UK women advance to Elite Eight
with 79-62 win versus Gonzaga

Staff report

The University of Kentucky is the last school with a men’s and women’s basketball team remaining in the NCAA Tournament after the UK women earned a 79-62 win versus Gonzaga in the Sweet Sixteen Sunday.

The win was UK’s 28th of the season, which tied the school record set in 2010, and advanced the Wildcats to their third Elite Eight in program history, where they will look to reach the program’s first Final Four versus No. 1 seed Connecticut on Tuesday.

UK’s first basket Sunday came on a three-pointer by freshman guard Bria Goss, giving the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish for remainder of the game. Leading 24-21, UK went on an 11-2 run for a 35-23 lead. The Cats then scored the final five points of the half and led 43-28 at intermission.

UK increased its lead to 21 points at 58-37 when Gonzaga rallied, for a 14-1 run, cutting the lead to 59-51, when senior guard Keyla Snowden hit a three with 6:47 remaining. Snowden and sophomore forward Samarie Walker combined to score UK’s next 17 points to restore UK’s lead to 76-59.

UK dominated bench points 44-10 as all 10 Wildcats who played also scored. UK won the rebounding, 44-34, extending its record to 21-0 this season when outrebounding the opponent.

Junior guard A’dia Mathies scored 15 points and tied a career high with seven assists. Snowden came off the bench to score 17 points. Snowden has scored in double figures in all five of UK’s tournament games (two SEC Tournament, three NCAA Tournament) and is averaging 15 points per game in the postseason. Walker had 16 points and 12 rebounds, her third double-double of the season, including second-straight NCAA Tournament game.

Goss scored 10 points, including her first three-pointer since Feb. 16. This was her 22nd game in double figures, tying Maria Donhoff for third place on the UK freshman list.