Kentucky opens its 31st season of women?s basketball Friday when the Wildcats play host to the Butler Bulldogs at 7 p.m. ET and the Florida A&M Rattlers on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. ET. Both games will be played in Memorial Coliseum. Free UK Hoops schedule magnets will be given away Friday to the first 1,000 fans and free UK Hoops coloring books will be given away Sunday to the first 500 children.
The Wildcats look forward to a home weekend as five straight road games await them after the weekend. The Cats will participate in the Fourth Annual Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands during the Thanksgiving holiday where they will play three games in three days. UK?s opponents are Oregon State, South Dakota State and 17th-ranked Rutgers. The Cats remain on the road following the Paradise Jam, traveling to Northwestern and Louisville, Dec. 1 and Dec. 5, respectively.
?As you can see from our schedule, we are going to be very busy in the next week,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?I am excited to get my second season started here, opening on Friday night against Butler. They had a good season last year and I?ve never seen an Indiana team that couldn?t shoot, so we?re going to have to defend the? three? and do a lot of good things on the defensive end Friday night. Sunday, we?ve got Florida A&M coming in and they are very athletic and also had a winning season last year.?
Butler returns nine letter winners from last season’s 14-15 squad, including the team’s second-leading scorer in senior center Cortney Urquhart and 2004 Horizon League All-Newcomer Team selection Ellen Hamilton. The Bulldogs are led by Beth Couture. She is in her third year and has posted a 20-38 record in her two-year tenure at the helm.
FAMU?s roster features three returning players in its starting five. Guard Candace Crawford returns 5.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game to center the Rattlers’ backcourt. Fellow guard Tene Miller averaged 5.7 points per game and a team-high 1.9 steals per game. In the post, swing player Elana Greene 11.8 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game. Debra Clark is in her fourth season at FAMU. Clark has posted a 44-41 record at Florida A&M, while holding a 155-126 record over her 10-year coaching career.
Starters Angela Phillips (6.0 ppg, 4.3 apg) and Sara Potts (16.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg) return to anchor a UK lineup that also features the nation?s sixth-ranked recruiting class. The Wildcats won both of their exhibition tune-ups with victories over the Ohio Legends and the West Coast All-Stars.
Kentucky is 27-3 all-time in home season openers, having won on opening day in Memorial Coliseum the last six tries. The Cats lead the series with Butler 2-0 and have never met Florida A&M.
The game will be broadcast live on WLXG Sports Radio 1300-AM with Chris Cross. Live audio and stats will also be available on www.ukathletics.com.
Season tickets cost only $20. Single-game general admission tickets are available for $5 adults/$2 senior citizens and children ages 18 and under. UK students, faculty and staff are admitted free with valid identification. For ticket information, log on to ukathletics.com or call the UK ticket office at 859-257-1818 or 1-800-928-CATS (2287).
