SEC Announces 2015-16 Women’s Basketball TV Schedule
2015-16 UK Hoops Schedule (PDF)
LEXINGTON, Ky. – On the heels of head coach Matthew Mitchell announcing Kentucky’s 2015-16 non-conference schedule last week, the Southeastern Conference announced the Wildcats’ 16-game conference slate Thursday, including 13 appearances on national television with the rest available on SEC Network+.
On top of the national television exposure, Kentucky’s conference schedule is highlighted by home games in Memorial Coliseum against Alabama, South Carolina, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, LSU, Arkansas and Missouri. The Wildcats will travel in conference to Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, Florida, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Texas A&M.
This marks the seventh year of the 16-game SEC schedule for women’s basketball and the fourth with 14 teams. The schedule consists of a single round robin (10 games) and home and away with one permanent opponent (two games) and two rotating opponents (four games). Kentucky’s permanent opponent is South Carolina with the rotating opponents changing annually.
ESPN and ESPN2 will produce a combined 13 conference contests – including two Kentucky games – while the SEC Network will televise more than 40 conference games – including nine games featuring the Wildcats. In addition, new for the 2015-16 season, the SEC Network will present two nights of whip-around coverage, a live look-in to every women’s basketball contest played on Thursday, Jan. 7 and Thursday, Feb. 25. Each contest will also be available in its entirety on SEC Network+ through WatchESPN.
There will also be a package of televised non-conference games announced at a later date. All UK Hoops’ conference games not televised nationally are scheduled for SEC Network+ through WatchESPN.
Kentucky’s conference stretch will start on the road with a visit to Auburn on Sunday, Jan. 3 at 3 p.m. ET on the SEC Network+, before its SEC home opener on Thursday, Jan. 7 against Alabama as part of the new SEC Network whip-around coverage. UK will complete its first two games in four-day stretch with a 2 p.m. ET contest at Georgia on Sunday, Jan. 10 on the SEC Network+.
The Wildcats will start a two-game home stretch on Thursday, Jan. 14 against South Carolina with tip set for 7 p.m. ET on the SEC Network, before completing its season series with Auburn on Jan. 17 at 1 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. The home stretch will end on Thursday, Jan. 21 when Kentucky travels to Oxford, Miss., to take on Ole Miss at 9 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
The Ole Miss game will start an extended weekend for UK as the Wildcats will host Tennessee on Monday, Jan. 25 on ESPN2 in Memorial Coliseum. Game time for the UK-UT game is still to be determined. January will conclude with Kentucky hosting Vanderbilt on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. ET on the SEC Network+ followed by a trip to Florida on Sunday, Jan. 31 at 1 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
UK will start February with three of its first four games on the road, starting with a Thursday, Feb. 4 matchup at South Carolina at 7 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. The LSU Tigers come to Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 7 for a Noon ET tip on the SEC Network before a two-game road swing at Vanderbilt on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 4 p.m. ET on the SEC Network and at Mississippi State on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
The Wildcats will end the regular season by playing host to Arkansas on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. ET on the SEC Network before concluding its home schedule on Thursday, Feb. 25 against Missouri at Memorial Coliseum. The Wildcats complete the 16-game schedule with a trip to Texas A&M on Sunday, Feb. 28 on either ESPN2 or ESPNU with tip still to be determined.
Last week, Kentucky announced its 2015-16 non-conference schedule, which included two “Pack the House” games at Rupp Arena against Louisville on Thursday, Dec. 10 and against Duke on Sunday, Dec. 20. The non-conference schedule includes an exhibition vs. Union University on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 5 p.m. ET in Memorial Coliseum and UK’s home opener on Friday, Nov. 13 vs. Rice.
The home opener vs. Rice will begin Kentucky’s 42nd season of varsity women’s basketball and ninth under Mitchell, who has led the Wildcats to a school-record sixth consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Six letter winners return in 2015-16, including senior Janee Thompson (Chicago), who will return after missing the final two months of last season with an injury, juniors Kyvin Goodin-Rogers (Lebanon, Ky.), Linnae Harper (Chicago) and Makayla Epps (Lebanon, Ky.), and sophomores Alexis Jennings (Madison, Ala.) and Alyssa Rice (Reynoldsburg, Ohio). Senior and 6-foot-6 center Ivana Jakubcova (Bratislava, Slovakia) will also be available for action after sitting out last season with an injury.
New additions to the roster this season include freshmen Batouly Camara (New York), Maci Morris (Pineville, Ky.), Morgan Rich (Scottsville, Ky.) and Taylor Murray (Odenton, Md.), along with junior college transfer Evelyn Akhator (Lagos, Nigeria). Oregon transfer Chrishae Rowe (Riverside, Calif.) will be available for action following the fall semester, while Cincinnati transfer Makenzie Cann (Lawrenceburg, Ky.) will sit out the 2015-16 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Season tickets are available for purchase for $65 online at ukathletics.com/tickets or by calling the UK Ticket Office at (859) 257-1818 or (800) 928-2287. Lower level reserved tickets for UK’s games vs. Duke and Louisville in Rupp Arena are available to season ticket holders for $14 (as a package) by calling the UK Ticket Office. Seats will be assigned in September after the season ticket renewal deadline. All other single-game tickets will go on sale in late October.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit ukathletics.com or follow @UKHoopCats on Twitter and Instagram, or Kentucky Women’s Basketball on Facebook.
