1 - University of Kentucky Athletics

Cats in the Postseason WNIT
Cats in the WNIT
WNIT/NWIT Appearances: 4 (1978, 1990, 2005, 2007)
WNIT/NWIT Record: 10-3
NWIT Championship Titles: 1 - 1990
2005 WNIT Final Four
Date Result Location
March 16, 1978 Kentucky 92, Kansas 87 (2OT) Amarillo, Texas
March 17, 1978 Texas 75, Kentucky 60 Amarillo, Texas
March 18, 1978 Kentucky 79, Cal St. Long Beach 69 Amarillo, Texas
March 22, 1990 Kentucky 76, Maine 66 Amarillo, Texas
March 23, 1990 Kentucky 80, Miami (FL) 68 Amarillo, Texas
March 24, 1990 Kentucky 85, Toledo 76 Amarillo, Texas
March 18, 2005 Kentucky 79, Eastern Michigan 68 Lexington, Ky. (2,125)
March 20, 2005 Kentucky 91, Chattanooga 54 Lexington, Ky. (2,035)
March 24, 2005 Kentucky 67, Xavier 62 Lexington, Ky. (3,531)
March 28, 2005 West Virginia 80, Kentucky 75 (2OT)Lexington, Ky. (3,452)
March 15, 2007 Kentucky 65, Oakland 56 Rochester, Mich. (1,030)
March 19, 2007 Kentucky 85, Ball State 82 Muncie, Ind. (3,581)
March 22, 2007 Wisconsin 67, Kentucky 61 Madison, Wisc. (2,420)
March 24, 1990 — Cal Farley Coliseum
1990 NWIT Champions
Vanessa Foster-Sutton averaged
nearly 30 points and
eight rebounds per game as a
senior captain on Kentucky’s
1990 NWIT championship
squad.
Kentucky 85, Toledo 76
AMARAILLO, Texas - After breezing
through the first two rounds of the 1990 NWIT
Championships, the University of Kentucky
women’s basketball team faced a tough test in the
final against the Toledo Rockets, who finished
third in the previous year’s event.
The Lady Rockets appeared poised to win
their first championship as they led the Cats 41-
33 at halftime, but Kentucky battled back in the
second half to outscore Toledo, 52-35, in the
final period and capture the championship.
The Wildcats were under the direction of
third-year head coach Sharon Fanning, who
dressed appropriately for the showdown in the
lonestar state with her colorful blue Texas-style
leather jacket, white leather pants and Kentucky
blue boots. The Cats were led by guard Kristi Cushenberry who scored 20 points
and connected 8-of-9 attempts from the charity stripe in the game.
Front row, left to right: Kris Miller, Stacy McIntyre, Tracye Davis, Kristi Cushenberry, Tammy Dowdell, Jennifer Johnson,
Malinka Salhi. Back row, left to right: Assistant Coach Karen Booker, Graduate Asst. Lisa Bressman, Graduate
Asst. Jane Dalton, Asst. Coach Jerry McLaughlin, Mia Daniel, Vanessa Foster-Sutton, Cathy Proctor, Lisa Ellis, Pattresa
Leonard, Josh Mills, Associate Trainer Sue Stanley, Head Manager Susan Crabtree, Manager Tracy Livingston, Head
Coach Sharon Fanning.
Kentucky, under the direction of second-year
head coach Mickie DeMoss, posted 15 regular-season
wins for the first time since 1999 and was
rewarded with a berth in the Sportsview.tv Women’s
National Invitation Tournament.
Thanks in large part to their record-breaking
crowds, the Wildcats were able to host every round in
which they competed. UK opened with a 79-68 comeback
victory over Eastern Michigan in the first round
before routing Chattanooga, 91-54, backed by 32
points from senior guard/forward Sara Potts.
In the quarterfinal contest with Xavier, the Cats
trailed nearly the entire game before taking their first
lead of the second half with 35 seconds remaining on a
jumper by Potts. UK extended its longest postseason run
in school history by defeating the Musketeers, 67-62.
The Wildcats battled border-rival West Virginia
closely throughout the entire game, but fell to the
Mountaineers, 80-75, in double-overtime, capping
off one of the most successful seasons in school history.
Kentucky finished the season with a 18-16
overall record.
Sara Potts was named to
the WNIT All-Tournament
team after averaging 27.8
points per game during the
four-game postseason run.
Potts tallied two 30-plus
point games vs. Chattanooga
and Xavier in the
tournament.
2007 WNIT Third Round
Battling through a season of close finishes, Kentucky earned its fourth berth in
school history to the WNIT. Fifteen of the Wildcats’ final 20 games were decided by
10 points or fewer, including three decided at the buzzer and three concluded in
overtime. Nine of those contests were decided by five or fewer points.
Due to a scheduling conflict that saw Kentucky hosting the First and Second
Rounds of the Men’s NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats were forced to go on the
road to participate in postseason play.
Kentucky advanced to the postseason for the third consecutive year, which
marked a school record since women’s basketball came under the auspices of the
NCAA. The Cats also recorded back-to-back 20 win seasons.
The Wildcats headed North to Rochester, Mich., for an opening-round contest
with Oakland. Senior guard Jenny Pfeiffer scored a game-high 21 points, including
five three pointers, and the Cats used strong second-half defense to hold off the
stingy Golden Grizzlies 65-56.
Kentucky was in a battle with Ball State in the second round as the game came
right down to the wire. The Wildcats, however, made 7-of-11 free throws in the
game’s final two minutes and junior center Sarah Elliott scored 14 of her team-high
18 points in the second half to lead UK to an 85-82 win.
The Cats’ season came to an end in Madison, Wisc., as the Wisconsin Badgers
out-rebounded UK 54-35 and held a 28-10 advantage in second-chance points enroute
to a 67-61 win.
199 • 2007-08 Women’s Basketball