The Kentucky women?s basketball team opens the Matthew Mitchell era on Thursday when it plays host to NCAA Division II foe Kentucky Wesleyan in the first of two exhibition contests in Memorial Coliseum. Tip-off between the Wildcats and Panthers is set for 7 p.m. EDT and the game will be carried live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with Neil Price. The game will be open to the public free of charge with seating on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The Wildcats are coming off their second consecutive 20-win season, going 20-14 and advancing to the third round of the Women?s National Invitation Tournament. Kentucky?s three consecutive appearances in postseason play mark the most since the programs four-year string of appearances from 1979-83.
A new era in Kentucky women?s basketball begins as Mitchell, the former top assistant coach at UK under Mickie DeMoss, returned to take over the reigns after two seasons as the head coach at Morehead State University. Mitchell welcomes back nine letter winners and four starters from last season?s squad, including three-time All-SEC selection Samantha Mahoney (Detroit), senior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.), and junior All-SEC point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky).
?We?re excited to play tomorrow with our first exhibition game,? UK Coach Matthew Mitchell said. ?I?ve been pleased with how the preseason has gone up until this point. I am seeing improvement every day in our mental attitude and our mental toughness. This has been one of the big keys to the success this season. We?re excited to play somebody besides going against ourselves, so it will be a good atmosphere and a good situation for us tomorrow.?
Kentucky Wesleyan, which finished last season with an 18-10 record, is a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Panthers tied for third in the GLVC Eastern Division with an 11-8 league record, as the squad produced the second-most overall wins and second-most conference wins in program history. Kentucky Wesleyan returns three starters from last season?s squad, including 5-foot-10 senior forward LaTasha Henry, who was the team?s leading scorer (13.1 ppg) and rebounder (7.8 rpg) from a year ago.
UK and Kentucky Wesleyan, located in Owensboro, Ky., have not met in the modern era. The last meeting between the two teams was in 1924. In the early days the series is tied at 11-11.
Kentucky concludes its 2007-08 exhibition schedule on Monday, Nov. 5, when it plays host to the Ohio Girls Basketball Magazine All-Stars at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum.
Venue Change for Western Kentucky Game
Kentucky’s game vs. intrastate rival Western Kentucky, scheduled for Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. ET, has been moved to Rupp Arena. The game, originally scheduled for Memorial Coliseum, has been moved to the downtown Lexington venue to accommodate the Wildcats potentially playing host to the first and second rounds of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Should Kentucky be granted a bid to serve as a host site for volleyball, the first round of play would also occur on Friday, Nov. 29. The UK Hoops game vs. WKU will be televised live on BBSN/FSN South at 7 p.m. ET.
UK will now play five games in the downtown venue. They are Western Kentucky (Nov. 30), Louisville (Dec. 20), LSU (Jan. 27), Ole Miss (Feb. 7) and South Carolina (March 2).
Single-game Tickets On Sale Nov. 1
Single-game tickets for UK?s 15 exciting home games go on sale Thursday, Nov. 1. Single-game tickets are available at a cost of $5 for reserved seats (Rupp Arena only) while general admission seats are $5 for adults and $2 for seniors and children ages 6-18. Age five and under are admitted free. Reserved seats require a ticket regardless of age. Season tickets also are available at a cost of just $45.
Fans are encouraged to order their seats as soon as possible by visiting the Joe Craft Center ticket office from 9 a.m. ? 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Single-game tickets also can be purchased by visiting or by calling the UK ticket office at 859-257-1818 or 1-800-928-CATS (2287).
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES – OCTOBER 31
Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
?We?re excited to play tomorrow with our first exhibition game. I?ve been pleased with how the preseason has gone up until this point. I am seeing improvement every day in our mental attitude and our mental toughness. That has been one of the big keys to the success this season. We?re excited to play somebody besides ourselves, so it will be a good atmosphere and a good situation for us tomorrow. Sarah Elliott will not be available tomorrow night due a hip flexor. She is still trying to get back to full speed and has been out of practice for a several days. It?s getting better and something we feel like she is going to progress through and be able to come back full speed at some point. Catina Bett is suspended for the game due to disciplinary actions concerning her academics. Catina certainly fits into our plans, but she needs to get some things straight off the court. I?m looking forward to her doing that and have every confidence that she will.?
On Elliott?s injury?
?She hurt her hip about a week ago and missed about two practices. She came back and tried to go again. She got back into a practice and couldn?t get through. She has not practiced very much and it has her behind right now. All we can do is look after her and work her back in. We look for her to fully recover.?
On the starting lineup for Thursday?
