Feb. 1, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 8/7 Kentucky women’s basketball team returns to action after a much-needed bye week when it plays host to No. 13/14 Georgia on Sunday, Feb. 3 in Memorial Coliseum at 2 p.m. EST. The game will be televised live on the SEC Network. It also will be available on ESPN3 and the UK IMG Sports Radio Network with Neil Price.
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| Kentucky vs. Georgia Sun., Feb. 3 – 2:00 p.m. ET Lexington, Ky. Memorial Coliseum Fan Guide Game Notes: UK  | UGA |
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Gameday Live : Live video, audio, blog, and stats TV: SEC Network Radio: UK IMG Text Updates |
Fans can follow the UK Hoops team on Twitter at @UKHoopCats and use #UKHoops to comment on the game.
Single-game reserved tickets cost of $9 for all ages. General admission tickets for adults are $8 while single-game general admission tickets for seniors and children (ages 6-18, 65 and over) are only $5. UK faculty, staff and children ages five and under are admitted free in the general admission seating area, while supplies last.
Sunday will be a special day as it is National Girls and Women in Sports Day and Alumni Day. The Wildcats will welcome back over 50 former players and their families as well as all the honorees for the Sue B. Feamster Trailblazer Award which will be announced at halftime of Sunday’s game.
In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Title IX and the establishment of varsity athletics for women, seven of Kentucky’s first varsity coaches for women’s sports will be honored at halftime with the sixth annual Susan B. Feamster Trailblazer Award, given to those who have provided exceptional leadership and paved the way for others to succeed. The honorees this season are: Sue Feamster (basketball), Suzie Stammer (field hockey), Betty Rider (Golf), Leah Little (Gymnastics), Delphine Nemeth (Volleyball), Claudia Young (Tennis), and Harold Barnett (Track and Field).
“We’re so fortunate to be experiencing success right now and a lot of that foundation – well all of that foundation – was laid by the players who’ve come before us,” UK Hoops Coach Matthew Mitchell said. “I love it that they can come back. I love it that there’s a team that, if they choose to show up and play really, really tough – our team will make the alumni proud and really proud of where they played and what their program is doing right now. So I love it. I’m glad to see everybody come back. I hope they’ll have an enjoyable day. And then it’s an important day for us just to try to reach out to young kids and particularly young girls who dream about playing at a place like Kentucky and being in an atmosphere like what it will be in Memorial Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. It’s a fantastic day and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
That atmosphere has helped the Wildcats (19-2 overall, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) win a school-record 34-straight home games, a streak that currently ranks second nationally behind top-ranked Baylor’s 50-game winning streak. Kentucky has also won a school-record 15 straight home games vs. SEC opponents.
“We have a very exciting game coming up Sunday afternoon,” UK Hoops Coach Matthew Mitchell said. “It will be a real big challenge for us. Georgia has another very good team as they always have. Very well coached, great athletes, great players, they have played extremely well this season and will challenge us in many ways. Great test ahead of us on Sunday and we’ll have to really work hard over the next couple of days to preparing for a good Georgia team.”
No. 13/14 Georgia (18-3 overall, 6-2 SEC) is currently tied for third in the SEC standings with South Carolina after a 65-59 win over Alabama on Thursday at home. It marked the Lady Dawgs’ 850th victory in program history, becoming just the 10th school in Division I history to accomplish that feat. Six different Georgia players scored eight or more points against the Tide led by Khaalidah Miller and Jasmine Hassell with 11 points and 10 points, respectively. Merritt Hempe tallied nine points to go along with three rebounds and a steal. Anne Marie Armstrong, Tiara Griffin and Jasmine James each chipped in with eight points apiece, and Griffin pulled down a career-high eight rebounds.
Overall, seniors Hassell and Jasmine James lead the team in scoring with 12.0 and 11.3 points per game, respectively. Five other players average between 9.2 and 6.0 ppg for a very balanced scoring attack.
Coach Andy Landers is in his 38th season overall, his 34th at Georgia. He became the eighth coach – men’s or women’s – to secure 800 victories at a single Division I school.
