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UA women edge KentuckyROB KEYSARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Gary Blair first called it ugly. By the time he had finished his next sentence, though, Blair had decided it was beautiful. In desperate need of a victory with games against No. 9 Florida and No. 11 LSU on the horizon, Arkansas looked good at times and bad at times in beating Kentucky 84-78 Sunday afternoon in front of 1,291 at Memorial Coliseum. The Lady Razorbacks (15-7, 5-4 SEC) overcame 17 turnovers and an out-of-sync offense in improving to 12-0 this season when scoring more than 70 points. Arkansas also swept the season series with Kentucky (5-16, 1-8), after beating the Wildcats 69-50 at Walton Arena three weeks ago. "I saw improvement in them, I did not see improvement in us," Blair said. "But any time you can win on the road, you take it as a u.w. -- an ugly win -- and you go. But we've only won twice here in our history, so right now that ugly win looks like a beautiful win." Arkansas won the game at the free-throw line and from behind the three-point line. While Kentucky made just 24 of 35 free throws and 2 of 9 three-pointers, Arkansas made 22 of 25 free throws and 8 of 21 three-pointers. Freshman forward Shameka Christon showed no ill effects of the sprained ankle she suffered Wednesday, matching her career high with 21 points. Christon made 6 of 10 shots from the floor, including 2 of 4 three-pointers, and 7 of 7 free throws. Senior guard Wendi Willits added 16 points and senior forward Lonniya Bragg 14, but it was Christon who sparked an Arkansas offense that rarely clicked on all cylinders. Kentucky Coach Bernadette Mattox watched Christon score 16 points in the teams' previous meeting but wasn't surprised by either effort. "I've seen Christon for about four years now, and I know she's going to be an outstanding player in this conference," Mattox said. "She's got a jumper, she can put it on the floor and pull up for a jumper, she's got a three [point shot], she can work inside. As a young freshman, she's got an outstanding future in front of her." Despite averaging a team-high 12.3 points in SEC games, Christon has managed to get open looks on a consistent basis. "Really I haven't thought anything about it," Christon said. "You know, I just take it when I can." Christon took it to the Wildcats at critical times on Sunday. Her three-pointer gave Arkansas its first lead, one it didn't relinquish, and added six more first-half points as the Lady Razorbacks built a 43-37 halftime lead. Christon then opened the second half with seven points in a span of 3:18 as Arkansas stretched its lead to 52-42. "I think it was a quiet 21 points, but she hit all the big baskets," Blair said. Kentucky trimmed the Arkansas lead to four points on five occasions in the final 14:49 but couldn't get closer. Celia Anderson and Amy Wright repelled the first three Kentucky charges as Anderson sandwiched two putbacks around two Wright free throws in a period of 45 seconds. Anderson added a 15-foot jumper and Lakishia Harper a driving shot in the lane as Arkansas pushed its lead back to 10 points, 62-52, with 10:37 to play. Kentucky then went to a pressing defense to try to get back in the game, but Wright rendered it largely ineffective, passing out 3 of her 6 assists and scoring 4 of her 6 points in the final 8:41. "I think she is one of the best in the conference at playing in the open court and getting the kids the right looks," Blair said. "That gave us some momentum, getting a couple of easy baskets, because we were struggling in the halfcourt [offense]. She might be the most underrated point guard in the country." Kentucky made two final surges in the last minute, getting within 79-75 when LaTonya McDole hit 1 of 2 free throws with 59 seconds remaining. McDole then fouled Willits with 41 seconds to play, however, and Willits made both. The Wildcats' last chance came when Rita Adams made a running shot in the lane with 16 seconds to play, then stole the ensuing inbounds pass and was fouled as her layup attempt spun around the rim three times before falling to the court. Adams made just 1 of 2 free throws, and Shanna Harmon sneaked free for a layup with four seconds on the clock to seal the victory that left Blair bittersweet. "We were making some mistakes and getting away with them, but we won't be able to get away with them next Thursday or Sunday," Blair said. Even so, as ugly as it was, Willits said the victory was just what the Lady Razorbacks needed heading into Thursday's game against Florida, which beat Arkansas three times last season. "We needed to get this one, especially going into the Florida game," Willits said. "We needed to go home with some confidence because that's a big game, and if we have confidence, we still think we can play with them." Adams led Kentucky with 23 points, while McDole added 14, Alvine Mendeng 13 and SeSe Helm 11.
Halftime -- Arkansas 43, Kentucky 37 Officials -- Sisk, Stroud, Wiggins Attendance -- 1,291.
This article was published on Monday, February 5, 2001RETURN to main page
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