The University of Kentucky women?s basketball team looks to snap a three-game losing streak when it plays host to the South Carolina Gamecocks Sunday, Jan. 30 in Memorial Coliseum. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. ET 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 also will be carried live on WLXG 1300 AM with Chris Cross.
The Wildcats (13-8, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) are coming off three straight conference losses, including a 73-67 decision to No. 23/21 Vanderbilt at home on Thursday. Freshman Sarah Elliott posted a team-high 20 points and Kentucky shot over 50 percent from the floor but it wouldn?t be enough to overcome a season-high tying 23 turnovers.
?We?re glad to be back on the court to face South Carolina,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?Our team will have to take better care of the ball in order to win in the SEC and we?ve got to be more physical to succeed against the dominant posts in this league.?
Senior guard/forward Sara Potts continues to lead the Cats with 14.0 points per game, while Elliott follows with 11.3 ppg. Junior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey has pulled down a team-high 7.0 rebounds and sophomore point guard Angela Phillips has dished out a team-high 82 assists.
South Carolina (6-14, 0-6 SEC) hung tough with No. 5 Tennessee on Thursday night, but the Gamecocks were unable to pull off the upset, falling 68-53 in the Carolina Center. Sophomore guard Lauren Simms is USC?s top scorer with 12.8 points per game. She is second on the team with 38 assists. Freshman forward Melanie Johnson leads the Gamecocks on the glass with 7.4 boards per game. There are no seniors on the USC roster. In fact, the team has only one junior. Forward Olga Gritsaeva is the only upperclassmen on a roster that features eight sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and one true freshman.
The Gamecocks are coached by Susan Walvius in her eighth year at the helm of the program. She has compiled a 112-110 record during her tenure at USC and has a 210-211 record in her 15 seasons as a collegiate head coach, having also directed Virginia Commonwealth and West Virginia.
The Wildcats hold a 17-15 advantage in the all-time series after winning both meetings last season. DeMoss is 2-2 against the Gamecocks in her head coaching career.
This game will mark the first of two meetings between the two schools this season, as the schools also will face off on Feb. 24 in Columbia, S.C.
