KENTUCKY WILDCATS (4-5, 0-0 SEC)
vs. LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (7-2, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Thursday, Dec. 20 ? 7 p.m. EST
Lexington, Ky. ? (23,000/10,404)
TV: BBSN/FSN South TV
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The Kentucky women?s basketball team looks forward to getting back to game action after a rare 12-day break for final exams when it plays host to intrastate rival Louisville Thursday, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m. EST in Rupp Arena. The game will be broadcast live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio/TV) and FSN South (TV).
Single-game general admission tickets are available for purchase $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).
The game, dubbed the ?Battle of the Bluegrass,? tips off for the 44th time since UK became a varsity sport in the 1974-75 season. The Cats (4-5) lead the overall series 28-15, including an 18-3 advantage when the game is played in Lexington. However, UK has dropped its last three games against the Cardinals and hopes to chart its first win in Rupp Arena over U of L since 2003.
?We are getting ready to play Louisville and it will be a big game on the schedule as always,? UK head coach Matthew Mitchell said. ?We?ve been off for the last 12 days trying to get ready for exams and all of those things that happen at the end of the semester. This is going to be a tough game for us. Louisville is a team that has been playing very, very well and is off to a great start. I feel good about our plan and our preparation, but the players have to step up and give a great effort. That?s what I?m looking for tomorrow night ? their best 40 minutes of the year. It would be a tremendous lift to us going into the Christmas break. A win over Louisville would be fantastic for us.?
Senior guard Samantha Mahoney (Detroit) leads the way for Kentucky, averaging 17.6 points per game which ranks third in the Southeastern Conference. Senior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) follows Mahoney in the scoring column with 12.1 ppg. She also pulls down a team-high 6.8 rebounds. Elliott has swatted a school-record tying 156 blocks and needs just one more to take sole possession of atop the career blocks list. She has charted at least two blocks in seven of nine games.
Louisville is 7-2 overall and riding a six-game winning streak, after defeating Western Kentucky Sunday, 76-60. It marked the Cardinals? first win in E.A. Diddle Arena since 1982.
The Cardinals are led in scoring and rebounding by All-America selection Angel McCoughtry. McCoughtry leads the nation in scoring (24.9) and steals (5.5). Junior Candyce Bingham is second on the team in scoring and rebounding with 12.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Senior guard Patrika Barlow currently ranks second in the nation in assists per game, dishing out 8.0 per game.
After a short break for the Christmas holiday, Kentucky returns to Memorial Coliseum to face Old Dominion on Friday, Dec. 28. Game time is 7 p.m. EST.
Congratulations Graduates
Congratulations to senior Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) and red-shirt junior Eleia Roddy (Columbus, Ohio), both of whom graduated last week after completing their degrees in just three-and-a-half years. Elliott received a degree in family and consumer science, while Roddy graduated with a degree in psychology. Both plan either to add a second major or enter graduate school.
UK is one of only two schools in the Southeastern Conference (LSU is the other) to boast two or more graduates on its roster.
Last season, the Wildcats led the nation in current players who earned a bachelor?s degree as three members graduated prior to their senior season (Nastassia Alcius, Jennifer Humphrey and Jenny Pfeiffer). In the last four seasons, all 13 players that completed their eligibility also left with their degree.
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES – DEC. 19
Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
?We are getting ready to play Louisville. It will be a big game on the schedule as always. We wish we were playing a little bit better coming into this. We?ve been off for the last 12 days trying to get ready for exams and all of those things that happen at the end of the semester. On a bright note, our team finished up well academically, so we were glad to see that happen. This is going to be a tough game for us. Louisville is a team that has been playing very, very well and is off to a great start. They are playing with a lot of confidence and a lot of swagger. We have had a bit of a bumpy road and are not real happy to be sitting at 4-5. But, really, the only way we can get our swagger back is to go out and win. We can?t talk about it, we just have to go out and make some things happen. I?ve been encouraged with the practices that we?ve had and it?s going to be a tough test tomorrow.?
On the status of injuries?
?Both of our point guards have been out this week. Carly Ormerod has had a foot injury that has been documented and she has been very limited in what she can do. I?m not sure that she?s ready to go tomorrow night. Amber Smith had her shoulder knocked out of place this week. She has not practiced all week and she?s going to be a game-time decision. Going into a game against a team like Louisville, that causes so many turnovers, we?re going to really have to work hard to take care of the basketball with a lineup that we haven?t played this year. We?re just going to have to do what we can do with the team that we have. I feel good about our preparation, but the injuries have been tough so far.?
On the team?s senior class having never beaten Louisville?
?I have just tried to give them as much information that I can give them to get ready to play Louisville and execute. I?m not sure about trying to get them really revved up or tell them that they have never beaten Louisville, I would hope that that is something that is going to be driving them. I think it?s probably more about execution with that group. I?m sure as they look back on their careers, they would feel much better beating Louisville one time than losing to them all four. I am really hoping that we can execute well enough tomorrow night to win.?
On the status of sophomore forward Lydia Watkins?
?Lydia [Watkins] is back full strength. She has been out with a hyperextension. She has had a lot of work in practice and she has done well. This will be her first game action in a long time, so she could be rusty. One thing that Lydia, I think, gives us is some athleticism and some energy and spark in the post. She definitely can rebound. This game is going to be a lot about taking care of the ball. Louisville creates about 25 turnovers per game, which is a bunch. They forced 31 against Florida. They?ve had some monster games turning people over. They create a lot of easy opportunities on the glass. They?re a great offensive rebounding team. Any help we can get from our team in taking care of the ball and keeping Louisville off the glass is going to help us be successful in the game.?
On the play of freshman forward Victoria Dunlap?
?My expectations of her were high coming in. What I have been pleased with about her is her ability to stay steady. That?s one thing our team has had a hard time doing overall. Victoria plays through mistakes and a lot of times, freshmen will hang their heads or feel really bad about a mistake and let that affect them. Victoria has not done that and it allows her to be very consistent. If she had done a little bit better with not getting into foul trouble and shooting free throws better, I think she?d be averaging a double-double. I think that?s the kind of player she?s going to end up being before she leaves Kentucky. She?s a tremendously hard worker, knows the game and has worked hard on her free throws. If she gets better on her free throws, that?s going to help her scoring. She?s a tremendous rebounder and a great defensive player. I?m really glad she?s at Kentucky.?
On what a win against Louisville would mean to the team?
?It has been hard for us to get a lot of confidence going because of a combination of things. I certainly don?t want to make excuses, just the reality of the situation has been the schedule, the need for us to play a lot of young players and the injuries have just not let us be really cohesive up to this point. Everybody keeps saying that we need confidence to play well. The only way that we are going to get confidence is to win. I feel good about our plan and our preparation, but the players have to step up and give a great effort. That?s what I?m looking for tomorrow night ? their best 40 minutes of the year. It would be a tremendous lift to us going into the Christmas break. A win over Louisville would be fantastic for us.?
