The Kentucky women?s basketball team hits the road for its second straight conference road game when the Wildcats face seventh-ranked Tennessee Sunday at 3 p.m. ET in Thompson-Boling Arena. The game marks UK Coach Mickie DeMoss? first return to Knoxville after 18 years as an assistant coach for Pat Summitt?s Lady Vols. Sunday?s contest will be carried live on WLXG 1300 AM with Chris Cross and live stats will be available on ukathletics.com.
In the Cats? (13-6, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) 72-59 loss to Mississippi State, Sara Potts and Sarah Elliott led UK with 13 points each but it wouldn?t be enough to overcome the Lady Bulldogs? hot shooting. MSU 61.1 percent from the field in the second half and Tan White scored 29 points, including 19 in the first half, to lead the Lady Bulldogs to their 10th consecutive home win and sixth consecutive win over Kentucky.
?We?re coming off a tough loss at Mississippi State last night, but we have to regroup and get ready for a really big game at Tennessee on Sunday,? DeMoss, who helped lead UT to six national championships and 13 Final Fours, said. ?What do you say about Tennessee? Not a lot has changed. A lot doesn?t change from year-to-year. But, going into that environment is going to be a test for our young players who haven?t in Thompson-Boling (Arena). I can certainly say that they?re excited about going down there. It?s always exciting to play Tennessee because they are everybody?s measuring stick. We had a good day of preparation today and we?ll have one more tomorrow, so we just have to roll our sleeves up and go in there and compete. That?s the main thing, to go in there with that competitive spirit.?
Senior Sara Potts continues to lead the Cats in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game. The next two players that top the scoring column are freshmen. Center Sarah Elliott and guard Sam Mahoney average 11.3 and 9.7 points per game, respectively. Elliott was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday for her back-to-back double-digit performances. She posted a team-high 15 points and seven rebounds against No. 18 Georgia and 10 points and six boards in just 16 minutes vs. Ole Miss. She is the first freshman to receive the honor in UK Hoops history. Tennessee is 13-3 on the season and 3-0 in league play. The Lady Vols are coming off of an 81-71 victory over Auburn on Thursday. Senior forward Shyra Ely scored a team-high 20 points, Tye?sha Fluker had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Brittany Jackson finished with 15 points for UT in the win. Ely leads the Lady Vols in scoring with 13.3 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game. Junior guard Shanna Zolman follows with 9.9 points per game.
This is the 45th meeting between the border rivals. UK has met UT more times than any other UK rival. UT holds a 39-5 lead in the all-time series dating back to 1976. This is UK?s first game in Knoxville since Feb. 24, 2002. The Cats have played host to the Lady Vols in the two previous meetings. UK looks to snap a 23-game losing streak to the Lady Vols. The Cats last win over UT was Jan. 24, 1986.
Following Sunday?s game UK will play host to No. 17/15 Vanderbilt on Thursday, Jan. 27 followed by South Carolina on Sunday, Jan. 30.
