Dec. 5, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After four straight games away from home, the Kentucky women’s basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Memorial Coliseum for a matchup with first-time opponent Furman Saturday, Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with Neil Price (1580 AM in Lexington). Fans that show their men’s basketball game ticket vs. Miami to be played at 5:30 p.m. in Rupp Arena will be admitted free, while supplies last.
Single-game general admission tickets also are available for $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 Wildcats (4-3) are looking to get back on the winning track after dropping their last two road games to No. 23/21 Xavier (67-44) and instate rival Western Kentucky (66-57). Furman (3-3) has dropped three straight on the road vs. Texas, Rice and Davidson, respectively.
“We’ve had a tough week with three games in five days but we have to find a way to get out of our scoring slump,” UK Hoops Coach Matthew Mitchell said. “I thought we did a lot of positive things against Western, we just couldn’t find the basket in the first half. Furman is another good team and we need to bounce back and be ready to play Saturday.”
Junior guard Amani Franklin (Stone Mountain, Ga.) led the scoring efforts in both games this week, netting 13 points vs. the Musketeers and a season high-tying 16 points against the Lady Toppers. Senior center Eleia Roddy (Columbus, Ohio) bounced back from a scoreless night vs. Xavier to chart her fifth career and first season double-double with a season-best 15 points and 11 rebounds against WKU.
Sophomore Victoria Dunlap (Nashville, Tenn.) is UK’s overall leader in scoring averaging 11.9 points per game while Roddy is the team’s leading rebounder with 7.7 rebounds per game.
Senior point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky.), who missed the WKU game, is listed as doubtful to play against Furman as she continues to suffer from sesamoiditis and turf toe in her left foot. She missed 16 games last season with the same injury.
Furman, located in Greenville, S.C., is led by junior guard Lee Stephens who averages 17 ppg.
This is the first meeting between Kentucky and Furman. UK is 10-0 all-time vs. teams from the Southern Conference. UK’s last game win over a Southern Conference team came against Wofford last season on Jan. 7, 2008, 67-57.
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 one hour prior to game time until one hour after the game. 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.
