SAN ANTONIO ? The Kentucky women?s basketball team looks to build on its four-game winning streak this week when it participates in the Wells Fargo New Year?s Classic hosted by the University of Texas-San Antonio. The Wildcats face Kent State at 6 p.m. EST Friday and Memphis at 6 p.m. EST on Saturday. Both games in the USTA Convocation Center will be carried live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with Neil Price.
The Cats (8-3) enter the tournament having won four consecutive against Southwestern Athletic Conference foes prior to the holiday break. Kentucky is coming off a 70-44 win against Southern on Thursday, Dec. 21. Senior guard Jenny Pfeiffer (North Vernon, Ind.) led the Wildcats with a game-high 21 points, including five three-pointers. In her last two games combined, Pfeiffer is averaging 18.0 ppg with eight three-pointers.
Junior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) and junior guard Samantha Mahoney (Detroit) lead four Wildcats averaging double-figure scoring with 12.6 ppg each. Sophomore point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky.) and Pfeiffer follow in the scoring column with 10.4 and 10.2 ppg, respectively. Ormerod is second in the Southeastern Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio. Senior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey (Memphis, Tenn.) leads the Cats and ranks fifth in the SEC on the boards with 8.6 rpg.
The Wildcats are second in the SEC in field-goal percentage defense, holding their opponents to 33.7 percent this season. Kentucky is coming off its best shooting night of the season with a 48.1 percent clip from the floor against Southern.
Kentucky and Kent State meet for the second time in school history on Friday with the Wildcats leading the all-time series 1-0. The Cats won a 114-83 decision over the Golden Flashes in Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 23, 1990 in the only meeting between two squads. UK is 22-4 all-time vs. teams in the current alignment of Kent?s Mid-American Conference.
Kent State is 4-5 on the year and is coming off an 85-62 win against St. Francis (Pa.) on Dec. 21. The Golden Flashes finished last season with a 21-9 record, including a 12-4 league mark which was good for second place in the conference?s Eastern Division. Senior guard Kristin Peoples, an Arkansas transfer, is averaging a squad-best 17.1 ppg. Fellow senior Sarah Burgess, a transfer from South Carolina is the team?s leading rebounder with 5.5 rpg.
The Wildcats and Memphis meet for the seventh time in school history with Memphis holding a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series. Kentucky has lost two consecutive meetings to the Lady Tigers in the series, including a 63-55 road decision on Nov. 21, 2002. The Cats are 26-8 all-time vs. members in the current alignment of Memphis? Conference USA.
Memphis, which faces host Texas-San Antonio on Friday night, enters the tournament with a 3-9 record and has lost four of its last five games. The Lady Tigers dropped a 70-54 decision to Arkansas on Dec. 18. Senior guard Devin Necaise is the only player averaging double figures with 12.8 ppg. Sophomore forward Ashley Thornton is averaging a squad-best 8.4 rpg and has led the team in rebounding in nine of 12 contests.
Kentucky is 78-34 all-time in regular-season tournaments having gone 2-2 this season in regular-season tournament action.
