Kentucky improves to 21-7 overall, 10-5 SEC while Arkansas falls to 18-9, 6-9 SEC.
With tonight’s attendance of 6,670, UK has set a new single-season average of 6,364 fans per game.
The win keeps Kentucky in sole possession of third place in the Southeastern Conference race.
With the victory, UK has reached 10 SEC wins for the second consecutive season. UK won a school-record 11 league wins last season.
UK leads the all-time series 15-13, including a 10-3 advantage when the game is played in Lexington. UK has now won five in a row over Arkansas in Lexington.
The Cats own a 340-140 mark in Memorial Coliseum, including a 50-12 record under Coach Matthew Mitchell.
UK went 13-2 at home this season. The Cats are 30-2 at home in the last two seasons.
Kentucky is now 624-463 in 37 years of varsity play and 131-213 all-time in the SEC.
Coach Matthew Mitchell is now 112-76 overall, 82-47 at UK, including a 5-1 record all-time against Arkansas. Mitchell is 34-25 in SEC play.
Kentucky travels to Auburn for its final regular-season game on Sunday at 2 p.m. EST. The game will be televised live on the SEC Network and broadcast live on the Big Blue Sports Radio Network with Neil Price.
This was UK’s 12th different starting lineup this season.
UK has started a freshman in 97-of-129 games during the Matthew Mitchell era, including 65 consecutive.
The Cats are now 36-27 (.571) overall in games decided by 10 points or less under Coach Mitchell, including an 8-4 mark this season.
Key Run: With UK trailing by one (55-53) with 17.7 seconds remaining in the game Kentucky’s full-court pressure forced an Arkansas turnover. Mathies drove down the lane and with help from a pick from Dunlap was able to put in a left-handed layup, around an Arkansas defender, for the 55-54 win.
The Cats led 28-21 at the half and are now 15-1 overall, 4-1 in the SEC play this season when leading at the break.
UK held Arkansas to just 21 first-half points, tying the SEC season low held by Mississippi State.
UK forced Arkansas into 24 turnovers during the game, including three in the final minute of the game. The Cats have now forced double-digit miscues in 76 consecutive games, dating back to the 2008-09 season, and are 54-22 during that span.
The Wildcats scored 28 points off of those miscues. It marked the most points off turnovers by UK since scoring 28 points at Alabama on Jan. 30.
Kentucky has forced 20 or more turnovers in 22 games this season and is 19-3 when doing so.
UK now has 685 forced turnovers this season which ranks fourth on the single-season list.
The Wildcats went 5-of-20 (.250) from behind the arc, with Mathies contributing a career-high tying three 3-pointers.
UK has now hit a three-pointer in 251 consecutive games, dating back to the 2003-04 season.
Kentucky outrebounded Arkansas 38-37 and improves to 14-5 on the year and 6-4 in the SEC when doing so.
With 11 steals, the Cats now have 316 this season, moving them into ninth-place on UK’s single-season list, passing the 1991-92 squad (314).
Individual Game Notes
Sophomore guard A'dia Mathies scored a game-high 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting and added a team-high nine rebounds.
Scored the game-winning basket with 4.4 seconds left on the clock to put the Cats up 55-54.
Tied her career high for 3-pointers made, netting 3-of-6, including back-to-back treys late in the second half to pull the Wildcats within three with 2:12 remaining.
Swiped one steal and has now recorded at least one in 12 consecutive games and in 23-of-28 contests this season.
Senior forward Victoria Dunlap collected 12 points and seven rebounds while adding a game-leading four steals.
Has scored in double figures 25 times this season, including 17 consecutive and 82 times in her career.
Has recorded at least three steals in four consecutive games.
Sophomore Brittany Henderson reached double figures for the fourth time in her career with 10 points.
Freshman Bernisha Pinkett scored six points and grabbed six rebounds in a team-high 34 minutes of play.
Was in the starting lineup for the second-consecutive game and the second of her career.
