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Home > SECWB News & More! > SEC Teams > Kentucky > Got Claws? Kentucky vs. Michigan Preview
Got Claws? Kentucky vs. Michigan Preview
by Kel Kyle, SECWB.com
Posted: December 8th, 2007 @ 1:58pm
Fresh off a 75-44 victory over William & Mary on Tuesday, the Kentucky Wildcats (4-4) travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan and face the Wolverines (4-3). Tonight's match-up will be the third meeting between the teams, with the series tied at 1-1. Kentucky took the first game in 1982 at home 98-71. In 1996, Michigan, also at home, won by a score of 68-54.
Hailing from Detroit, this will be a homecoming for UK senior, Samantha Mahoney who leads Kentucky in both scoring (17.3 ppg) and three-point shooting (13-35) at 37 percent. In her class, Mahoney is currently tied for second place with three other seniors for total points (138) in the SEC. Sharing the homecoming spotlight is senior, Chanté Bowman averaging eight points per game so far this season. Head Coach Matthew Mitchell thinks any of his players would be happy to be close to home on the road. "Sam and Chanté, I know, will have a lot of family and friends there so, certainly, that will be special for them. Both of those players have been back to the area before and both of their families have been very supportive and have come down here, so I don’t know if it will be as big of a factor as it may be for somebody who is going back to their area for the very first time ... I’m sure they’re looking forward to seeing some family and friends at the game."
The Wolverines are 2-13 all-time against the SEC. Their last win was over LSU on December 16, 2001 where they won in double-overtime AND at LSU 86-81. Under first year coach, Kevin Borseth, Michigan looks to turn things around on their homecourt having lost their last two games to nationally-ranked teams, #12 Texas A&M (69-41) and #16 Notre Dame (77-46). Off-the-bench, leading in scoring for Michigan, is sophomore center Krista Philips (6-6) at 10.3 ppg and shooting 64.4 percent from the floor at 29-45 (leading the Big Ten in field goal percentage). UK head coach Matthew Mitchell thinks that Krista Phillips is really an imposing figure. "She’s a very, very physical player. She has great size and if you let her get close to goal, she’s very, very good. She also has the ability to pop out to the 15-foot range – the free-throw line area – so she moves well for a player her size and is very, very productive. She’s a player of great concern for us and we need to do a good job on her." Probable Starters:
Kentucky - F 34 Victoria Dunlap Fr. 6-1
- G 2 Chelsea Chowning Sr. 6-0
- G 25 Amani Franklin So. 5-11
- G 11 Samantha Mahoney Sr. 5-10
- G 24 Amber Smith Fr. 5-6
Michigan - F 21 Carly Benson Jr. 6-2
- C/F 44 Ta’Shia Walker Sr. 6-0
- G 40 Janelle Cooper Sr. 5-9
- G 24 Krista Clement Sr. 5-9
- G 34 Jessica Minnfield Jr. 5-5
Who Wins? Kentucky will have their work cut out for them with a 28-38 all-time record against Big Ten teams. I expect the game to be fairly close with an abundance of lead changes. The key for a Kentucky win will be how well they can contain Krista Phillips. The Wildcats need to bring the same defensive energy and intensity to the floor this evening as they did in their last game. Getting a repeat performance (or something even close to it) from freshman Victoria Dunlap certainly wouldn't hurt as she scored 20 points in the William and Mary victory. Adding 16 points of her own, look for sophomore Amani Franklin to have a say in taking the "W" and bringing the Wildcats to .500 in Big Ten play this season. UK lost to Minnesota at the Rainbow Wahine Classic during first round action (92-80) on November 23, 2007. The game will be broadcast live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) and specifically in the Lexington area on MKJ-FM 105.5. The Big Ten Network also will televise the game live. For those of you with the DISH network sports package, you'll find the game on channel 439 at 6:00 p.m. EST. It follows the Notre Dame at Purdue game.
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