UK last played on Jan. 27 and the Wildcats defeated LSU, 73-60. Sophomore reserve center Azia Bishop (Toledo, Ohio) was the talk of the game as she came off the bench to record a career-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in just 20 minutes of action. Junior forward Samarie Walker (West Carrollton, Ohio) also shined as she captured her ninth career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, while senior guard A’dia Mathies (Louisville, Ky.) notched double figures for the 12th straight game with 15 points.
Overall this season, Mathies leads UK and ranks second in the league (conference games only) in scoring, averaging 18.3 points per game. The preseason SEC Player of the Year currently ranks in the top 10 of 12 career lists at UK, including third in steals (285) and fourth in scoring (1,754).
In the front court, junior center DeNesha Stallworth (Richmond, Calif.) and Walker are giving Kentucky a dynamic inside presence this season. The duo combine to average 22.6 points and 14.8 rebounds per game and both are shooting over 50 percent from the floor. Redshirt sophomore point guard Jennifer O’Neill (Bronx, N.Y.) also has been impressive as she has netted at least 11 points in eight of her last 10 games and averages 12.9 ppg in league play.
Mitchell is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Wildcats. He ranks third on UK’s all-time wins list with 133 and his winning percentage (.696) is first. He is just one win away from tying Sharon Fanning at No. 2 on the all-time wins list and five wins away from tying Terry Hall (138 wins from 1980-87) as the all-time winningest coach in UK Hoops history.
UGA leads the all-time series with Kentucky 34-13, including a 12-8 advantage in Lexington. UK’s last win over Georgia at home was Feb. 11, 2010 (64-48). Three of the last five meetings against UGA have been decided by five points or less.
Spectator parking is located in the following areas:
- All E-lots surrounding Memorial Coliseum beginning 3 hours prior to tip-off
- Parking Structure #5 (adjacent to Kennedy’s Bookstore).
- Lexington Authority Transit Center Parking Garage (new for the 2012-13 season).
- The Lexington Parking Authority Transit Center Parking Garage, located between High Street and Vine Street, is available for parking after 5 p.m. ET during the week and all day on the weekends. Additionally, a free shuttle service will pick up in the LR Cooke Lot near the corner of High Street and Martin Luther King beginning 1.5 hours prior to tip.
- Handicap parking is available in the E-Lot (Employee Lot) north of the Craft Center, adjacent to the metered spaces running along the frontage of the Craft Center with a valid, state issued handicap tag. These spaces (typically 20-30 stalls) are available on a first-come, first-serve basis until full.
Please note: parking is prohibited in any R (Residential) lots. Vehicles parking in Residential lots without a proper permit, along yellow curbs, grass spaces, or other non-specified and unapproved areas may be subject to ticket and/or tow. Also, due to new dorm construction, the Good Samaritan hospital employee parking lot is no longer available for use.
Shuttle Information:
- Shuttles are available beginning 1.5 hours prior to tip off from Parking Structure # 5 located off Limestone and Upper Street and the Transit Center Parking Garage located off High Street and Vine Street.
- Parking Structure # 5 (blue route) picks up/drops off on Administration Drive, at the end of the pedestrian sky bridge accessed from the 3rd floor of the parking garage.
- Transit Center Parking Garage (green route) picks up/drops off near the corner of High Street and Martin Luther King.
- Shuttles will start back up 1.5 hours after tip-off (to return guests to their parking areas).
Game day Information:
- 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, Joe Craft Center North and LR Cooke lot) typically reach capacity approximately 45 minutes prior to tip-off, at which point, vehicles should proceed to Parking Structure #5 (PS#5) or the Lexington Authority Transit Center Parking Garage.
For more information on parking around Memorial Coliseum and other game-day questions visit www.ukathletics.com/wbbgameday
Media Opportunity – Jan. 25, 2013
Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening Statement…
“We have a very exciting game coming up Sunday afternoon. It will be a real big challenge for us. Georgia has another very good team as they always have. Very well coached, great athletes, great players, they have played extremely well this season and will challenge us in many ways. Great test ahead of us on Sunday and we’ll have to really work hard over the next couple of days to preparing for a good Georgia team.”