?We?re going to put a lineup on the floor tomorrow night that includes Carly Ormerod at the ?1,? Sam Mahoney at the ?2,? Chante? Bowman at the ?3,? Victoria Dunlap at the ?4? and Jenn?e Jackson at the ?5.? Just talking about that lineup, I definitely think it?s a lineup that can be up-tempo and has shown tremendous ability to guard with the type of intensity we are looking for. We are going to try to guard in the half-court tomorrow night. I would like to mention that Jenn?e Jackson has been one of the most unbelievable players from a consistency standpoint. She has been the most consistent performer in practice. We?ve had 16 days ? we?ve had more practices than that because we?ve had double sessions some days. Out of the 16 days, she has done an outstanding job up to this point. I?m very proud for her. She has earned this position tomorrow night and that?s how we?re going to try to do that in every game. Whoever earns it in practice is going to be rewarded with that starting assignment.?
On the progress of junior forward Jenn?e Jackson?
?She looks very good right now. She is scoring and shooting the ball well. She is running the floor ? that?s a real strength of hers. She is making plays in transition offense. Jenn?e has always been a good shot blocker. I think she is much more focused mentally right now defensively. I am happy with Jenn?e right now.?
On freshman Victoria Dunlap earning the starting nod for Thursday night?
?Victoria is a good player. She is very solid and doesn?t make a lot of mistakes. I think that as she continues to get more comfortable, we will have a special player on our hands. Where we are today, I am happy with Victoria and she will start tomorrow night.?
On the team being prepared for tomorrow night?s opener against Kentucky Wesleyan ?
?They have worked very hard. We?ve had a lot of conditioning. The process started when they got back on campus in August. Hopefully, we will be prepared. We won?t be really complicated tomorrow night. There are a few things we are looking to get accomplished. I think the opportunity to play against someone else is exciting to them.?
On his excitement about tomorrow night?s game ?
?I will be excited every time I can take the court as the coach at Kentucky. That?s something that will never get old for me. I want to be here a long time. I am so proud of our players that they have worked themselves into a position to go out and show some things tomorrow night that I will be very proud of if we can get them accomplished.?
On whether he ever gets nervous before games ?
?I have not up to this point. We?ll see tomorrow night. In my athletic career playing, I never was a really nervous person. I feel good about the way we?ve gone through practice and the way the coaches have prepared our team. When you do that, you just have to go play, so I don?t worry a whole lot about things that are out of my control. I would like to say how pleased I am with our overall staff. From Tricia Matysak, our trainer, to Stephanie Tracey-Simmons, our strength coach, they have done a tremendous job getting our team physically prepared. I have been very pleased by our coaches, so I appreciate the way everybody is coming together to get everybody ready to play.?
On whether forward/center Eleia Roddy will play tomorrow night?
?She will. Eleia is available. I am happy with her progress, but Eleia is very rusty right now. As a coach, sometimes I forget that she hasn?t played in a long time. She was injured in preseason last year. It has been over a year since she has played in this environment, so she will be limited just to how she is doing with her recovery. I?ve been really pleased with her progress and she?ll play tomorrow night.?
On the impact of last season?s success on this year?s team?
?I certainly think that the success we?ve had has us going into this season with a little bit of excitement. If you come in off of four or five losing seasons in a row, that probably has more of an impact. I feel good about where we are.?
Kentucky Players
Junior forward Jenn?e Jackson
On whether breaking into the starting lineup surprises her…
?I just go out there and try to work hard. It?s not too surprising because I went out there and worked hard all summer and preseason long and it?s paying off.?
On whether it will be strange to play without 6-6 center Sarah Elliott in the lineup tomorrow?
?Yeah, it will be. Sarah?s been in the lineup since I?ve been here, so it?s definitely going to be weird.?
On whether Elliott being out of the starting lineup will change the tempo of the game ?
?Definitely not. Coach Mitchell emphasizes that we play under control and play hard all the time.?
Freshman forward Victoria Dunlap
On whether or not it was a surprise to hear she was in Thursday?s starting lineup?
?Coach Mitchell just told us today and right now I am kind of a little nervous. I just look at this as a good opportunity for myself as a freshman and I?m just really appreciative of the opportunity to play.?
On whether she was worried about becoming a starter ?
?There wasn?t really a big concern. I wasn?t worried about starting, I just wanted to have the chance to play. This is going to be a really good opportunity.?
On whether she gets nervous before games ?
?In high school I didn?t, but now that I?m in college, it?s a big step. Right now, I?m kind of nervous. I just have to see what happens tomorrow and take it as it comes.?
On playing her first college game ?
?We?ve been working really hard in practice, but we?re really glad to go out there and play against somebody else.?
Junior point guard Carly Ormerod
On starting the season against Kentucky Wesleyan
?I think all of us are really excited about getting out there and competing against somebody else. It?s been a really good pre-season and we?ve been really tough on each other. We?re sick of beating each other up.?
On building off of last year?s success
?We can use last year as a learning tool, but last year was last year. It?s a new year and we?re ready to start fresh and get going.?
On what she expects out of the team this season?
?I think we have a lot of potential for sure. We have a coach who believes in us every day and I think just practicing out there with each other, hopefully we will grow into a really good team.?
On new head coach Matthew Mitchell?
?He recruited me, so I got to know him throughout the whole process. He?s an awesome coach and a very good motivator for all of us. He knows how to push us to our limit.?
