LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky women?s basketball team will meet Middle Tennessee of the Sun Belt Conference in the second round of the Women?s National Invitation Tournament Friday, March 21 at 7 p.m. EST in Memorial Coliseum. The Raiders defeated Western Carolina on Wednesday in their first round match-up, 104-69, in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Reserved seats for the WNIT are $10 each (all ages). General admission seats are $10 for adults and $4 for youth/seniors (18 & under, 65+). Tickets for UK Students are $4 each with a valid student identification card and must be purchased at the ticket office. For ticket information, log on to ukathletics.com or call the UK ticket office at 859-257-1818 or 1-800-928-CATS (2287).
In order to avoid lines Friday at the ticket office, local fans are encouraged to pick up any pre-ordered tickets in advance. Pre-ordered tickets will be available for pick up Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. ? 4 p.m. EST at the Joe Craft Center Ticket Office (behind Memorial Coliseum). The Will Call window will open Friday at 5:30 p.m. EST at the Euclid Avenue ticket windows outside Memorial Coliseum. Fans must have photo identification to pick up pre-ordered tickets. Ticket sales on Friday before the game will take place at the Joe Craft Center Ticket Office on Lexington Avenue.
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 at 6 p.m. EST and ends at 10 p.m. EST. 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. The R Lot, located north of the Craft Center will NOT be available for public parking and will be protected.
The appearance marks Kentucky?s fifth all-time in the WNIT and its third in the last four years. The Wildcats, who are participating in four consecutive postseason tournaments for the first time in the NCAA era, have a 10-3 record all-time in the postseason event and claimed the title in 1990. The Cats advanced to the third round last season by defeating Oakland and Ball State before falling to the eventual runner-up Wisconsin, 67-61.
Middle Tennessee is 22-11 overall record, 14-4 in Sun Belt play. The Raiders fell to Western Kentucky in the finals of their conference tournament (65-49) but went on to crush Western Carolina, coached by former Lady Volunteer Kellie Jolly Harper, 104-69 in their opening-round game. All-American forward Amber Holt led all scorers with 30 points and nine rebounds, while five other players scored between 10 and 13 points. Chelsia Lymon of Georgetown, Ky., and Brandi Brown scored 13 apiece, Starr Orr netted 12, Jackie Pickel had 11 and Anne Marie Lanning posted 10. Emily Queen, a native of Ashland, Ky., added nine points and 10 rebounds.
Kentucky is 8-2 all-time vs. MTSU but hasn?t met the Raiders since 1990. UK has won five consecutive games against Middle Tennessee and holds a 4-1 lead in the series when the game is played in Lexington.
The Wildcats, who finished fourth in the Southeastern Conference for the second time in three years, are 15-15, 8-6 in conference play. The Cats overcame injuries to key players (five different players have missed 48 total games) and navigated their way through one of the nation?s toughest schedules (currently ranked 14th nationally by CollegeRPI.com). UK posted wins over RPI Top 50 programs Georgia (twice) and Florida and earned three wins over nationally-ranked opponents in Georgia (twice) and Auburn.
The Wildcats are led by All-SEC selections and seniors Samantha Mahoney and Sarah Elliott who average 13.1 points per game (9th SEC) and 10.8 ppg (20th SEC), respectively. All-SEC freshman Victoria Dunlap follows with 6.9 ppg and a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game (15th SEC).
Should Kentucky advance, it would play Wednesday, March 26 with time and location to be determined.
