Big Blue Preview: No. 16/15 Kentucky Women’s Basketball Plays No. 7/6 Maryland on Wednesday, Morgan State on Friday
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The Wildcats’ women’s basketball team will play their second straight ranked game away from home this week, as No. 16/15 Kentucky squares off with No. 7/6 Maryland on Wednesday followed by Morgan State on Friday.
Both games start at 5:30 p.m. ET and are part of the Discover Puerto Rico Tournament at Coliseo Guillermo Angulo Carolina in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The pair of contests are the fourth and fifth games away from home for the team thus far this season.
The last time the program played five games away from home in the first nine games of the season was 2010-11. That team got off to an 8-1 start in that stretch, including 4-1 away from home.
Darren Headrick will have the radio call for UK Sports Network this week, his ninth straight season as the voice of the Wildcats. His Kentucky-Maryland call will be carried on 98.5 FM ICONS in Lexington and on 790 AM WKRD in Louisville. His Kentucky-Morgan State call will be carried on 630 AM WLAP in Lexington and on 790 AM WKRD in Louisville.
Big Blue Nation also can watch the games through a subscription as little as $8.99 with FloHoops.
The Wildcats enter the Thanksgiving tournament 7-0, including 3-0 on the road.
Kentucky is coming off a road win at No. 21/19 Louisville, 72-62, last Saturday, for its second straight triumph over the in-state rival, while it was UK’s largest margin of victory at UofL since Jan. 20, 1999 (13pts). It also marked the first time UK has had back-to-back wins over UofL since 2014 and 2015; the first time UK has had back-to-back 10+ point wins over UofL since 1999 and 2000; and the first time UK has had had back-to-back wins over ranked UofL teams since 2013 and 2014.
Kenny Brooks also became the first UK head coach to defeat UofL on their first back-to-back tries since Sharon Fanning in 1987-88 and 1988-89.
The Wildcats had their best shooting percentage of the first quarter (57.1%), first half (55.2%) and fourth quarter (54.5%) this season, while they had their second-best shooting percentage of the season thus far (52.5%).
Tonie Morgan, senior point guard, led the team with 19 points and seven assists. Through seven games, she is leading the nation in assists (62) and assists per game (8.9). Clara Strack, junior center, added 17 points and 10 rebounds – also three assists, two steals and two blocks – for her fifth straight double-double and her sixth through seven games this season. She is leading the nation in double-doubles (6), fourth in the nation in rebounds per game (12.1) and eighth in the nation in blocks per game (3.1).
She is the only UK player, since at least 2002-03, to have six double-doubles within the first seven games of a season.
Strack enters the game as the U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week and Southeastern Conference Player of the Week for her combined performances over Purdue (Nov. 18) and Louisville (Nov. 22) last week.
The Wildcats enter this week’s contests with all five starters averaging double-digit scoring, including Strack (16.9), Jordan Obi (12.6), Amelia Hassett (11.6), Teonni Key (11.3) and Morgan (10.9). Four of the five starters are also averaging at least 6.0 rebounds per game, including Strack (12.1), Hassett (7.1), Obi (6.6) and Key (6.1).
UK has held all seven opponents to 62 or fewer points and under 40.0 percent shooting, while it has bested all seven foes by at least 10 points. UK ranks first in the nation in blocks per game (9.7), third in the nation in field-goal percentage defense (28.9%) and in scoring defense (46.1), 10th in the nation scoring margin (35.9) and 26th in 3FGM (9.1).
Wednesday will mark the second all-time meeting between Kentucky and Maryland but the first in over four decades. Kentucky lost its lone matchup to Maryland by just one point, 83-82, in Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 21, 1981. It was Kentucky’s final game of the season, falling in the AIAW Championships Second Round. It was head coach Terry Hall’s first season at the helm at UK, and she led that team to a 25-6 record in 1980-81.
This will mark the first meeting between Kentucky and Morgan State in program history.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
