James Madison star presents challenge for UK women

Kentucky.com

March 25, 2008

Kentucky Coach Matthew Mitchell sees a similar opponent in Wednesday night's third-round game of the Women's National Invitation Tournament. He'll hope to get a similar result.

Like Middle Tennessee (which UK beat in overtime on Friday), James Madison features a singular star. She's Tamera Young, the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year.

'One player that can take over a game,' Mitchell said of the strength James Madison shares with Middle Tennessee. 'That's not the type of team we are. We defend, rebound and score by committee.'

Because Middle Tennessee basically played with five guards, Kentucky had to go small to match up defensively. 'A nightmare to match up with,' he said at a Tuesday news conference.

James Madison isn't quite so small, which gives Mitchell reason to believe his taller players (primarily 6-foot-6 Sarah Elliott and 6-3 Eleia Roddy) can have a greater impact.

'If they're close to the basket, it helps our team a lot,' Mitchell said.

Two of UK's younger players picked up the slack against Middle Tennessee. Sophomore Lydia Watkins came off the bench and contributed her first career double-double (16 points and 16 rebounds). Freshman Victoria Dunlap blocked four shots and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds.

'Thirty rebounds, and not against an easy team to rebound against,' Mitchell said. 'When you see that kind of effort, players laying it on the line at a young age, there are a lot of things to be pleased with.

'You certainly hope that continues.'

To explain why the younger players rose to the occasion, Mitchell noted the time Kentucky had to work on individual improvement in recent weeks. For instance, the team had a week off between the Southeastern Conference Tournament and the Women's NIT.

The coach also saluted the players' coachability.

'They were willing to accept coaching this time of year,' Mitchell said. 'Down the stretch, everybody can be sick of each other and not want to listen. That hasn't been the case.'

Kentucky (16-15) knows it must contain Young. She's averaging a double-double (20.2 points and 10.2 rebounds) for James Madison.

'Very lean and extremely athletic,' Mitchell said. 'When she catches the ball around the three-point line, she can get to the goal in one dribble. She's also one of the best jump shooters I've seen in the women's game.

'The way to play her is you can't give her anything easy. She can get if off the glass and go all the way. ... The best word to use is 'explosive,' She can just do an awful lot very quickly.'

Young scored 38 and 30 points in James Madison's two WNIT games.

Freshman point guard Dawn Evans supports Young well. She had 38 points in a second-round victory at Indiana. That made up for a 1-for-14 shooting performance against Radford in the first round.

Whatever happens, Mitchell saw Kentucky's participation in the WNIT as a plus.

'When you play in games where you lose, you go home, there's a different type of pressure than in the fourth or fifth game in December,' he said. 'The more opportunities you get to play in those type of games, the better you are.

'This allows your seniors to continue to play. It also allows players coming back to get the experience you can't get in any other atmosphere than tournament basketball.'

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