LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Fifteen home games, nine contests against last season?s NCAA Tournament participants, and two nationally televised matchups highlight the 2006-07 Kentucky women?s basketball schedule, UK Coach Mickie DeMoss announced Tuesday.
The Wildcats are coming off their best season in 16 years after posting a 22-9 record and making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 1999 campaign. Kentucky, which returns 10 letter winners and all five starters from a year ago, posted a school-record nine Southeastern Conference victories last season.
Thirteen teams on UK?s 2006-07 schedule participated in the postseason last year, including nine squads that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In addition, four teams on the slate finished in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll.
?Our pre-conference road schedule is a lot tougher than last year,? DeMoss said. ?We are playing a very good Ohio State team in Columbus in a nationally televised game on CBS. The Buckeyes were Big Ten Champions last year and received a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. We go to Old Dominion to face a program that has been to the NCAA Tournament 18 consecutive seasons and we are participating in a tournament in San Francisco, Calif. Traveling across country last year proved to be a great experience for our team last season. They grew up a lot and got a chance to bond and grow as a team.?
For the first time, the Wildcats will have two nationally televised contests during the 2006-07 regular season. Kentucky travels to Columbus, Ohio, for a showdown with Ohio State on Jan. 6 that will be nationally televised as part of a women?s basketball tripleheader on CBS. The Wildcats also meet Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Feb. 11 in a contest that will be televised live on espn2 for February Frenzy. Last season, UK posted an historic win over the top-ranked Lady Vols in Rupp Arena, marking only the fourth time in NCAA Division I women?s basketball history that an unranked team defeated a top-ranked foe.
The Cats have 15 home games, including four games in Rupp Arena. UK will face Arkansas Pine Bluff on Dec. 17 and conference foes Mississippi State (Jan. 25), Vanderbilt (Feb. 1), and perennial power Georgia (Feb. 15) in the downtown venue.
After an exhibition game against Northern Kentucky on Nov. 1, the Wildcats begin their 2006 slate by playing host to the Women?s Sports Foundation Tournament Nov. 10-12 that includes Indiana, Wake Forest and Washington State. The Cats then embark on a trip to Norfolk, Va., on Nov. 18 to face Old Dominion for the first time since 1987.
?We are very excited to host the Women?s Sports Foundation tournament because every year they select a site they feel will draw a crowd,? DeMoss said. ?We were able to secure this tournament because of the success we?ve had in our program and because we?ve been ranked in the top 20 in the national attendance poll for three consecutive years. The teams that are playing represent the ACC, Big Ten and Pac 10 and will give us a taste of different conferences and what they represent.?
Kentucky travels to the Odwalla Classic in San Francisco during the team?s Thanksgiving break to face Delaware, and either San Francisco or Southern Illinois. The Wildcats last participated in that tournament in 2003-04 when they finished as the runners-up after falling to host USF in the title game.
Following the trip to California, Kentucky plays host to Detroit in a re-match of last year?s meeting in the Motor City before traveling to the Derby City to face intra-state rival Louisville.
The Wildcats then host four consecutive home games prior to the holiday break, playing host to first-time opponents Alabama State, Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Mississippi Valley State, and Southern University (Baton Rouge, La). The Jaguars of Southern won the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament last season before falling to Duke in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Cats return home to ring in 2007 against Texas Pan American and open the conference slate with South Carolina on Jan. 4 in Memorial Coliseum.
?Of course every year the SEC schedule is challenging,? DeMoss said. ?We?re on the road at the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in our league in Tennessee and LSU. We have Georgia and Vanderbilt at home and we haven?t beaten Vanderbilt since I?ve been here. Hosting Georgia again at Rupp Arena will be exciting as they will probably be ranked in the top 10 polls.?
Highlights of the conference schedule include a trip to Baton Rouge, La., to face LSU on Jan. 18 and a meeting with Alabama on Jan. 11 in Coleman Coliseum. The Wildcats meet Georgia in Rupp Arena on Feb. 15. Two years ago, UK posted a 71-63 upset win over the No. 18/16 Lady Bulldogs in Rupp, which proved to be a statement win for the program.
The 2007 SEC Tournament will be held at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga., March 1-4. Last season, Kentucky squared off with Georgia Tech in the ACC/SEC Shootout in the Gwinnett Center, defeating the Yellow Jackets 66-62.
All UK Hoops games will be heard live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) and ukathletics.com.
Additional Highlights of the Schedule Include:
UK will honor three seniors (Nastassia Alcius, Jennifer Humphrey and Jenny Pfeiffer) on Sunday, Feb. 18, during senior-day ceremonies prior to the Wildcats facing Arkansas in Memorial Coliseum.
Alumni Day is set for Jan. 14 vs. Ole Miss.
In the rotating SEC 14-game schedule, the Cats will face Florida, Ole Miss and South Carolina in home-and-home series this season. UK will play UF and Ole Miss in a home-and-home series. South Carolina remains as the Cats’ permanent SEC home-and-home opponent.
