UK smothers Auburn 68-50 to sweep homestand

After defeating Alabama and Arkansas, the No. 25 UK women’s basketball team (16-3, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) leaped the final hurdle of their three-game homestand by defeating the Auburn Tigers (11-9, 2-5 SEC) 68-50 with contributions from all 10 Cats who played.

The Cats equaled their win total from last year despite having 10 regular season games left. The win also positions the Cats in the upper half of the SEC standings and they’ll most likely see an improved ranking in the polls come Monday.

“That was another terrific defensive effort by our team,” UK head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “Our ability to put pressure on them today and cause them to turn the ball over was the difference in the game.”

A couple of strong defensive plays from senior forward Lydia Watkins after the midway point of the second half made sure the Cats would not jeopardize a once 20-point lead they had built in the first half.

UK’s shooting touch dropped off considerably to start the second half, and the Tigers cut the lead to 12 as Watkins checked in for Victoria Dunlap, who picked up her fourth foul with 10:14 remaining. The crowd was silenced.

However, 26 seconds later, Watkins picked off an errant pass around midcourt and took the ball to the hoop, converting the shot and drawing a foul. She made the free throw. The 6,784 fans in attendance, the second-largest crowd at Memorial Coliseum this season, erupted into cheers.

Less than a minute later Watkins made another tough shot and got fouled, pounding her chest in excitement.

“I was definitely excited about (the plays),” said Watkins, who finished with 10 points. “The first half I struggled a lot, I mean the second half, we had to bring it because (Auburn) started to come back.”

Auburn never managed to trim the lead back to 12 points the rest of the game after Watkins’ big plays.

“(Watkins’ play) was turning the point right there,” Mitchell said. “It’s a game that’s up for grabs at that point, they have the ability to make some 3-pointers, and they bank a couple of those in, and it’s a real ball game.”

No one player had a dominating night offensively. Freshman guard A’dia Mathies had a team-high 11 points, all of which came in the first half. Dunlap broke her streak of 23 consecutive games in double-figure scoring, finishing with nine points.

“I think every night we have to go out, and everyone has to bring (their) game,” Watkins said of UK’s balanced scoring. “You look at the (box) score, everyone contributed to this game and we won by a lot.”

By this point in the season, the Cats know their strength lies in their intensity and cannot afford to let their energy level slip, Mitchell said.

“We have a lot of talented players on this team, and just the fact that we can go out there and work hard makes us a top 25 team,” Mathies said.