Big Blue Preview: No. 23/20 Kentucky Women’s Basketball Plays Host to USC Upstate on Wednesday
LEXINGTON, Ky. –The No. 23/20 University of Kentucky women’s basketball program will play host to USC Upstate on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. ET in Historic Memorial Coliseum.
Doors open to fans one hour prior to tip. There will be a rally towel giveaway at the entrances, while supplies last.
It is the program’s annual Salute to Service Men and Women game. Men and women who have served or are currently serving our nation will be recognized and honored for their sacrifices throughout the evening, while military members also can receive free and discounted tickets to the contest through Vet Tix. For more information on Vet Tix, see the bottom of this article.
Fans can also salute their hero at the game by submitting a photo of them here.
Non-military fans can still purchase single-game tickets to the Kentucky-USC Upstate game and all 13 of the program’s remaining home games this season. To shop single-game tickets, click here, and for a full list of the program’s nonconference promotional lineup, click here.
Darren Headrick will have the radio call for UK Sports Network in 2025-26, his ninth straight season as the voice of the Wildcats. His call will be carried on 630 AM WLAP in Lexington and on 790 AM WKRD in Louisville. It also will be carried on SiriusXM Channel 380 or through the SiriusXM App.
Big Blue Nation also can watch the game on SEC Network+, with Maggie Davis and Christi Thomas on the broadcast.
UK Athletics recommends nine parking locations for fans attending games this season, including two parking locations with shuttle transportation (The Cornerstone Garage, High Street Lot). The shuttle at those parking locations starts 90 minutes prior to tip-off and breaks at the end of the first quarter. It resumes at the start of the third quarter and runs one hour postgame.
Kentucky is coming off its first road game of the season at Buffalo on Sunday, earning an 81-47 margin of victory in front of more than 1,700 fans. It marked the largest margin of victory (34 points) in a nonconference true road game since at Wagner on Nov. 10, 2013 (39 points). Also, Kentucky has scored 75+ points in each of its first three games this season for the first time since 2013-14.
Many of the fans in the building were there supporting junior center Clara Strack, a Buffalo, New York, native who played at local Hamburg High School and set school records in single-game points (47), single-season points (637) and career points (1,775).
In her homecoming performance, she scored a career-high 27 points on 64.3 percent shooting, which the versatile center paired with 12 rebounds, four blocks, two assists and a steal. She became the first UK player to record as many as 27 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, two assists and one steal in a game since at least 2002-03, while she is just the fourth SEC player to have those numbers in a game since at least 2002-03.
For the second time this season, two players put up double-doubles also including Teonni Key. The senior forward added 17 points and 12 rebounds of her own, to go along with two assists and a steal in just 32 minutes of action.
The game marked the first time that Kentucky has had two players with at least 17 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and one steal in the same game (Strack and Key) since at least 2002-03.
Kentucky leads USC Upstate, 5-0, in the all-time series, which began in 2007. All five games were played inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
Wednesday will mark the third straight year the two teams have played each other. The two teams’ last meeting was head coach Kenny Brooks’ career debut at Kentucky. UK defeated USC Upstate, 98-43, on Nov. 4, 2024. It marked UK’s second largest margin of victory in a season opener (55 points). It also marked a UK head coach’s largest margin of victory in their debut.
The Wildcats have won all five games by at least 16 points.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
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Vet Tix
How to Claim:
Military members can sign up through VetTix.com.
How to Donate:
UK Athletics recently launched a partnership with Vet Tix, an organization that works to provide tickets to those currently serving and veterans in all branches of the U.S. military. Fans can donate their unused tickets through their UK Athletics Account and Vet Tix will provide a tax receipt for the donation.
To donate your tickets, sign into your UK Athletics Account through the Manage My Tickets – Mobile Web Version option in the UK Athletics app or through a web browser on your computer. Select the event and then click the “More” option.
The deadline to donate your tickets is 24 hours prior to the start of the game. For questions on how to donate, contact the UK Ticket Office. Only tickets purchased directly through the UK Ticket Office, including season tickets, are eligible for donation. Tickets purchased via Ticketmaster are not eligible for donation.
