The No. 24 Kentucky women?s basketball team will take a two-game win streak into the Derby City Sunday when it faces No. 19 Louisville in a clash of top 25 teams in the annual ?Battle of the Bluegrass.? Opening tip in Freedom Hall is set for 1 p.m. EST and the game will be carried live on ESPNU and the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with Neil Price. For ticket information, call the UL ticket office at (502) 852-5151.
The Wildcats (4-2) are coming off a 79-44 win over Detroit on Wednesday in Memorial Coliseum. Junior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) scored a team-high 22 points and senior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey (Memphis, Tenn.) charted her ninth career double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds to help UK overcome a halftime deficit and rout the Titans.
Elliott, who has scored 20 or more points in two of the team?s last three games, leads the team in both scoring and rebounding. She averages a squad-best 12.3 ppg and 9.5 rpg. Junior guard Samantha Mahoney (Detroit) follows in the scoring column, averaging 11.8 ppg. Humphrey is averaging 9.2 rpg to complement 9.2 ppg. Sophomore point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky.) leads the team in assists with 24 and is third in scoring with 9.5 ppg.
The contest marks the 43rd meeting between the schools in the annual ?Battle of the Bluegrass,? ranking as the second-longest series for the Cats. UK has met only the Tennessee Lady Volunteers (46 times) more than the Cardinals.
?We obviously have a big game on Sunday, as anytime Kentucky and Louisville get together it is a big rivalry,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?They are 7-0, ranked No. 19 in the country and are a very good basketball team. We are certainly going to have to go there and take our A-game, to have a chance to win the game.?
Kentucky leads the all-time series 28-14 and has won four of the last eight meetings between the two schools. Louisville, however, has won two in a row, including a 64-55 victory in Rupp Arena last season. The Cardinals lead the series 10-9 when the game is being played in Louisville, including a 66-49 win in Freedom Hall two years ago. UK?s last win in Freedom Hall came in 1999.
The undefeated Cardinals (7-0) are coming off a narrow 63-59 win at Xavier on Thursday. Louisville, which shot a season-low 34.7 percent in the game, had three players score in double-digits led by sophomore forward Angel McCoughtry?s double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
?Louisville has a very balanced attack,? DeMoss said. ?They are very athletic. They have great team speed and great team quickness and we have to be able to handle that.?
McCoughtry leads four players averaging double-figure point totals for the season with 17.9 ppg. She has led the team in scoring in four games this season and also is the squad?s leading rebounder with 9.6 boards per game. Senior All-America candidate Jazz Covington follows with 10.3 ppg. Junior point guard Patrika Barlow is tops on the squad in assists with 37 dishes.
Following Sunday?s game, the Wildcats will play four consecutive home games prior to the holiday break.
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES – DEC. 1
Head Coach Mickie DeMoss
On playing #19 nationally ranked Louisville on Sunday?
?We obviously have a big game on Sunday, as anytime Kentucky and Louisville get together, it is a big rivalry. They have had probably one of their best starts that they have had in a long time. They are 7-0, and ranked 19th in the country and are a very good basketball team. We are certainly going to have to go there and take our A-game, to have a chance to win the game.?
On the team?s extra intensity and enthusiasm over playing Louisville?
?This is my fourth time playing them, since being at UK. Every time we play them you get an extra adrenaline rush and it is a little extra motivation. I don?t think you can live here in Lexington and not feel that.?
On the rivalry being the same as Tennessee or how it is different?
?I think it is different. I think Tennessee has such a long tradition, with six national titles and being more on the national scene. I think Louisville is more of bragging rights in the state. We recruit against them more than we do Tennessee. It?s a rivalry, but just a different kind.?
On the game meaning more now that both teams are ranked?
?I don?t see how it can mean anymore. I think that if we were ranked 80th and 79th in the country the intensity would still be the same. Anytime you have those rivals, it doesn?t matter the rankings, if you are a junior or senior, it is intense.?
On why the team hasn?t been consistent in both halves of their games?
?I don?t have the answer as to why. It is not anything that we are doing any differently. I think we are still trying to find our identity. Everybody is back from last year, but everyone is older. Along with the absence of Eleia Roddy, which is still something we are trying to find with that physical force inside that we are missing. I think it?s a combination of a lot of those things.?
On if the team?s second-half comeback vs. Detroit gives them confidence?
?Against a quality team, we can?t afford to get buried in the first half. Against Detroit, we played poorly, and we were down three. We were able to make a great run in that second half, but we cannot rely on just one half of basketball against quality teams, we have to play a full 40 minutes.?
On what scares her most about Louisville as a team?
?They just have a very balanced attack. They are very athletic. They have great team speed and great team quickness and we have to be able to handle that.?
