No. 11 Kentucky Ready For Top-15 Matchup Thursday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Looking to continue its three-game winning streak and remain unbeaten in Memorial Coliseum this season, the No. 11 University of Kentucky women’s basketball team welcomes No. 12 Texas A&M to town Thursday for an early 6:30 p.m. ET tip inside the historic venue.
Single-game tickets are $10 (all ages) in reserved seating areas, while general admission tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children (ages 6-18) and seniors (age 65+). Children aged 5 and under do not require a ticket in general admission areas. Young fans are encouraged to take advantage of the Kid Zone pregame with games, poster making stations, coloring stations and more. Junior guard Chasity Patterson is scheduled to sign autographs on the concourse following the game.
The game vs. Texas A&M will be broadcast on SEC Network with Courtney Lyle, Carolyn Peck and Steffi Sorensen 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.
Spectator parking is located in all E-lots surrounding Memorial Coliseum and are off control 3 hours prior to tip. Additionally, the South Limestone Garage (PS#5) and the Rose Street Garage (PS#2) are available 2 hours prior to tip. The Bill Gatton Student Center is available as a pay-to-park option. Availability is based on the Gatton Student Center Event Schedule. Fans are reminded that classes will be in session Thursday and some parking options may have limited availability due to the early tip.
Parking is prohibited in any R (Residential) lots. Vehicles parking in R 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. Disabled spectator parking is available with a valid, state issues disabled hangtag in the E lot North of the Craft Center. These spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis until full.
Shuttles are available beginning 2 hours prior to tip off and pick up and drop off near the South Limestone Garage (PS#5) and the High Street Lot. Shuttles will start back up after halftime to return guests to their parking areas, the shuttle will discontinue service 1-hour post-game.
Kentucky (14-2, 3-1 SEC) has won each of its last three games and has moved up to No. 11 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today/Coaches Top 25. The Wildcats started this winning streak with a thrilling victory over top-25 ranked Tennessee before back-to-back road wins at Alabama and Florida. Sophomore guard Rhyne Howard, who has won back-to-back SEC Player of the Week honors, has paced the Wildcats in league play by averaging 32.5 points per game and hitting 54.5 percent from the long range. Overall this season, Howard is averaging 23.8 points per game with 5.8 rebounds per game. She is leading the nation in total points with 381, while she sits third in points per game and top-10 in 3s made and 3s made per game.
In its latest victory, the Wildcats used a team effort and an incredible defensive performance to defeat Florida, 65-45 Sunday in Gainesville. Junior guard Chasity Patterson was the star, scoring 20 points and hitting three 3s, including back-to-back 3s at the end of the first half to give UK a lead it would not relinquish. UK held Florida to a season-low 45 points in the game and did not let Florida score over 12 points in any quarter – the first time UK has done that on the road this season. The strong defensive performance put Kentucky back into the top-20 nationally in scoring defense, allowing 54.7 points per game.
Texas A&M (14-2, 2-1 SEC) enters Thursday’s game after a week off, falling in its last contest vs. LSU on Jan. 9. The Aggies had a five-point lead at halftime but played the second half without star junior guard Chennedy Cater, who played just 17 minutes and scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Junior forward N’dea Jones stepped up for the Aggies and scored 19 points with 12 rebounds, while junior center Ciera Johnson had 11 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. Prior to the loss to LSU, the Aggies’ lone loss was an 80-58 setback against Florida State in the Maddie Dixon Classic in Fort Worth, Texas.
As a team, the Aggies are averaging 72.7 points per game this season hitting 45.6 percent from the field and 30.5 percent from 3. TAMU has a rebounding margin of +11.9 and a turnover margin or +2.7. Carter leads the Aggies by averaging 21.9 points per game sitting 14-of-66 from 3 and 144-for-316 from the field overall. Johnson is averaging 12.9 points per game while Jones is nearly averaging a double-double at 9.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Senior guard Shambria Washington leads the team with 75 assists.
Texas A&M leads the all-time series in games played against Kentucky, 6-4, including a 3-1 mark in games played in Lexington. Kentucky’s lone win against TAMU at home came on Jan. 10, 2013 (65-62) with the Aggies winning each of the last three meetings in Lexington. The home team has won just three of the 10 all-time meetings in the series. Texas A&M has won four straight over Kentucky overall. Last season, the two teams met twice with the Aggies winning 73-71 in College Station and 62-55 in Lexington. Howard had 21 points in the game at TAMU and seven points in the game at home, while Carter had 20 and 24 adding a combined nine assists.
Kentucky has 52 wins against ranked teams under Matthew Mitchell, including a 1-2 mark this season with both losses coming to current top-five ranked foes. UK is 4-10 all-time against teams ranked No. 12 in the AP Top 25 but have won three straight against No. 12 ranked teams. UK is 4-3 all-time against TAMU when the Aggies are ranked.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
KENTUCKY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PRE-TEXAS A&M NEWS CONFERENCE
TUESDAY, JAN. 14, 2020
JOE CRAFT CENTER – LEXINGTON, KY.
Kentucky Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening statement…
“Well, we have a tough game ahead of us Thursday night versus a very, very good Texas A&M team, one of the best teams in our conference. It’ll be a tough challenge to try to face. So, we’re going to need to work hard in our preparation and try to lock in, focus in on what we’re going to need to do to beat a very good Texas A&M team.”
