Dec. 20, 2011

Game Notes--Kentucky Game
GameTracker--Samford at No. 8 Kentucky

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford women's basketball team will travel to Lexington, Ky., to take on the eighth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. (CT) at UK's Memorial Coliseum.

The Wildcats are the highest ranked team Samford has played since taking on fifth-ranked LSU on Nov. 9, 2007, in a preseason WNIT matchup in Baton Rouge, La. Kentucky will be Samford's second ranked opponent so far this season, as the Bulldogs played at then-18th-ranked DePaul on Nov. 12.

Samford enters the game with a record of 6-4 overall and 1-2 in Southern Conference play.

The Bulldogs are led by their three senior starters. Guards Paige Anderson (12.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg.), Ruth Ketcham (9.1 ppg., 4.2 rpg.) and Jazmine Powers (8.3 ppg., 3.5 rpg.) have led the Bulldogs through the first 10 games of the season.

Also starting for the Bulldogs are junior forward Hannah Dawson and freshman forward Taylor Reece. Dawson is currently averaging 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, while Reece is scoring 7.1 points and pulling down 3.2 rebounds per contest.

Samford enters the game having won its last two games. The Bulldogs earned a non-conference win over Tennessee Tech, 61-55 on Dec. 10, and then they came from behind for a 64-61 overtime SoCon win over Western Carolina on Dec. 17.

In the win over Western Carolina, Anderson led the team in scoring with 19 points. With 30 seconds to go in the overtime, Reece hit a three-pointer to give the Bulldogs the lead for good at 62-61. Anderson hit two late free throws to make the final score 64-61.

Kentucky is currently 10-1 on the season. The Wildcats are coming off their first loss of the season. Kentucky dropped a 92-83 decision at third-ranked Notre Dame on Sunday.

Kentucky is led in scoring by A'dia Mathies, averaging 16.8 points per game. Bria Goss is averaging 12.5 points per game for the Wildcats.

Samantha Drake leads Kentucky in rebounding, pulling down 6.5 boards per game. Mathies averages 5.4 rebounds per game.

Amber Smith leads the Wildcats in assists, dishing out 4.3 assists per game. Meagan Conwright is averaging 2.6 assists per game.

Samford and Kentucky are meeting for the first time Wednesday evening, but this will mark the first of two games Samford will play this year against SEC opponents. The Bulldogs will play at Florida on Wednesday, Dec. 28.

Samford has an all-time record of 3-12 against the current members of the Southeastern Conference. Samford has played the following SEC teams: Alabama (2-7), LSU (0-1), Ole Miss (1-0), Mississippi State (0-1), South Carolina (0-1) and Vanderbilt (0-2).

Wednesday evening's game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at samford.edu/wvsu. Fans can also follow the game live on the internet via GameTracker at the following link: GameTracker--Samford at No. 8 Kentucky