just 51.3 points a game, the 13th-seeded Lady Pirates (25-7) were determined to put on a better showing than last season's 72-37 loss to Duke in the first round. And did they ever.




UK 66 Hampton 62 NCAA Tournament

Matthew Mitchell on UK's 66-62 win over Hampton in the NCAA Tournament.

"I'm so proud of our players for finding a way to beat a very tough Hampton team. I can't say enough about Hampton. What a great opponent. They were well coached and they had a great game plan that they executed well. They really gave us a tough, tough contest today. My hat is off to Hampton, but I am extremely proud of the Kentucky team for finding a way to win this game and I'm really happy to be advancing in the tournament."

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Hampton Lady Pirates vs. Kentucky

Quanneisha Perry

Saturday
13 Hampton (26-6, 15-1 MEAC) vs. 4 Kentucky (24-8, 11-5 SEC)
Television: ESPN2, 6:30 PM ET (NOT ON TV In Washington, D.C. Metro Area)
Internet: ESPN3 - Click Here

Excerpt:

UK opens NCAA Tournament play on Saturday in Albuquerque, N.M., as a four seed playing against 13th-seeded Hampton (25-6) of the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference. The Wildcats may be seed-line favorites when the teams take the floor on at 6:30 p.m. ET, but the Lady Pirates have UK's full attention.

"I'm very impressed with Hampton," Mitchell said. "They have a great record. They're on a tremendous winning streak right now. They have not lost a game in a while so they have to be coming in with tremendous confidence."

The winning streak Mitchell is referring to is a 13-game stretch dating back to a Jan. 22 loss to Bethune-Cookman. In that time, the Lady Pirates have defeated all but two of their opponents by double digits, thoroughly dominating the MEAC in the process. Additionally, Hampton is 24-2 since a 1-4 start to their season, defeating Florida, an SEC rival of UK, 69-54 along the way.

LADY PIRATES TO FACE KENTUCKY IN NCAA FIRST ROUND

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University women’s basketball team, fresh off its second straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament championship, will face No. 4 seed Kentucky on Saturday in Albuquerque, N.M. in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Div. I Women’s Basketball Tournament.

The game is scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m. EST and will be televised live on ESPN2. The games will be played in "The Pit" on the campus of the University of Mexico.

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Slow-starting LSU Tigers heat up late to pull away from Southern Jaguars

Not long after the LSU men’s basketball team pulled away from Southern in the second half for a 62-41 victory Monday night, fans trickled out of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and headed into the night, many of them surely searching for updates on the just-under-way Saints-Falcons game.

By then, the temperature in Baton Rouge had dipped to 31 degrees and headed toward the 20s. How fitting. For much of Monday night’s game between these two struggling teams, the Jaguars and Tigers were both ice-cold from the floor.

Assessing basketball season as SWAC play nears

Yes, the Southern men’s basketball team lost to LSU by 21 points on Monday night, 62-41.

Yes, it was the Jaguars’ ninth straight loss.

No, they probably won’t sniff a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.

They probably won’t finish above fifth.

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Georgia survives MVSU scare in opener

ATHENS, GA -- Jeremy Price struggled to explain it. He’s just glad his late heroics were enough to save Georgia on Friday night. Price scored eight consecutive points in a 50-second span to help the Bulldogs open the season with a 72-70 victory over Mississippi Valley State at Stegeman Coliseum.

“It kind of just happened,” said Price, who finished with a game-high 20 points. “We needed somebody to step up and come through with some tough plays. It was just my time. I delivered when I needed to.” Price converted successive three-point plays and made a turnaround jumper in the lane to erase a seven-point deficit and give Georgia a 67-66 lead with 2:23 left in the game.

Georgia rallies to beat MVSU 72-70

ATHENS, Ga. -- Jeremy Price scored 20 points, including eight straight late in the game, and Georgia recovered to beat Mississippi Valley State 72-70 on Friday night in the season opener for each team. Georgia trailed 66-59 before Price closed the gap with back-to-back three-point plays. Price added another basket with 2:24 remaining to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the second half, 67-66.

