No. 14 Kentucky Honors Coach Mitchell, Hosts DePaul Thursday at Rupp Arena
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 14 University of Kentucky women’s basketball team is headed downtown for an exciting Thursday night at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. The highly ranked Wildcats will not only host DePaul at 7 p.m. ET but honor its winningest head coach in program history, Matthew Mitchell.
Mitchell, who was the seventh head coach in program history and won 303 games at the helm of the program retired from coaching on Nov. 12, 2020 and thus resigned as head coach. The program was not able to honor Mitchell properly last season due to COVID restrictions but all of Thursday’s in-game promotions will be centered around Mitchell. Many of his former players are expected to be in attendance.
During his 13-year tenure at the helm of the Wildcats, Mitchell became UK’s all-time winningest coach on March 3, 2013 with 139 wins in just six seasons. Including the storied history of the UK men’s basketball program, he was the third Kentucky Basketball head coach to win 300 games with the Wildcats joining Adolph Rupp and John Calipari. The native of Louisville, Mississippi, won 129 career Southeastern Conference games, which at the time of his retirement was eighth most in league history. He was a three-time SEC Coach of the Year and became the eighth coach in league history to win multiple honors. Mitchell led UK to postseason play in 11 of his 13 seasons, including a school-record eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2010-2017. During his tenure, Mitchell led Kentucky to three NCAA Elite Eight finishes (2010, 2012 and 2013) and five Sweet 16 appearances. One of the most memorable seasons for Mitchell was when he led UK to its first SEC Regular Season Championship in 30 years during the 2011-12 season.
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. UK employees receive free admission to the guest along with up to three guests by showing their staff ID at the main entrances. UK students also receive free admission with a valid UKID.
Regardless of vaccination status, all guests will be required to wear a mask while visiting Rupp Arena. 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 Rupp Arena. 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 Rupp Arena 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 Rupp Arena. More on UK Athletics’ Clear Bag policy can be found online, here.
With a valid state-issued disabled hang tag fans can park in the non-reserved ADA lot located at Gate 1 of Rupp Arena. This lot will operate on a first come, first served bases at a cost of $20/vehicle. Those without parking permits can take advantage of more than 10,000 convenient parking located within a 10-minute walk of Rupp Arena. Visit the Rupp Arena Parking page to learn about additional parking options. Game-day parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis through the Central Bank Center in their West High Street Lots. A parking fee will be in effect for most all Rupp Arena events. For an additional downtown parking information please visit LexPark.org.
Thursday’s game will be broadcast live on SEC Network with Roy Philpot and Tamika Catchings 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 enters Thursday’s game currently ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today/Coaches Top 25. The Wildcats are 6-1 this season and have won four straight games. Thursday’s game concludes a five-game homestand for Kentucky. The Wildcats have won all four games to start the stretch, defeating Winthrop, La Salle, West Virginia and Merrimack. The best performance during that stretch was the win vs. WVU, who was receiving votes.
Senior guard Rhyne Howard and redshirt junior forward Dre’una Edwards are leading UK this season. Howard is earning 20.6 points per game with Edwards at 18.9 points per game. Howard is adding 7.4 rebounds per game, while Edwards is earning 7.9 rebounds per game. Senior guard Robyn Benton is earning 12 points per game, while Jada Walker is at 10.8 points per game.
Thursday’s game will be the sixth all-time meeting between Kentucky and DePaul in women’s basketball. The Wildcats hold a 4-1 record in the series with three games being played in Chicago and two games being played in Lexington. The first ever meeting was on Jan. 26, 1983 at DePaul when UK won 72-48, followed by meeting on Feb. 15, 1984 at Kentucky with UK earning a 77-63 win. The programs didn’t meet again until Dec. 7, 2012 at Kentucky, when UK won 96-64. UK earned a 96-85 win on Dec. 12, 2013 at DePaul.
DePaul got its first win in the series last season in Chicago, defeating the Wildcats 86-82 at Wintrust Arena. UK shot 45.8 percent from the field in the game and went 6-of-24 from long range, while DePaul shot 50 percent and went 7-fo-18 from 3. The Blue Demons dominated the Wildcats in several key areas with a 38-17 margin in fast-break points, 50-48 edge in paint points and 19-14 advantage in points off turnovers. Overall, the Wildcats turned the ball over 23 times. UK won the rebounding margin 46-31, including 20 offensive rebounds. Howard and Edwards each recorded double-doubles. DePaul returns all five starters from last season.
Kentucky is 30-19 all-time in historic Rupp Arena. UK has won five of the last six games in Rupp Arena. DePaul and UK met at Rupp Arena in Dec. 2012 with UK earning a 96-64 victory over the Blue Demons.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
