Mathies delivering for surging Wildcats

A'dia Mathies heard the fans calling her name and did her best not to look up.

The Kentucky freshman was determined to show coach Matthew Mitchell she was focused on beating Liberty, not glad-handing in her hometown.

So she kept her head down. For a minute anyway. Then the Louisville native heard her name again. And again. Finally, she relented and took a quick peek up to see the mother of one of her best friend's waving to her.

Considering the way she's playing, the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year better get used to the attention.

Mathies poured in a career-high 32 points to lead the fourth-seeded Wildcats (26-7) past the Flames and into a second-round matchup with fifth-seeded Michigan State (23-9) on Monday at Freedom Hall.

It was a performance Mitchell half-expected after watching the 5-foot-9 guard storm through the SEC.

``A lot of times in the power conferences you see some of these highly touted freshmen do really well against nonconference opponents and they struggle to adjust to conference play,'' Mitchell said. ``A'dia was sort of the opposite.''

Mathies was named to the All-SEC Tournament team after helping the Wildcats to the championship game, a springboard to one of the more remarkable NCAA debuts ever by a freshman. Her 32 points set a school record for points in an NCAA game, and she did it doing a little of everything.

Though just a 27 percent 3-point shooter during the season, Mathies made 2 of 3 against Liberty. When she wasn't knocking down jumpers she was getting into the lane, where she either converted or drew a foul. Mathies went 12-for-17 at the line as Kentucky pulled away in the second half.

Suddenly, SEC Player of the Year Victoria Dunlap isn't Kentucky's biggest weapon.

``That's a big-time future WNBA superstar,'' said Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant. ``I think she's extremely talented. I don't think there's a weakness. They say well she doesn't make the three, but she made two yesterday. She's not a great shooter, but she makes them when they need them. ... She's as good a guard as we've seen.''

It's all a bit much for the quiet Mathies, who blushes at the slightest compliment.

Mitchell couldn't help but laugh when asked if he's worried about Mathies letting her play go to her head or if there's anything he has to do to keep her ego in check.

``She doesn't get out of line a lot, she stays so steady,'' Mitchell said. ``She hasn't had a lot of lows.''

Not that there's many lows. Mathies led the SEC in steals and is averaging 13.2 points while starting all 33 games for the surprising Wildcats, who went just 16-16 last season and were picked to finish 11th in the 12-team SEC.

The Wildcats will need to play beyond their years if they want to advance to the round of 16 for the first time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams.

Michigan State boasts a size advantage with 6-foot-9 center Allyssa DeHaan, 6-1 forward Aisha Jefferson and 6-1 center Lauren Aitch and has loads of tournament experience.

The Spartans are playing in their seventh tournament in the last eight years, including a spot in the regional semifinals last year, where they lost a late seven-point lead vs. Iowa State and fell 69-68.

The memory still haunts the Spartans. It's one reason Jefferson scored 17 points in a first-round win over Bowling Green playing with a stomach so nauseous she spent her time on the bench with a trash can in front of her in case she got ill. It's why DeHaan grits her teeth through back spasms that limited her practice time and received special attention from the trainers every time she came out of the game against the Falcons.

``We made a run last year (but we lost) and we don't want to have that feeling again,'' DeHaan said. ``We're ready to get to Kansas City so we'll be ready.''