The Kentucky women?s basketball team returns home from a five-game road swing as it hosts Charleston Southern on Friday. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. ET in Memorial Coliseum. Season tickets cost only $20 and 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). The game will be carried live on WLXG 1300 AM with Chris Cross.
This is the first meeting between the two schools but will feature an interesting twist as senior guard/forward Sara Potts, UK?s leading scorer with 15.9 points per game, will square off for the first time against her sister Rachel, a sophomore guard for the Buccaneers.
?I know that that?s something that Rachel and Sara have been looking forward to,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?I think this will be a big game when you get in a little sibling rivalry.?
The Wildcats (4-3) are coming off of a loss to intrastate rival Louisville on Sunday, as a 15-0 run by the Cardinals midway through the second half allowed U of L to break open a close game and defeat Kentucky. The Cats, who led early in that game, lost their lead and fell, 66-49, to the Cardinals. DeMoss looks for her team to play more effectively when it has the lead.
?We?re really trying to focus on keeping a lead and not playing not to lose,? DeMoss said. ?We need to be able to put the hammer down and finish out strong.?
Junior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey led the way for the Cats with a 14-point, 13-rebound effort, marking her sixth career double-double and her third of the season. Humphrey is tops on the squad with 9.9 rebounds per game to complement 9.4 points per game. She ranks second in the Southeastern Conference in rebounding.
?I am very pleased with Jennifer?s play,? DeMoss said. ?She played not feeling well at all against Louisville and I thought she played really hard. She had a really tough defensive assignment Louisville?s Jazz Covington, and she turned around and was our leading scorer and our leading rebounder.?
Sophomore point guard Angela Phillips is averaging 4.86 assists per game, best on the team and third in the SEC. Phillips played a season-high 40 minutes vs. Louisville on Sunday.
?I think with Angela Phillips, what she brings to our team is so valuable,? DeMoss said. ?She brings a lot of the intangibles. She?s a very vocal leader and a very smart player. She?s one of those players that can play 40 minutes. She just doesn?t wear down. She did a nice job in the Louisville game of running the team and shooting the ball better.
Charleston Southern (2-2) has won its last two games and plays Morehead State tonight at 7 p.m. ET.
