Big Blue Preview: No. 14/16 Kentucky Women’s Basketball Takes On Arizona State, No. 19/23 Illinois in the Music City Classic
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 14/16 University of Kentucky women’s basketball program will take on Arizona State and No. 19/23 Illinois at the Music City Classic this week, hosted at Trojan Fieldhouse on the campus of Trevecca Nazarene University. The Wildcats will first play the Sun Devils on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. ET, then they’ll play the Fighting Illini on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
The Thanksgiving tournament will mark UK’s first games away from home this season. The Kentucky-Arizona State game will begin a stretch of three straight games away from home for the Wildcats, while three of their next four games will be against Power 4 programs.
Fans can still purchase tickets to the Music City Classic here.
Darren Headrick will have the radio call for UK Sports Network, his eighth straight season as the voice of the Wildcats. The Kentucky-Arizona State game will be carried on 98.5 FM ICONS (Lexington) and 1080 AM WKJK (Louisville), while the Kentucky-Illinois game will be on 630 AM WLAP (Lexington) and 790 AM WKRD (Louisville).
Big Blue Nation also can watch the game, with a fee, on BallerTV.
The Wildcats are 5-0 to start the season, with all five games played inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. The Cats have proven their resiliency of late, winning their last two games after trailing at halftime, including overcoming as much as a seven-point deficit to take down in-state rival No. 18/18 Louisville, 71-61, in overtime on Nov. 16 and coming back from a nine-point deficit to defeat Purdue Fort Wayne, 79-67, in their last game on Nov. 18.
Two players scored 20-plus points against the Mastodons, including Georgia Amoore (23) and Dazia Lawrence (21). The backcourt duo combined for nine three-point field goals in that game, with four and five, respectively.
The Wildcats made a season-high 11 3-pointers against the Mastodons, their most in a game at Memorial Coliseum since Dec. 1, 2021, against West Virginia (11). It marked the second game this season the Cats have made at least 10 3-pointers.
UK, who is averaging 78.8 points per game, has four players averaging double-digit scoring so far this season, including Clara Strack (15.8), Amoore (15.4), Lawrence (14.6) and Teonni Key (11.6). Strack and Amelia Hassett are leading the team in rebounds with 10.4 a piece, while the team is ranked 15th in the nation on 45.4 rebounds per game.
In fact, UK ranks in the top 20 in the nation in eight categories ahead of the Music City Classic, including its nation-leading 11.6 blocks per game. UK is fifth in the nation in field-goal percentage defense (30.1), 11th in assists per game (20.8) and defensive rebounds per game (32.0), 12th in assist-turnover ratio (1.5), 13th in rebound margin (12.8) and 19th in scoring defense (50.8).
Kentucky and Arizona State are tied, 1-1, in the all-time series. The two teams have never met on a neutral court. The Wildcats won the first meeting, 68-64, in Tempe, Arizona, on Nov. 15, 2015, then the Sun Devils won the second meeting, 73-71, in Lexington, Kentucky, on Dec. 11, 2016. Both games went into one overtime.
Kentucky trails the all-time series with Illinois, 2-4, including 0-1 on a neutral court. The first five games in the series were held in the 1980s, while the most recent matchup also was in a Thanksgiving tournament at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. Then, the Wildcats dropped to the Fighting Illini, 77-71, on Nov. 27, 2014.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
