No. 14 Kentucky Hosts Charlotte for Winning Tools Education Day Wednesday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Over 1,000 local elementary school students will be rocking Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday as the No. 15 University of Kentucky women’s basketball team holds its annual Winning Tools Education Day game vs. Charlotte at 11 a.m. ET.
The Winning Tools Education Day is based on UK head coach Matthew Mitchell’s winning tools of honesty, hard work and discipline, which he has used to successfully build the Kentucky women’s basketball program. Several local elementary schools have partnered with UK Athletics to make the day a success as the students will start their day with a tour of campus before moving over to Memorial Coliseum to attend the game. The students will be sitting on the east side of Memorial Coliseum in the lower and upper level bleachers. All other ticket holders are encouraged to sit on the west side of Memorial Coliseum in the chairbacks for the game.
Due to normal university operation and the early tip, normal parking options for Kentucky women’s basketball games will not be available to spectators. All fans without a valid UK parking permit are encouraged to park at the Kroger Field Purple Lot (located off College Way and Wildcat Court) and Parking Structure 5, which will have limited availability. Shuttle services from those two locations will begin at 9 a.m. ET and operate until 30 minutes after tip before resuming at halftime and lasting until one hour after the conclusion of the game. ADA parking is available with a valid, state issued disabled hangtag in the E-Lot (Employee Lot) North of the Craft Center. These spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis until full.
The game vs. Charlotte will be streamed on the SEC Network+ with Jeff Piecoro and Christi Thomas on the call. The action can also be seen through WatchESPN on computers, smartphones or tablets. Darren Headrick will have the call on the UK Sports Network on 630AM WLAP in Lexington. Live stats and free live audio will be available online at UKathletics.com.
Kentucky (7-0) is in the midst of a seven-game home stand already earning three wins during the stretch over Morehead State, Grambling state and Austin Peay. The Wildcats’ offense has been impressive so far in this home stretch, besting its season high in points scored all three games. Collectively over the last 12 quarters, UK has shot 48 percent from the field, hit 25 3-pointers, assisted 56 of its 91 made baskets and recorded only 37 turnovers. In the first 16 quarters it played this season, UK only scored 20 or more points in two quarters while it has accomplished the feat in nine of its last 12 quarters.
Sophomore guard Rhyne Howard leads Kentucky by averaging 17.9 points per game with 6.1 rebounds per game and a team-best 19 made 3-pointers. Senior guard Sabrina Haines is averaging 11 points per game with 5.4 rebounds per game and leads the Southeastern Conference in 3-point field-goal percentage at 46.7 percent. Junior forward Tatyana Wyatt, who missed UK’s game vs. Austin Peay due to illness, is earning 8.0 points and a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game, while fellow junior forward KeKe McKinney ranks high nationally with a team-best 17 blocks. Senior guard Jaida Roper has scored 10 or more points in back-to-back games and has a team-best 28 assists while sophomore Blair Green is averaging 7.9 points and has scored 10 or more in two of her last three games.
Charlotte enters Wednesday’s game with a 6-1 record, including a 2-0 mark away from the home. The 49ers have been impressive this season with wins over Gardner-Webb, Richmond, at Wake Forest and at ECU. Charlotte is coming off two wins at the Puerto Rico Clasico over Boston College (84-68) and Tulane (60-56). In their last outing vs. Tulane, the 49ers shot 42 percent from the field and went 14-of-18 from the free-throw line. Junior guard Octavia Jett-Wilson scored 18 points in the game with two rebounds, while senior guard Jade Phillips scored 14 points with 15 rebounds.
On the season, Charlotte is averaging 69.0 points per game while limiting opponents to just 60 points per game. The 49ers are hitting 42.6 percent from the field and 30.5 percent from long range while limiting opponents to just 36 percent from the field. On top of a 5.7 rebounding margin, Charlotte is forcing teams into 15.9 turnovers per game and is averaging 15.3 points off turnovers per game. Phillips leads the 49ers with 15.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, hitting 48 percent from the field with 17 assists. Junior guard Mariah Linney is averaging 13.4 points per game with a team-high 26 assists and 17 3-pointers made. Junior guard Christian Hithe and Jett-Wilson are each averaging over 10 points per game with Hithe adding a team-best 12 steals.
This is the second all-time meeting between Kentucky and Charlotte in women’s basketball. The 49ers won the first meeting 57-54 on Dec. 11, 1992 at a neutral site. Kentucky is 61-33 all-time against teams that make up the current alignment of C-USA and Charlotte is the second C-USA opponent that UK has faced this season. The Wildcats earned their second win of the year at Middle Tennessee, 67-52, on Nov. 10.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