On if Azia Bishop can build on what she did in the last game…
“She’s built on the performance by us just trying to discuss what the opportunity is and we won’t really know until the game Sunday but we will start finding out more today and tomorrow when we really laser in on Georgia. She’s been fine this week and we’ve tried to give a little time off and catch our breath here so it hasn’t been a real intense week up to this point, so we’ll really start finding out more about that today and tomorrow and then you all will be able to see on Sunday. We had a good meeting today though.”
On what you do as a coach after a player has a big game like Bishop’s performance…
“The thing with Azia is that she and I have been in discussions virtually since she arrived on campus, so she and I have spent a lot of time together and what you try to do is you try to be real honest with her as to where things stand right now. What we saw on Sunday in my mind is available to her each practice and is available to her each game. The thing about Azia is that, you know, sometimes players have limitations whether that be a mental limitation or a physical limitation or an emotional limitation, whether you just can’t deal with certain situations. The thing I talk to Azia about is I don’t see any deficiencies in any of those areas. She can engage people very effectively, she’s great at connecting with people, she expresses herself well, she’s very smart and sharp, she’s enormously gifted from basketball talent wise, so the thing with Azia is just the decision she needs to make whether she wants to be a really really good player and she hasn’t made that decision enough up to that point during her sophomore year but that what you saw on Sunday I was really happy to see but I just would like to see it on a consistent basis and when that happens she becomes dependable and those things are important to us.”
On Bishop needing to take initiative …
“Unfortunately there’s not much I can do as far as making the choice. I can continue to put that forward to her, but ultimately you have to make a choice. Jennifer O’Neill made a choice that she was going to be a different person. All that stuff in my mind that you see on the basketball court is just a reflection of what kind of person you are and what you want to be and what decisions you make. The thing I admire so much about Jennifer O’Neill is that finally one day she just said, ‘Listen, I’m going to change and I’m going to be a different person.’ And it’s showing up in basketball. That’s sort of where Azia. Azia’s a wonderful young woman who’s made a lot of strides while she’s been here, but I still don’t know…we’ll know when she’s made that choice. I’m not sure if she’s made it yet.”
On what the bench needs to do …
“I think our bench has been pretty good this year. What I really think you need from our bench this season is dependability, that you know that they’re going to bring defensive energy. That’s what we want to see. When the bench goes in, I want us to get a little bit sharper defensively because you’re bringing out a fatigued player and you’re replacing her with a fatigued player. And I’d like our defensive energy to maybe bump up a little a bit. I need consistent effort from them defensively, energy, and then anything we get scoring. I think that we have talented enough players that, from time to time, can come off the bench and score some buckets. But it’s really defense and rebounding and hustle where we keep the pace of the game at a high level would be the most important thing we need from the bench.”
On Alumni Day …
“It means a lot. We are so fortunate to be in the position we’re in right now. We’re so fortunate to be experiencing success right now and a lot of that foundation – well all of that foundation – was laid by the players who’ve come before us. I love it that they can come back. I love it that there’s a team that, if they choose to show up and play really, really tough – our team will make the alumni proud and really proud of where they played and what their program’s doing right now. So I love it. I’m glad to see everybody come back. I hope they’ll have an enjoyable day. And then it’s an important day for us just to try to reach out to young kids and particularly young girls who dream about playing at a place like Kentucky and being in an atmosphere like what it will be in Memorial Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. It’s a fantastic day and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
On his biggest concern about Georgia …
“Their players are just so good and they have veteran players. They have some real strong seniors that are leading them that are battle-tested and really tough. And so they can put stress on you offensively and defensively. There’s not any weaknesses that I see in their team. It’ll be a talented team that’ll be well coached by one of the great coaches of all time in our game and we’ll have to play well to win. But it’s a good opportunity for our team to get a very, very important victory over a really good team.”
