The Kentucky women?s basketball team will play host to the Xavier Musketeers in the quarterfinal round of the Sportsview.tv Women?s National Invitation Tournament. Action will tip off Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m. EST in Memorial Coliseum. To purchase tickets call the UK ticket office at 859-257-1818 or 1-800-928-CATS (2287). Ticket office hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST. Ticket prices are: $7 for all reserved seats regardless of age. General admission tickets are $7 adults/$4 for UK students, senior citizens and children ages 18 and under.
Kentucky (17-15) advanced to the quarterfinals with wins over Eastern Michigan (79-68) and Chattanooga (91-54). Senior Sara Potts, who has averaged 25.5 points in the two games, led all scorers vs. the Lady Mocs on Sunday with a career high 32 points. She hit a school record-tying seven three-pointers and moved to No. 4 on UK?s all-time scoring list.
Xavier (22-9) inched by Western Kentucky in its first round, 87-85, in Bowling Green, Ky. Kentucky native (Ft. Thomas) Tara Boothe scored a career-high 36 points, including the game-winning basket with less than three seconds left in the game. Boothe also came up big vs. Indiana State in the second round as she charted her second consecutive 30-point outing. She scored 30 points in the 79-70 Xavier win, including 23 points in the second half. The junior also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Musketeers finished Atlantic 10 conference play with a 13-3 record, tying George Washington for first place in the west division. XU advanced to the semi-finals of the A-10 tournament before falling to Temple, the A-10 regular season champions, 64-61.
The Wildcats look for their first win against Xavier in school history. The Musketeers hold a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series and won a 75-67 decision over the Cats in December in Cincinnati. Xavier connected on a school-record 13 three-pointers and used a 12-0 run midway through the second half to defeat Kentucky. The Musketeers hit a whopping 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from beyond the arc, netting five in the first half and eight in the second.
The Cats are 17-10 vs. members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
