No. 16 Kentucky Hosts West Virginia for SEC/Big 12 Challenge Wednesday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 16 University of Kentucky women’s basketball team welcomes West Virginia to Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. ET tip as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Mountaineers, who had been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 all season and currently are receiving votes, are the second of 10 games UK will play against ranked team this season.
Fans can purchase $3 tickets at the door Wednesday along with a donation to the Lexington Fire Toy Drive. Single-game tickets are $10 (all ages) in reversed 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. Kentucky women’s basketball 2021-22 season tickets are on sale at UKathletics.com/tickets. For more on mobile tickets, visit UKathletics.com/mobiletickets.
Regardless of vaccination status, all guests will be required to wear a mask while visiting Memorial Coliseum. Fans will not be required to show proof of vaccination to enter, but face coverings – covering the nose and mouth – are required for all fans as they watch the game from their seat and enter, exit, and move around Memorial Coliseum. Children 2 and younger will not be required to wear a mask. If spectators are unable to wear masks, they are encouraged not to attend in person for the sake of their health and the health of others.
Doors to Memorial Coliseum will open one hour prior to tip. All bags must adhere to the UK Athletics Clear Bag policy. All bags and items will be searched. To avoid additional touch points, fans are strongly encouraged to not bring unnecessary bags to Memorial Coliseum. More on UK Athletics’ Clear Bag policy can be found online, here.
Parking for games is available starting three hours prior to tip off in a majority of surface lots surrounding Memorial Coliseum, including the High Street Lot, East Maxwell Lot, Joe Craft Center Lot, College View Lot, Alumni Center Lot and Career Center Lot. The Cornerstone Garage and Parking Structure 2 open two hours prior to tip. The Gatton Student Center Lot is pay-to-park while all other parking options are free. The JCC Lot is primarily used limited mobility/handicap parking. No shuttles are being offered from any lot this season.
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast live on SEC Network+ with Jeff Piecoro and Christi Thomas on the call. Darren Headrick will have the call on the UK Sports Network (630AM in Lexington). Live stats and free live audio will be available online at UKathletics.com.
Kentucky is coming off back-to-back home wins over the last two weeks over Winthrop and La Salle. Senior guard Rhyne Howard and redshirt junior forward Dre’una Edwards are leading UK this season as both average 19.2 points per game. Howard is adding 7.8 rebounds per game, while Edwards is earning 6.8 rebounds per game. Senior guard Robyn Benton has scored 10 or more points in every game, while freshman guard Jada Walker is averaging 11 points per game.
Wednesday’s game is part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. UK owns a 2-1 record in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Wildcats defeated Kansas State in Manhattan last season, 60-49. UK also defeated Oklahoma at home on Dec. 1, 2016 and fell at Baylor in Waco on Nov. 30.
This is the fourth all-time meeting between UK and WVU with UK holding a 2-1 record. The last meeting occurred in 2005.
This is the fourth meeting all-time between Kentucky and West Virginia in women’s basketball. UK leads the all-time series, 2-1. The first meeting was on Nov. 25, 1984 when the Wildcats earned a 70-63 win at home. The two met at a neutral site on Dec. 12, 1992 with UK earning a 73-63 win. WVU’s lone win came in the last meeting on March 28, 2005 when the Mountaineers won 80-75 in double overtime inside Memorial Coliseum. The game was part of the 2005 WNIT Final Four.
West Virginia is 4-1 on the season, sitting 3-0 at home and 1-1 at a neutral site. This will be the first true road game of the season for the Mountaineers. As a team, WVU is averaging 73.8 points per game with a +6.2 rebounding margin. Junior guard KK Deans are averaging 15.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, while junior forward Esmery Martinez is averaging 13.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