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JSU Tigers' Williams to be punished, Anderson vows

The day after one of his players was ejected from Tuesday's game for punching a Mississippi State player in the groin, Jackson State basketball coach Tevester Anderson called the action "uncharacteristic" and said Phillip Williams will be punished in some fashion. "It's uncharacteristic of him, it's uncharacteristic of our team and I'm really disappointed in what took place," said Anderson, whose team lost 81-67 to MSU in a first-round game of the National Invitation Tournament at Starkville. "There will be some repercussions from me down the road. ... Nothing should happen to cause a guy to do something like that.

"I will get to the bottom of it. I don't run that kind of program. I don't condone that at all." SWAC policy mandates a one-game suspension for a player ejected from a game. Although Williams became an instant YouTube hit and was fodder for radio and TV talk show hosts around the country, Anderson said he had not seen a replay of the punch by Wednesday afternoon. He said he will make Williams' punishment public after making a decision.



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JSU Coach Tevester Anderson

STARKVILLE, MS — Even in the moments leading up to the NIT opener at Mississippi State on Tuesday, no one was talking about Jackson State. The conversations inside Humphrey Coliseum still centered on Kentucky, a perceived NCAA Tournament snub, poor officiating and even an expected tiny crowd. JSU was the least of anyone's concern. Mississippi State won 81-67, as expected, but JSU caused a little more concern than any of the announced 4,433 inside Humphrey Coliseum thought it would. And that's been the story for this Tiger team - going against conventional thought.

Jackson State trailed by just five points with 14:15 remaining, but a flagrant foul and two technicals on Phillip Williams started the downward spiral. "Our guys have really overachieved," said JSU coach Tevester Anderson. "To win the regular season (SWAC ) championship is big for our program. We have to build off of this.

Game Photo Gallery: MSU - JSU

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Jackson State Takes On Mississippi State In NIT 1st Round

Jackson, MS -- It's not the tournament either team had planned to play in, but Jackson State University and Mississippi State University will face off Tuesday night in Starkville in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament. Both the Tigers and Bulldogs had hopes of playing in the NCAA Tournament this year. JSU went 17-1 in the SWAC regular season, and MSU lived on the bubble for two weeks leading up to selection Sunday.

State had a chance to beat Kentucky in the SEC Tournament Championship Sunday, but the Wildcats forced overtime when Demarcus Cousins scored as time ran out. Kentucky eventually won the game 75-74 in overtime. JSU won the SWAC regular season title, but lost to Grambling in the first round of the conference tournament. The two Mississippi teams will tip-off Tuesday at 9 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN-U.

MSU to host JSU in NIT on Tuesday

Mississippi State and Jackson State will face each other in a first-round game of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday night at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville. A few hours after State lost 75-74 to No. 2-ranked Kentucky in the SEC Tournament final in Nashville, the Bulldogs received one of the four No. 1 seeds in the 32-team NIT. The MSU-JSU game will start at 9 p.m. (CDT) and be televised on ESPNU. The MSU-JSU winner will face either William & Mary or North Carolina, the reigning NCAA champion, in a second-round game.

By virtue of getting a No. 1 seed, Mississippi State (23-11) can host games up until the NIT semifinals, which are played at Madison Square Garden in New York City. State advanced to the NIT semifinals in 2007, where it lost to West Virginia. Jackson State (19-12) received its spot in the NIT by result of it winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season title. JSU blew through the SWAC with a 17-1 record, winning its first regular-season championship since sharing the title with Mississippi Valley State in 1996. It was the Tigers’ first outright championship since 1993. JSU went into the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed, but was knocked out in the first round with a 65-57 loss to No. 8 Grambling State.

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Florida A&M 61, Alabama 52

FAMU scores big comeback win, 61-52

Alabama was on a run that produced a five-point lead over FAMU with eight minutes left in the game, when Qiana Donald summoned the rest of the Rattlers into a huddle. "Once they started taking the lead, I had to call everybody together and let them know this is our game," Donald said. "We couldn't let them walk out with the win." The Crimson Tide didn't, as the Rattlers regained the lead with 6:01 left and completed a stunning comeback for a 61-52 victory Tuesday night at the Lawson Center. It was FAMU's second third victory over a major women's basketball program and its second over a SEC team. This one seemingly was headed the way of a blowout loss to Kentucky just four days ago as the Rattlers (6-3) spotted Alabama (6-5) a 13-point lead early in the first half. During the Alabama run, not even routine plays worked for the Rattlers.

