Kentucky puts its seven-game winning streak on the line when it plays host to South Carolina in both teams? Southeastern Conference opener Thursday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. EST in Memorial Coliseum. The game will be aired live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio and TV) and FSN South.
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.
The game will showcase two of the SEC?s top defensive teams, as South Carolina and Kentucky rank in the top three in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and rebounding.
?We have a tough one tomorrow night in South Carolina,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?They have a lot of veteran players back. They are playing somewhat of the same style that they played last year, they are just playing it better. They are playing a lot of people as seven players are averaging seven points or more. They do a great job on the boards. Their defense is very solid, so it will be a tough match-up. They are probably one of the tallest teams in our league.?
The Gamecocks (10-4), who own a five-game winning streak, lead the SEC in rebounding margin, outrebounding their opponents by a +13.3 advantage. USC also ranks second in five different categories: scoring defense, three-point field goal defense, rebounding offense, steals, and offensive rebounds.
Kentucky, which boasts its best start to a season (11-3) since the 1990-91 squad began at 12-1, has won seven consecutive games by 26 points or more and has won the rebounding battle in seven straight games. Conversely, the Cats have held seven-straight opponents to 51 points or less.
Junior center Sarah Elliott leads four UK players in double-digit scoring, averaging 13.2 ppg. Junior guard Samantha Mahoney follows with 12.6 ppg while Pfeiffer and sophomore point guard Carly Ormerod follow with 10.4 ppg each. Humphrey has been a dominating force on the boards as she leads UK with 9.6 rebounds per game, having pulled down double-figure rebounds eight times this season, including three consecutive.
UK leads the series against South Carolina 22-14 and holds a 13-4 advantage when the game is played in Lexington. The Cats have won five of the last six meetings against the Gamecocks, including both meetings last season.
Senior forward Iva Sliskovic leads the Gamecocks in scoring with 10.2 points per game. Senior forward Melanie Johnson follows with 9.0 ppg and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game.
The Wildcats are currently on a brutal stretch of playing three games in five days. Following the South Carolina game the Wildcats have a matchup with No. 7 Ohio State in a nationally-televised CBS game at noon Saturday, Jan. 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES – JAN. 3
Head Coach Mickie DeMoss
?It [SEC play] has come around fast. We have a tough one tomorrow night in South Carolina. They are 10-4 and there are a lot of similarities in the two teams. They have a lot of veteran players back. They are playing somewhat of the same style that they played last year, they are just playing it better. They are playing a lot of people. They have seven players that are averaging seven points or more. They do a great job on the boards. Their defense is very solid, so it will be a tough match-up. They are probably one of the tallest teams in our league.?
On how Kentucky matches up with South Carolina, height-wise?
?Our first five match up well, but when we have to go to our bench, then, of course, our size dips off a little bit. If we can keep people out of foul trouble and try to keep them fresh, then we can match up with them well, size-wise. It?s just when we have to go deep into our bench that that is going to possibly be a problem.?
On how Sarah Elliott and Jennifer Humphrey have stepped up to fill the void of Eleia Roddy?
?I think they had to grow into these roles. I think I wanted it instantly the day Roddy went down. I wanted the next day for Sarah and Lanky to immediately take up responsibility, but it has taken them a while to grow into those roles. I think Sarah is playing with a little bit more of an air of confidence about her and so is Jennifer Humphrey. She is finishing strongly around the rim. She is still missing some easy bunnies, but she has been working diligently on that. Sarah has upped her rebounding average and I think Jenn?e Jackson has given us some good minutes the last three ball games, so I feel a little bit better about our front-line right now.?
On the status of Jenn?e Jackson after last night?s injury ?
?She was out today and we?re still not 100 percent sure about tomorrow. We are going to have to wait until in the morning to see if the soreness goes away. We have gotten most of the swelling out, but it?s just a little sore right now.?
On how she thinks the team performed in its pre-conference schedule?
?We started out beating Washington State and then had that loss to Indiana. I think that kind of rattled us a bit early. We bounced back with a good win against Old Dominion and faltered again at Delaware. We couldn?t really get a run going until the last seven games. This has been very important for our confidence level to put together seven straight wins going into conference play. With this team, we are still trying to handle our new roles, learn where the expectations are and all of that. I think these seven wins are going to be good for us going into SEC play.?
On whether she has noticed a change in the demeanor of the players?
?I have. I even noticed it after we got back from Texas when we had one more game before conference play with the exception of the Ohio State game. We are really getting to the meat and potatoes of our schedule here. You can just see the focus level rises a bit and that?s what you want to see from your team.?
On the team not being concerned about national rankings this season?
?As a coaching staff, we haven?t mentioned it since we dropped out of the polls. I think sometimes, you can get focused on things that really are out of your control to a certain degree. We?ve needed all of our focus just playing one game at a time and that?s what our focus has to be. Last year, we weren?t ranked going into the NCAA Tournament and we got a great seed. Right now, you?ve got to pick and choose where your focus goes, and it doesn?t need to be on the rankings. It needs to be on taking it one game at a time and taking care of business.?
On whether the team has a target on its back in league play?
?Last year, our motto was ?Respect is Earned? and I think we did earn a lot of respect around the league. People are probably looking at us a little differently. I think our pre-conference schedule has prepared us for that ? teams are going to come ready to play. What comes with that respect is responsibility and that is what we are still evolving into ? when somebody comes at us, we?ve got to come back at them with a counter-punch.?
On starting the season 4-3?
?I think you can learn from all your losses. I think we learned from that. Teams are going to come at us and they are going to bring their best shots at us. That was very apparent in the Memphis game. The first half, they shot the ball like someone had jumped in their bodies. In the second half, they cooled off. We?re seeing teams that, at least for a half, are coming out and playing very, very strong against us. I think that we have learned. We have played 14 games and you learn from each game whether it is a win or a loss. People will bring their best shot against us.?
On being able to withstand scoring droughts?
?We have seemed to be more poised with it. I think they are more confident that if we are in a dry run, we are going to pull out of it. A lot of teams go through that, going through a period where they can?t score. That?s going to be important for us to see how we do respond in those types of situations.?
On the strength of the Southeastern Conference?
?We?ve kind of had a changing of the guards with all these new coaches in the league. A lot of veteran coaches retired or left for whatever reason. It has taken us a while to kind of come back into our own. During that transition period, it gave other teams a chance to jump in the mix. The SEC is always going to have great athletes. That has kind of been the trademark of our league. That still holds true for our league.?
