LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The Kentucky women?s basketball team looks to extend its six-game winning streak as it rings in the New Year by playing host to first-time opponent Texas-Pan American Tuesday, Jan. 2. Tip-off in Memorial Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. EST and the game will be carried live on the Big Blue Sports Network (television and radio) and FSN South.
Single-game general admission tickets are available for $5 adults/$2 senior citizens and children 6-18. Ages five and under are admitted free. UK students, faculty and staff also are admitted free with valid identification based on availability. For ticket information, log on to ukathletics.com or call the UK ticket office at 859-257-1818 or 1-800-928-CATS (2287).
Tuesday?s game marks the first of a brutal stretch of three games in five days for Kentucky. The Wildcats begin Southeastern Conference play at home Thursday, Jan. 4 against South Carolina before hitting the road to face No. 8 Ohio State Saturday, Jan. 6 in a Noon contest on CBS.
The Wildcats (10-3) are coming off a pair of wins in the Wells Fargo New Year?s Classic in San Antonio, Texas. Kentucky defeated Kent State, 82-47, and Memphis, 86-51, in the two-day event hosted by the University of Texas-San Antonio. UK has beaten each of its last six opponents by 26 or more points.
Sophomore point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisvile, Ky.) led three Wildcats in double figures against the Golden Flashes with a game-high 17 points on a season-high four three-pointers and a 5-of-6 clip from the free-throw line to complement seven assists – one shy of her career high. She also charted five rebounds and three steals in 33 minutes of action. Junior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.), who was named to the All-Classic Team, led the Cats with a game-high 18 points against the Tigers in the second game.
Elliott is currently the team?s leading scorer, averaging 13.2 ppg. Junior guard Samantha Mahoney (Detroit) and Ormerod follow in the scoring column with 12.5 and 10.7 ppg, respectively. Ormerod is second in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio with 53 assists on the season compared to just 20 turnovers. Senior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey (Memphis, Tenn.) is tops on the squad in rebounding with 9.2 rpg, while Elliott adds 7.4 rpg.
Texas-Pan American is an independent school located in Edinburg, Texas. The Lady Broncs are 6-10 on the season, having split a pair of games in its own Battle of the Border Tournament this past weekend. Junior guard LaKeisha Gray leads the team in scoring, averaging 10.3 ppg and also is tops in assists with 2.6 dishes per game. Senior forward MaHogany Daniel is the team?s leader on the boards with 6.6 rpg. UTPA went 7-21 in 2006.
Fans are encouraged to park in Parking Structure 5 located next to Kennedy?s Bookstore on Limestone Avenue. Parking within Parking Structure 5 will be available free of charge. A shuttle bus service also will be provided and begins one hour prior to game time until one hour after the game. Additional game day parking is available in the E lots surrounding Memorial Coliseum including the Martin Luther King Parking Lot and the Student Center Parking Lot.
