LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The Kentucky women?s basketball team will play host to James Madison University Wednesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. EST in the third round of the Women?s National Invitation Tournament in Memorial Coliseum. The game will be broadcast live on the Big Blue Sports Radio Network with Neil Price. The Wildcats defeated Middle Tennessee Friday in exciting fashion, winning in overtime, 68-66. The Dukes also needed overtime to advance as they won on the road against Indiana Saturday night, 86-81.
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).
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 Wildcats, who finished fourth in Southeastern Conference for the second time in three years, are 16-15 overall, 8-6 in conference play. The Cats overcame injuries to key players (five different players have missed 49 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.
In Friday?s second round game against MTSU, sophomore Lydia Watkins (Hopkinsville, Ky.) came off the bench to record her first career double-double with a career-high 16 points and 16 rebounds. Senior Chelsea Chowning (Lexington, Ky.) added 13 points and All-SEC freshman Victoria Dunlap (Nashville, Tenn.) grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds and four blocks. The Wildcats outrebounded the Blue Raiders 53-29, their largest rebounding margin of the season.
All-SEC selections and seniors Samantha Mahoney (Detroit) and Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) lead the Wildcats in overall scoring this season, averaging 13.0 ppg (9th SEC) and 10.6 ppg (20th SEC), respectively. Dunlap follows with 6.9 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game (15th SEC).
James Madison, located in Harrisonburg, Va., is 24-9 overall and finished second behind Old Dominion in the Colonial Athletic Conference with a 14-4 record. The Dukes are led in scoring and rebounding by CAA Player of the Year Tamera Young. The 6-2 senior averages an impressive 20.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Freshman point guard Dawn Evans, a CAA All-Freshman selection, is second in scoring with 13.2 points. The duo posted incredible numbers against the Hoosiers on Saturday, combining for 68 of JMU?s 86 points. Evans dropped in 38 while Young added 30. The Dukes defeated Radford 80-58 in their WNIT opener. Young scored a school-record 38 points in that game.
Kentucky is 1-1 all-time vs. James Madison but hasn?t met the Dukes since 1991. The Wildcats are 9-11 all-time against teams from the Colonial Conference, 1-1 this season after defeating William & Mary on Dec. 4, 75-44 and falling to Old Dominion on Dec. 28, 71-62.
UK has three common opponents with JMU this season in ODU, George Washington and William & Mary. The Cats went 1-2 vs. those teams while the Dukes posted a 5-1 mark, including wins over nationally-ranked ODU and GW.
This is Kentucky?s fifth all-time appearance in the WNIT, its third in the last four years. The Wildcats are participating in their school-record fourth consecutive postseason tournament and own an 11-3 record all-time in the postseason event. This is the second straight season the Wildcats have advanced to the third round. Last season, UK defeated Oakland and Ball State before falling to the eventual runner-up Wisconsin in the third game, 67-61.
Kentucky Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
?We were just thrilled to win on Friday night against Middle Tennessee. They were a very good team and a quality opponent. To me, it is a similar type of opponent that is coming in tomorrow night. They (James Madison) have won 24 games and have had a lot of success in their conference. They have played some very good competition this year. To go on the road and beat Indiana is a big deal. They were down several times during that game and battled back every time. They have one of the best players we have seen all year. The thing that impresses me most about James Madison is their energy. Tomorrow night will be a big-time effort game for the Wildcats and we need to be ready to play with a supreme effort.?
On the match-up with James Madison?
?I think they will test us in a variety of ways. They are a very good team. They have players that can always go out and get them points. We are a score-by-committee team. They are a different team than we are and more like Middle Tennessee.?
On the James Madison?s top scorer Tamera Young?
“She is about 6-1, extremely lean and very athletic. When she catches the ball around the three-point stripe she can get to the goal in one dribble. She can put it down in a couple of dribbles and is one of the best jump-shooters I’ve seen in the women?s game. She can create her own shot even when she is guarded. She will be a big challenge for us. You can’t give her anything easy because she can get it off the glass and go all the way. She is very powerful getting to the glass. I think the word I would use to describe her would be explosive. She can do a lot very quickly. She has scored 30 points in both WNIT games. She is very dangerous.?
On his young players earning experience by playing in the post season?
?It was interesting because the way we finished the regular season and going into the Southeastern Conference we did not know our opponent. We were not able to spend a lot of time preparing for the opponent so we worked on individual skill level. We have been working on individual skill levels all season. In the post season, we have really been able to focus in on personal work-outs. I thought some of younger players really benefited from that. I made a few comments before the Middle Tennessee game about expecting a good game from Lydia Watkins. She has really improved the last couple of weeks. Our players have been willing to accept coaching this time of year. When you get to this time of year everyone gets tired and does not want to listen. That has not been the case here and I think it has made a huge difference with the willingness of our players listening to our coaching. The opportunity to play has benefited our younger players. Being able to be one of the few teams that is still available to play this time of year has given us some great experience.?
On the confidence of the players coming into the James Madison game?
?I hope that our players understand what a quality team that they beat the other night. I am very hopeful that the confidence from that win will spill over into tomorrow night?s game. I think that as you look at the WNIT it is the strongest it has ever been. A lot of good teams were left out of the NCAA this year. When I was here before our first-round game was not as challenging as the one we played the other night. We are going to have to beat a really good team tomorrow night. When you put together good wins over good teams then you should be a confident team.?