Photo Gallery: FAMU vs Alabama Basketball

Women's Basketball Drops 61-52 Decision at Florida A&M

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The women's basketball team fell 61-52 to Florida A&M on Monday at the Al Lawson Center. With the loss, the Crimson Tide drops to 6-5 overall, while the Lady Rattlers up their season standing to 6-3. "You can't go on the road and shoot the way we did tonight," said head coach Wendell Hudson. "We have to step up and make those shots. We did all the things we were supposed to do from a defensive standpoint and all that added up, you would have thought we won the game. Like I've said before though it's hard to win basketball games on the road, and even harder if we can't make shots."

Final Stats

NEXT GAME: Dec. 30, FAMU at Alabama State, 8 p.m.

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Solid Free-Throw Shooting Secures UK Women's Win over N.C.A&T

Box Score

Quotes

Notes

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky women’s basketball team hit 29-of-32 free-throw attempts, including 13-of-14 in the final four minutes to lead the Wildcats to their fourth consecutive win with a 72-63 win over North Carolina A&T on Thursday night in Memorial Coliseum.

It was a sloppy game from the start as both teams seemed out of rhythm and sluggish. The teams committed a combined 24 turnovers in the opening half, 13 from the Blue and White. With the game knotted at 22 apiece with 1:43 left in the half, the Wildcats finally kicked it into gear thanks in large part to the heady play of Dunlap. The sophomore All-Southeastern Conference performer grabbed two defensive rebounds and scored the next seven consecutive points, including an old-fashioned three-point play, to give the Cats a seven-point 28-22 lead with 40 seconds to go. UK went on to lead 29-25 at the break after a three-pointer by Brittanie Taylor-James of N.C. A&T.

In the second half, the Wildcats seemed to be pulling away from the Aggies after Morrow and Edelen combined to hit two three-pointers a piece in the first eight minutes of action. Their hot shooting sparked a 16-2 run, giving the Cats a 46-30 lead en route to an eventual game-high 19-point advantage with 4:34 remaining. However, turnovers continued to plague the Cats and North Carolina A&T (6-5) took full advantage of UK’s season high-tying 26 miscues. The Aggies, led by 25 points from Taylor-James, held the Cats without a field goal for the final four minutes and pulled within seven (66-59) with 1:05 left. The Cats remained poised down the stretch, hitting 13-of-14 free-throw attempts in the final 3:36 to take the 72-63 win.

“We were very happy to get this win because North Carolina A&T has a very good team,” Mitchell said. “While we didn’t play our best tonight, I was pleased that we went on a big run in the second half to get control of the game. We didn’t finish off the game particularly well, but still a good win for us and we are happy with the win.”

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Cats drub 'em (Tennessee State) inside, out

Photo Gallery: Hoops: UK vs. Tennessee State action

Meeks rules 1st half; Patterson owns 2nd

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- At one point in the first half of the University of Kentucky's 102-58 rout of Tennessee State last night, Jodie Meeks pulled up from about 30 feet and let fly a shot. "I think it was a little bit of a heat check," he said later. The shot misfired, but that was a rarity last night, as Meeks once again lit up like a Christmas tree. The junior guard scored 32 points in Rupp Arena two days after scorching Appalachian State for 46 in Louisville.

But perhaps in the spirit of this season of giving, Meeks shared his scoring spotlight. Teammate and roommate Patrick Patterson led UK (9-3) with a career-high 33 points, controlling the paint the way Meeks did the perimeter. It marked the first time since 1975 -- when Jack Givens scored 31 and Rick Roby 30 in a win against Miami of Ohio -- that two UK players scored 30 points in the same game.

"We were laughing about it in the locker room, how easy it was to get assists tonight," said guard Kevin Galloway, who had four of UK's 30 assists. Meeks and Patterson made everything look easy, each dominating a half. In the first half, Meeks' sizzling shooting staked the Wildcats to a huge lead. For the third straight game, UK hit double-digit points before its opponent scored, jumping ahead 15-0.

Attendance: 21,958 at Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY

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