The Kentucky women?s basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Memorial Coliseum after two consecutive road games last week. The Wildcats will play host to the 23rd-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores Thursday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. ET. The first 1,000 fans will receive a free “got DeMoss?” t-shirt. 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 also will be carried live on WLXG 1300 AM with Chris Cross.
Kentucky (13-7, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) looks to remain undefeated at home as it rides a 10-game home winning streak this season and a 12-game home winning streak overall, dating back to last year.
?It?s good to be back at home,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?Those road games are tough in the SEC and we are looking forward to a rematch with Vanderbilt. We played them twice last year and we played them really tough at Vanderbilt in the regular season game. They ended up winning the SEC Tournament and were pretty hot last year at the end of the season. Their inside game is really tough with Ashley Earley and Carla Thomas. They make up one of the toughest inside tandems in the country, so we?re really going to have our hands full with those two.?
Sophomore point guard Angela Phillips will turn 20 years old Thursday as the Cats meet Vanderbilt for the 34th time. The Commodores lead the all-time record 21-12 but the series is tied at 7-7 when the game is played in Lexington. The Commodores own an eight-game winning streak over the Cats and a three-game winning streak in Lexington. The ?Dores have won 17 of the last 18 games against Kentucky. The Wildcats? last win over Vanderbilt was five years ago (Jan. 7, 1999), a thrilling 70-69 win in Memorial Coliseum.
Three Wildcats are averaging double-digit points this season. Senior Sara Potts leads the way with 14.2 ppg while freshmen Sarah Elliott and Samantha Mahoney follow with 10.9 and 10.0 ppg, respectively. Jennifer Humphrey is the leader on the boards with 7.0 rpg while Phillips tops the assists column with 4.1 apg.
Potts has 1,317 career points and needs 23 more to move ahead of Belitta Croley for 10th place on UK?s all-time scoring list. She also needs just five three-pointers to move into the SEC?s top 10 of all-time three-point shooters.
Vanderbilt (13-5, 2-3 SEC) looks to snap a three-game losing skid after consecutive losses to Tennessee, Ole Miss and LSU. However, the Commodores still manage to lead the SEC in seven statistical categories, including scoring offense (81.0 ppg), scoring margin (+25.8), field goal percentage (.505) and three-point FG percentage (.382). Senior Ashley Earley leads the ?Dores in scoring and rebounding, averaging 18.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Carla Thomas follows with 15.6 ppg and 6.3 rpb. Coach Melanie Balcomb is in her third season at Vanderbilt after seven years at Xavier. In 12 seasons as a head coach, Balcomb has compiled a 224-127 overall record for a .638 winning percentage.
