The Kentucky women?s basketball team is looking to keep their winning streak alive when they play host to Xavier on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. It will be UK?s last home game for over two weeks. Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for senior citizens and children ages 18 and under. UK students, faculty and staff are admitted free with valid ID. The first 200 fans will receive free Harry Potter glasses in honor of Harry Potter Night at Memorial. Also, football players Shane Boyd, Antonio Hall, Jeremy Caudill and Chris Bernard will be signing autographs at Memorial starting at 6:30 p.m.
The Wildcats (4-2) are coming off a thrilling overtime victory over intrastate rival Louisville last week, 84-80, at Rupp Arena while Xavier (4-2) won its tournament over the weekend defeating Central Michigan and High Point.
?We?ve had a week to prepare for this game and Xavier is a very talented team,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?They are very athletic and have great players on their team, including a freshman All-American from last season in Kentucky native Tara Boothe. We are going to have to take care of the basketball and play aggressive defense to win. We need to stay focused and us our home court advantage because after tomorrow, we hit the road for our next three games.?
The game vs. Xavier will mark UK?s final home game until it plays host to Austin Peay on Tuesday, Dec. 30. The Cats will embark on a three-game road stand, including games at Temple on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, Dec. 20 and at Western Kentucky on Monday, Dec. 22.
Kentucky native Tara Boothe is leading the Musketeers in scoring and rebounding this season, averaging 18.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. The 6-1 sophomore of Fort Thomas, Ky. was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Monday and was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year last season. She also was named to the 2002-03 Freshman All-America team last season. Lexington Catholic?s Chelsea Chowning of Berea, Ky. also is seeing plenty of action for the Musketeers, averaging 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 20.2 minutes per game.
Senior SeSe Helm is the Cats? leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 19.8 points and 9.7 boards a game. Sara Potts follows with 14.2 ppg and 6.2 rpg. Probably the biggest surprise of the season has been forward Keiko Tate. The junior has poured in back-to-back double-digit points and is averaging 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds a game as a reserve. She totaled 30 points in UK?s last two games, including an All-Tournament honor at the San Francisco Odwalla Classic and a career-high 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting vs. Louisville.
Xavier and Kentucky meet for only the third time in school history. Xavier, located just 88 miles from Lexington in Cincinnati, Ohio, leads the all-time series 2-0. In the last meeting, Xavier took an 80-62 win in Cincinnati on Dec. 6, 2000.