UA loses battle behind the arc

ROB KEYS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Something had to give Sunday afternoon at Memorial Coliseum, and that something was Arkansas.
Arkansas began Sunday leading the SEC in three-point shooting (41 percent), while Kentucky led the league in three-point defense, allowing opponents to connect on just 20 percent of shots behind the arc.
Kentucky's number will be even lower after the Wildcats limited Arkansas (9-6, 0-3 SEC) to 1-of-7 shooting from three-point range in a 68-60 victory before a season-high crowd of 5,139 at Memorial Gym.
"Our players understand three-point shooting," Kentucky Coach Bernadette Mattox said. "They know how deadly that can be. When you're swapping twos for threes, you're going to lose."
Kentucky senior guard and Hot Springs native Tiffany Wait led Kentucky's effort, spending much of the game matched up against Wendi Willits, Arkansas' leading scorer. Willits finished with a season-low two points on 1-of-10 shooting.
"She [Willits] never got good looks," Arkansas Coach Gary Blair said. "They were all off-balance."
Wait scored a season- and game-high 24 points, including a 3-of-4 effort from three-point range.
"We've been talking about this all season, about her [Wait] putting up points," Mattox said. "If we're going to make a run in the SEC, she's got to score points like that every time she steps out on the court."
Kentucky also got 19 points and a game-high 12 rebounds from senior forward Shantia Owens.
"I think she [Owens] is what's turned Kentucky's program around," Blair said.
Lonniya Bragg led Arkansas with 17 points, and Brandi Whitehead had 14.
Despite outstanding performances from Wait and Owens, Kentucky (11-5, 3-1) nearly blew a 33-22 halftime lead.
Arkansas made two second-half charges, getting within 42-39 on a 12-footer by Whitehead with 8:58 to play and cutting the Kentucky lead to two points twice in the final 5:08.
Each time, though, Kentucky had an answer. Natalie Martinez made a three-pointer that bounced high off the back of the rim before falling through the net to answer Whitehead's basket.
Then, after Celia Anderson made a 15-foot jump shot to get Arkansas within 50-48, Wait sank two free throws for a 52-48 lead with 4:43 to play.
Amy Wright answered by feeding Bragg for a layup to make the score 52-50, but LaTonya McDole responded with a 5-0 spurt to put Kentucky ahead 57-50 with 2:47 remaining.
Arkansas didn't get closer than five points in the final 2:23.
Wait helped seal the game for Kentucky by making 6 of 6 free throws in the final 58 seconds.
"She hit the big-time shots, she hit the free throws down the stretch," Blair said.
It was a breakout performance for Wait, who got a recent pep talk from Mattox.
"On top of that, this was Arkansas, and I'm from Arkansas," Wait said. "So there's always that rivalry thing that I like."
Kentucky looked like it would blow open the game in the first half, building a 15-5 lead midway through the half on a driving layup by Melissa Langelier.
The Wildcats pushed the lead to 33-15 when Owens hit a six-footer in the lane 1:55 before halftime.
Arkansas stayed within striking distance by getting two free throws from Bragg, a basket from Karyn Karlin and a three-pointer from India Lewis in the final 1:12 of the half.
"We had a good practice [Saturday] and came in here with the mindset that we were going to bring that practice onto the floor," Whitehead said. "It didn't happen."
It didn't happen because Arkansas put itself in a hole early, making just 8 of 26 (31 percent) field-goal attempts and committing 17 turnovers in the first half.
"That's ridiculous," Blair said. "We're not playing well right now, and we've got no excuses."

This article was published on Monday, January 17, 2000

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