Feb. 17, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Join the Kentucky women’s basketball team Thursday, Feb. 18 in Memorial Coliseum as the Wildcats raise breast cancer awareness at this year’s WBCA Pink Zone game vs. Florida. Game time is 7 p.m. EST and it will be broadcast live on the Big Blue Sports Radio Network and UKathletics.com with Neil Price.
| Gameday Information | |
|---|---|
| Game Notes |
Kentucky Notes  | Florida Notes |
| Date & Time | Thursday, Feb. 18 7:00 p.m ET |
| Coverage | Radio: BBSN GameTracker Online Audio  Live Blog |
| Location | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, Ky. |
Fans are encouraged to wear pink and $1 from every single-game ticket purchased will be donated to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. Fans wishing to make a contribution in person can do so at the marketing gazebos located on each concourse prior the game.
Single-game general admission tickets 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 further ticket information, log on to UKathletics.com or call the UK ticket office at 859-257-1818 or 1-800-928-CATS (2287).
There will be an online auction at UKteamshop.com for fans to bid on UK Hoops Coach Matthew Mitchell’s pink tie and the actual pink uniforms worn by the Wildcats. The auction ends Friday, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. EST. All proceeds will benefit the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
“First of all, we want to raise a bunch of money tomorrow night and proceeds from ticket sales are going to help in that,” Mitchell said. “We have a really unique opportunity to raise money as our team will be in pink uniforms tomorrow night and those will be auctioned off as well. Probably the most attractive item will be the tie that I am wearing and I know that will create tremendous interest all in an effort to raise money. It is pink, with a little navy and white. I picked it out. It will be a great night for our team to try through their efforts and visibility to do something very good and raise money for a cause that just about everybody has been touched by. We are excited about that.”
The WBCA Pink Zone initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA’s nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The window set aside for this year’s initiative is February 12-21. The WBCA’s charity of choice is the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund®, in partnership with The V Foundation.
Last year, the WBCA’s campaign raised over $1.3 million, reached over 912,000 fans, unified more than 1,600 participating teams and organizations, and saw 56+ schools break attendance records at their event.
Women’s basketball parking is available in the following surface lots and parking structures:
- Student Center Lot – off Euclid Ave
- Hardymon Lot – off Rose St.
- MLK Lot – between Lexington Ave and MLK Blvd.
- Handicapped Parking (first come-first served until full) is located in the Northeast corner of the MLK Lot, must have valid state-issued hang tag
- Good Samaritan surface Lot – accessible off MLK Blvd
- Parking Structure #5 – entrances off Limestone and S. Upper
- LR Cook Lot – located on the corner of MLK and High Street, across the street from Calvary Baptist Church
Additional notes:
- Doors to the Coliseum will open one (1) hour prior to tip-off.
- UK Athletics encourages women’s basketball fans to arrive early to ease traffic and parking congestion around the Coliseum.
- Surface event lots (i.e. Student Center, Hardymon, MLK and Good Samaritan) typically reach capacity approximately 45 minutes prior to game day, at which point, vehicles should proceed to Parking Structure #5 (PS#5).
- The PS #5 shuttle will begin one hour prior to tip and end one hour post-game. The PS #5 shuttle picks up on Administration Drive, accessible via the sky bridge located on the 3 rd Floor of PS#5.
Kentucky returns to the friendly confines of Memorial Coliseum looking to get back on the winning track after falling at No. 22 Vanderbilt last week. Despite being picked to finish 11 th in the Southeastern Conference preseason polls, the Wildcats currently ranks second in the league standings, boasting a 21-4 overall record and 9-3 mark in SEC play. Florida (13-12, 6-6 SEC) is currently in a tie for sixth place after falling to No. 5 Tennessee on Sunday.
“Florida is a team that is very dangerous and very well coached,” Mitchell said. “I was watching film on Florida and watching just how they execute their offenses and cut and screen really hard. They are very active on the offensive end and it gives you trouble trying to defend. The effort that they play with is something that we will have to be ready for. They have beaten some really good teams in the conference this year and we are looking for a really tough game tomorrow night. We will have to be absolutely focused and ready in order to beat Florida.”
Overall, sophomore Jordan Jones is Florida’s leader in scoring with 9.4 points per game while senior forward Sharielle Smith grabs a team-best 6.8 rebounds a game. Senior guard Steffi Sorensen and sophomore center Azania Stewart lead the Gators in scoring in conference play, averaging 9.4 and 9.0 points per game, respectively. Sorensen also leads the team in rebounding with 6.4 boards per game.
The Wildcats are led by SEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Victoria Dunlap (Nashville, Tenn.). She is the only player in the SEC to rank in the top four in scoring (17.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.7). She also leads the league in steals (3.2), ranks fifth in blocks (1.9) and eighth in field goal percentage (.514).
A’dia Mathies (Louisville, Ky.) also continues to prove why she should be in discussions for SEC Freshman of the Year. Over the last five games the rookie guard is averaging 17.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.4 steals per game in helping lead the Wildcats to a 9-3 SEC record. She has scored in double figures in 18 of 25 games, including eight of 12 SEC contests. All three of her 20-plus point scoring efforts have come against SEC competition.
Thursday marks the 42nd meeting between the programs. UK trails 22-19 in the overall series but leads 10-9 when the game is played in Lexington. The Cats have won the last two meetings over the Gators in Memorial Coliseum.
UK has won 16 consecutive home games, dating back to last season, which ties for the third-longest home winning streak in school history. UK’s current 15-0 home record is the best since the 1980-81 team went 15-0 in Memorial Coliseum and its 15 wins ties the school record for the most regular-season wins in Memorial Coliseum. The 1982-83 squad was 15-2 at home during regular-season play.
