SEC Women's Basketball Roundup - 2/19

Tuesday, February 19, 2002
 
No. 23 Georgia 76, Western Kentucky 58
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) --
Kara Braxton shot 7-for-7 from the field in the second half and scored 26 points, leading No. 23 Georgia to a 76-58 victory over Western Kentucky on Tuesday night.

Tawana McDonald added 17 points for Georgia (17-8), which had a season-low nine turnovers -- including just one in the second half.

Kristina Covington led Western Kentucky (14-12) with 18 points.

Georgia outrebounded the Lady Hilltoppers 45-22. Freshman Ebony Felder led the Lady Dogs with 10 boards, her fifth consecutive double-digit rebounding game. She also scored 10 points.

Western Kentucky jumped to an early 10-point lead on the strength of two 3-pointers each by Natalie Powers and Covington.

But Georgia responded with a 25-2 run over a 13-minute stretch. Jessica Pierce capped the spurt with a 3-pointer and a short baseline jumper to put the Lady Dogs ahead 33-20 with 2:40 remaining in the first half.

Covington scored eight points in the last 2:27 to close the gap to 35-28 at halftime.

No. 25 Cincinnati 73, Kentucky 57
CINCINNATI (AP) --
Valerie King shook off a slow start to score 16 points and lead No. 25 Cincinnati to a 73-57 victory over Kentucky on Tuesday night.

The Bearcats (22-4) celebrated their return to the Top 25 by extending their winning streak to nine games.

Kentucky (8-17) has lost 11 straight.

King, a sophomore guard, reached 1,000 career points on a 3-pointer with 8:08 left in the first half. Those were the first of 11 points she scored as Cincinnati opened a 37-23 halftime lead.

Kentucky led 9-8 with 13:40 left in the first half, but K.B. Sharp scored seven points in a 29-14 run for the Bearcats, who led the rest of the way.

Carolyn Alexander, a transfer from Kentucky, gave Cincinnati its biggest lead, 71-49, on a driving layup with 2:31 remaining. She finished with 10 points.

Laura Wilder added 13 points for Cincinnati. Sharp had 11 points and a game-high 11 assists.

SeSe Helm led Kentucky with 26 points and 10 rebounds, but she was the only Wildcats player in double figures.

King shot 4-of-9 from 3-point range. She reached 1,000 points in just 58 games, the second-fastest in Conference USA history.