LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Having notched back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in 16 years, the Kentucky women?s basketball team faces Wisconsin in the Women?s National Invitation Tournament Round of 16 on Thursday in Madison, Wisc. Tip-off in the Kohl Center between the Wildcats and Badgers is set for 8 p.m. EDT and the game will be carried live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with Neil Price. The game also will be video streamed live on uwbadgers.com
Single-game general admission tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for high school age and younger. For more information, go online at uwbadgers.com or contact the UW Ticket Office, 608-262-1440 or 1-800-GO-BADGERS.
The Wildcats (20-13) are coming off an 85-82 win at Ball State on Monday in the WNIT second round. Junior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) scored 14 of her team-high 18 points in the second half of the game and Kentucky made 7-of-11 free throws in the game?s final two minutes to seal the victory. Sophomore point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky.) became just the eighth person in school history to notch a points-assists double-double with 13 points and 11 assists.
The Cats, who have charted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1989-90 and 1990-91 campaigns, have eclipsed the 20-win plateau for the 10th time in school history.
Kentucky is one of just two teams (Wyoming is the other) remaining in the WNIT from the initial 32 first-round teams. Sixteen teams received byes to complete the tournament?s first 48-team field in WNIT history. UK also is the only team to win two road games to advance to the third round.
Elliott, an All-SEC second-team selection, leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.6 ppg, while junior guard Samantha Mahoney (Detroit) follows with 13.4 ppg. Senior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey (Memphis, Tenn.) is the squad?s leading rebounder with 10.3 rpg, while Elliott follows with 7.0 boards per game. Ormerod is the team?s assists leader with 121 dishes on the year.
Wisconsin (20-12, 7-9 Big Ten) is in the midst of its first 20-win season since the 1999-00 campaign when it captured the WNIT title with a win over Florida in the championship game. The Badgers, who earned a first-round bye in the tournament, are coming off a 77-45 win over Arkansas State in the second round.
Wisconsin is the third first-time opponent the Wildcats will face in the WNIT Tournament, as UK also met Oakland and Ball State for the first time in school history. The Wildcats are 28-36 all-time vs. members of the Big Ten Conference, while the Badgers are 5-9 against SEC members.
Junior guard Jolene Anderson leads the way for Wisconsin, becoming the Badgers? first Big Ten scoring champion with a 19.3 average in league games, while averaging 19.2 ppg overall. Janese Banks follows with 14.2 ppg. Anderson also is the squad?s leading rebounder, averaging 7.2 boards per game.
Should Kentucky advance, it would play the winner of the South Florida vs. Virginia game in the tournament?s quarterfinals with time and location to be determined.