On how much the South Carolina game was a teaching tool for this game…
“Well, I think what we found out on the opening night of conference play versus South Carolina was one, that South Carolina is a very good team, but two, we didn’t come out with the kind of competitive fire that we need each time we take the floor in the conference. So, from that, we were able to adjust our attitude and our effort and we’ve come out with the appropriate energy level, and we haven’t been perfect in the last three games, but much better from an energy, effort and attitude standpoint. So, versus Texas A&M, we’re absolutely going to have to be very energetic, locked in on the things that will be so key for us in every conference game, but particularly against Texas A&M. We’re going to have to do a good job of transitioning to defense. They can really push the ball, they can drive the ball, they have several players who can get to the rim and make plays, so we’re going to have to build a wall around the goal there in transition defense. We’re going to have to rebound in this game, they are a tremendous rebounding team. Have some tremendous size and athleticism. I think those two things every game, no matter who we’re playing, but particularly Thursday night, we’re going to have to do, and that comes from an energetic place, that comes from a real focused effort and attitude that we need in order to be who we want to be in this league.”
On Rhyne Howard being named SEC Player of the Week back-to-back weeks…
“Well, I’ve shared this with several people and have said it a few times. She is doing such a great job at fulfilling the role she has to fulfill for us to be the kind of team that we want to be. It’s not the most comfortable thing for her as far as being super aggressive from a shot volume standpoint. I think, in her freshman year she could show up and see what was required of her with Maci Morris and Taylor Murray being such big parts of the offense, and veterans, and being in the league and knew what to do. She was trying to find her way. Coming into this conference season, we knew that Rhyne was going to have to be one of those players that stepped forward and tried to be the best scorer on the floor in each game. So, her teammates are doing a great job of getting her the ball, of setting her up for success by screening and passing and getting an offensive rebound or a turnover, which creates an extra possessions for us, and she’s doing a really good job of working within the framework of the offense, just taking open shots and its nothing that looks forced or that she is doing outside of the framework of the team concept. So, she is doing a fantastic job, her teammates are doing a fantastic job, and we’ll need to keep doing that in order to be the team that we want to be.”
On Sabrina Haines and Chasity Patterson…
“I was really pleased with the defensive game Sabrina played with Sunday. She did an outstanding job, and the team did. The team bounced back. I thought we were average at very best versus Alabama. I thought they turned a corner on us and got to the goal too many times. Gave up 71 points and that is a recipe for disaster there, letting people score those kind of points. So, we talked about it and we worked, not long, but very hard on Saturday, trying to get ready for a Florida Gators team that could do the same thing. I thought Sabrina was one of the real standouts on defense. That’s awesome, and she’s doing a great job offensively with playing her role in an excellent fashion. She’s doing a great, great job there. So, real happy with her. Then, Chasity I think took a step forward in her development. She’s had one game in the non-conference at California, and now four games in the league, so she’s really only five games into her season and I thought she really stepped up and did a better job defensively in the Florida game. I thought she ended with a lot of defensive energy, and we need both of those players to play tough defense. They’re also really important scorers for us too. So, those two players have done a good job, and we’re just going to continue to work and try to get better and help both of them get better.”
On finding a consistency on offense…
“Well, you know, the situation for us is we have to be resilient and we have to keep going. We have proven that if we stay the course, the ball will get in the bucket. So, one thing we try to do is be real intentional with play calling, or try to get something that will ignite the offense, but what happened with us I think versus Florida is we were able to turn some really good defensive plays into offense. So, sometimes when your offense isn’t clicking, the best way to get it going is to make a play on the defensive end. So, we had a few steals and layups in the Florida game, and that can ignite you, that can help everybody breathe a little bit easier. I think also when everybody is deploying so many resources to try to stop Rhyne and you’re taking some really good open shots and they’re not falling, that is really important to try to stay encouraged there because we took some really good shots at Florida that just didn’t go in the basket, and finally Chasity just started making a couple buckets and I think that we were able to breathe life into the offense. So, you just need to see it go in the basket and believe that it will and stay solid and don’t let that get you down. So, by any stretch of the imagination, poor shooting performance for us on the road but still able to win with defense, so it was a good performance for us Sunday.”
On the type of challenge that Chennedy Carter brings…
“Well, she is just a supremely gifted scorer. She is one of the best scorers in the nation. She has a high skill level, and can handle the basketball with either hand and get to the basket seemingly at will. She just has great change of pace, change of direction, great ball handling skills that allows her to create shots at just about any time she wants to create a shot, so she is a handful. She is really, really going to be tough to guard, and we’ll have to try to work like crazy to see if we can slow her down a bit. She is fantastic player.”
On the WNBA increasing salary and benefits…
“Well, I just think it’s another step forward for the sport, and certainly for our players who aspire to be professional. And we have former players right now who are all over the globe playing professionally. Anytime you can have something positive like that where there is a quality of life increase, a pay raise, a pay increase that is going to allow them to earn more money, it’s just fantastic development and our players were excited to see that. So many of them aspire to be in that league one day, so great development for women’s basketball.”
