The unexpected occurred during a season where little was expected. The Lady Wildcats found their game, starting the season 11-0 and ending with an Elite 8 loss to Oklahoma. The 28-8 Cats were the surprise of the SEC.The Lady Cats won't sneak up on anyone this year. Returning all but two team members, expectations are high for the upcoming season and the schedule indicates the new found confidence gained by our Wildcats.
Ending the 2009-10 with a top 10 ranking never hurts, especially when you return the SEC Player of the Year in Victoria Dunlap, and the SEC Rookie Player of the Year in A'dia Mathies, then bring in one of the top 100 recruits in the country. Matthew Mitchell has the Lady Cats loaded for Bear, or maybe we should say Blue Devil.
The Cats added the Lady Blue Devils to the 2010-11 schedule and will meet on January 4 on the campus in Durham, N.C. Other non-conference games of interest include Notre Dame on Nov. 21 in Lexington and Louisville on Dec. 5 at Louisville.
SEC play opens at Arkansas on Jan. 6 (One I will attend). The loan game against Tennessee is schedule for Feb. 7 at Lexington and will be televised. In all, the Cats will be televised on ESPN or a ESPN member, three times, Duke, Tennessee and LSU on Feb. 13.
Here is the complete schedule:
| 2010-2011 SCHEDULE |
| Date | Opponent / Event | Location | Time / Result |
| 11/07/10 | vs. Kentucky Wesleyan # | Lexington, Ky. | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| 11/12/10 | vs. Morehead State | Lexington, Ky. | 11:00 a.m. ET |
| 11/14/10 | at Miami (Oh) | Oxford, Ohio | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| 11/21/10 | vs. Notre Dame | Lexington, Ky. | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic | |||
| 11/26/10 | vs. Murray State | Hattiesburg, Miss. | 8:30 p.m. ET |
| 11/27/10 | Consolation/Championship | Hattiesburg, Miss. | 3:00/5:30 PM ET |
| 12/05/10 | at Louisville | Louisville, Ky. | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| 12/07/10 | vs. Tennessee Tech | Lexington, Ky. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 12/11/10 | at University of Tennessee-Chattanooga | Chattanooga, Tenn. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 12/18/10 | vs. Alabama A&M | Lexington, Ky. | TBA |
| 12/21/10 | vs. Arkansas - Pine Bluff | Lexington, Ky. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 12/29/10 | vs. Middle Tennessee State | Lexington, Ky. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 12/30/10 | vs. Tennessee-Martin | Lexington, Ky. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/04/11 | at Duke | Durham, N.C. | TBA |
| 01/06/11 | at Arkansas * | Fayetteville, Ark. | 8:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/09/11 | vs. Georgia * | Lexington, Ky. | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/13/11 | vs. South Carolina * | Lexington, Ky. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/16/11 | vs. Mississippi State * | Lexington, Ky. | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/20/11 | at Florida * | Gainesville, Fla. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/23/11 | vs. Vanderbilt * | Lexington, Ky. | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| 01/27/11 | at Ole Miss * | Oxford, Miss. | TBA |
| 01/30/11 | at Alabama * | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/03/11 | vs. Auburn * | Lexington, Ky. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/07/11 | vs. Tennessee * | Lexington, Ky. | 9:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/10/11 | at South Carolina * | Columbia, S.C. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/13/11 | vs. LSU * | Lexington, Ky. | TBA |
| 02/17/11 | at Georgia * | Athens, Ga. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/20/11 | at Vanderbilt * | Nashville, Tenn. | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/24/11 | vs. Arkansas * | Lexington, Ky. | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| 02/27/11 | at Auburn * | Auburn, Ala. | 3:00 p.m. ET |
The SEC Conference Tournament is scheduled to begin on March 3, 2011 and will be held in Nashville, Tenn.
I LOVED watching the 2009-10 team. Coach Mitchell built a style of play that was perfect for his team and incredibly fun to watch. His up and down full court press, in your face style, was exactly what the Lady Cats needed.
The recent loss of Amber Smith will be tough to overcome, but the 2010-11 season looks to be as promising if not more promising, as last year.
Go Cats!!!
Get your TJones on!
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