KENTUCKY WILDCATS (6-8, 0-0 SEC)
vs. FLORIDA GATORS (11-4, 0-0 SEC)
Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008 ? 7 p.m. EST
Lexington, Ky. ? (8,500)
| |
Kentucky women?s basketball hopes to continue its winning ways when the Wildcats play host to Florida in both teams? Southeastern Conference opener Thursday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. EST in Memorial Coliseum. The game will be aired live on the Big Blue Sports Radio Network with Neil Price.
Single-game general admission tickets are available for $5 adults/$2 senior citizens and children 6-18. Ages five and under are admitted free. UK students, faculty and staff also are admitted free with valid identification based on availability. For ticket information, log on to ukathletics.com or call the UK ticket office at 859-257-1818 or 1-800-928-CATS (2287).
Fans are encouraged to park in Parking Structure 5 located next to Kennedy?s Bookstore on Limestone Avenue. Parking within Parking Structure 5 will be available free of charge. A shuttle bus service also will be provided and begins one hour prior to game time until one hour after the game. Additional game day parking is available in the E lots surrounding Memorial Coliseum including the Martin Luther King Parking Lot and the Student Center Parking Lot.
UK (6-8) is coming off a 67-57 win over Wofford on Monday. For the first time this season four players scored in double-figures as senior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) led the effort with 16 points. Sophomore guard Amani Franklin (Decatur, Ga.) came off the bench to add 15 while freshman forward Victoria Dunlap (Nashville, Tenn.) and sophomore Lydia Watkins (Hopkinsville, Ky.) add 10 points apiece. The Wildcats led by as many as 24 points in the game after shooting 47.1 percent from the floor in the first half.
?I told our team that this was a new season,? UK Coach Matthew Mitchell said. ?We have a clean slate and everyone is 0-0. We ended non-conference play with a win and we need to continue executing our offense and playing solid defense against this very good Florida team.?
Senior Samantha Mahoney (Detroit) leads UK in scoring and ranks ninth in the SEC with 14.4 points per game. Mahoney needs just four points to move into UK?s career top 10 list for scoring. Elliott follows Mahoney in the scoring column with 12.3 ppg. She also pulls down a team-high 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
The Gators (11-4) are riding a seven-game winning streak, dating back to Dec. 4. Only one win (Temple) has come away from Gainesville as UF went 10-1 at home and 1-3 in away games during non-conference play.
Senior Depree Bowden leads three players in double-figure scoring this season, averaging 14.8 points per game. Juniors Marshae Dotson and Sha Brooks follow with 14.6 and 10.9 ppg, respectively. Dotson leads the team in rebounding, averaging 8.8 per game.
Like Mitchell, Amanda Butler is in her first season as a head coach in the SEC. The former four-year starter and two-year assistant coach at UF was named the Gators? ninth head women?s basketball coach on April 13, 2007.
Florida owns a 21-18 lead in the all-time series. The series is tied 9-9 when the game is played in Lexington. UK is 8-9 vs. Florida in Memorial Coliseum and 1-0 in Rupp against the Gators. UK has won two of the last three meetings against Florida, including an 84-74 win last season in Memorial Coliseum.
UK is 11-15 in conference openers.
