UK Hoops Opens 41st Season Friday in Memorial
Wildcats play host to first-time opponent Appalachian State Friday at 7 p.m. ET
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 11/10 Kentucky women’s basketball team opens its 41st season of varsity women’s basketball when it plays host to first-time opponent Appalachian State Friday, Nov. 14 in Memorial Coliseum at 7 p.m. ET.
Single-game reserved tickets are available at a cost of $9 for all ages. General admission tickets for adults are $8 while single-game general admission tickets for seniors and children (ages 6-18, 65 and over) are only $5.
Children ages five and under are admitted free in the general admission seating area and UK students, faculty and staff are admitted free with valid identification.
Fans interested in UK Hoops tickets can visit the Joe Craft Center ticket office, go to UKathletics.com, or call the UK ticket office at 1-800-928-CATS. Tickets are also available at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.
The game will be live streamed on SEC Network+ with Jeff Piecoro and Christi Thomas calling the action. SEC Network+ is exclusively available on SECNetwork.com and on WatchESPN via computers, smartphones and tablets. The game also can be heard live on the UK Sports Radio Network with Neil Price. Due to the men’s basketball home game vs. Grand Canyon also on Friday at 8 p.m. ET, the UK Hoops game will be carried locally on Fox Sports 1580 AM. Fans can also follow the UK Hoops team on Twitter at @UKHoopCats and use #OURSeason to comment on the game.
Appalachian State, located in Boone, N.C., is a member of the Southern Conference. Eleven players return from last season’s 13-16 team, including senior forward Maryah Sydnor who led the SoCon in scoring and earned first-team All-SoCon honors and NCCSIA All-State honors. Sydnor had one of the highest scoring averages in the country last season, recording 19.4 points per game and also grabbing 8.7 rebounds per game.
Former LSU assistant coach, Angel Elderkin, is in her first year as the head coach at Appalachian State. She also had stops at St. John’s, Virginia, Tennessee, Siena and East Tennessee State.
“After a long summer of strength and conditioning and running and individual skills and long fall workouts and now our preseason workouts, a lot of time’s been spent preparing for the 2014-15 season,” UK Hoops head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “So it’s finally here and it’s time to play. (I’m) looking forward to this season. Appalachian State we know will be a big challenge for us tomorrow night. It’s the first time this team will really get on the floor in a game-like situation against a Division-I team and we expect for it to be tough. I’m so happy we’re playing at Memorial Coliseum. It’s a great place to play and we’d love for a big crowd to come out and watch us get the season started.”
UK is 32-8 all-time in season openers and has won five in row. The Wildcats are 36-4 all-time in home openers with five straight home-opening wins. The Cats are also riding a 44-game winning streak in regular season games vs. non-conference opponents in Memorial Coliseum, dating back to Dec. 19, 2008 vs. Alabama A&M.
Seven letter winners return from last season’s Sweet 16 squad, including top scorer and preseason All-Southeastern Conference First Team member Jennifer O’Neill (Bronx, N.Y.), and starters Bria Goss (Indianapolis) and Janee Thompson (Chicago). O’Neill, a 5-foot-6 senior guard, dropped in a team-high 12.6 points per game last year, while Goss, a 5-10 senior guard and preseason All-SEC second team selection, was the team’s third-leading scorer a year ago with 10.2 ppg. Thompson, a 5-7 junior point guard, averaged 8.6 points per game last season, while dishing out a team-best 107 assists. Also returning is senior center Azia Bishop (Toledo, Ohio) who saw action in all 35 games last season with five starts and senior forward Jelléah Sidney (Queens Village, N.Y.) who averaged 3.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game and was second on the team in steals with 41. The dynamic sophomore duo of Linnae Harper (Chicago) and Makayla Epps (Lebanon, Ky.) look to pick up where they left off last season. Harper, a 5-8 guard and member of the SEC All-Freshman team and SEC All-Tournament team, averaged 6.9 points per game overall, including 9.5 ppg in postseason play. Epps, a 5-10 guard, was one of the team’s best shooters, hitting .483 percent from the field (56-of-116).
New additions to the roster this season include freshman shooting guard Jaycee Coe (Gainesboro, Tenn.), freshman and forward/center Alexis Jennings (Madison, Ala.) and freshman center Alyssa Rice (Reynoldsburg, Ohio). Sophomore forward Kyvin Goodin-Rogers (Lebanon, Ky.) also will be available for action after sitting out last season with a pulmonary embolism. Junior college transfer and 6-foot-6 center Ivana Jakubcova (Bratislava, Slovakia) is out indefinitely with a right fibular stress fracture.
Spectator parking is located in the following areas:
All E-lots surrounding Memorial Coliseum beginning 3 hours prior to tip-off
Parking Structure #5 (adjacent to Kennedy’s Bookstore) available 1.5 hours prior to tip-off
Lexington Authority Transit Center Parking Garage available after 5:00 p.m. ET on weekdays and all day on weekends.
When parking in the Transit Center, bring your yellow token from the dispenser along with your game ticket to the Lexington Avenue Entrance and request your free parking coupon at the Guest Services desk.
Handicap parking is available in the E-Lot (Employee Lot) north of the Craft Center, adjacent to the metered spaces running along the frontage of the Craft Center with a valid, state issued handicap tag. These spaces (typically 20-30 stalls) are available on a first-come, first-serve basis until full.
Please note: parking is prohibited in any R (Residential) lots. Vehicles parking in Residential 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.
Shuttle Information:
Shuttles are available beginning 1.5 hours prior to tip off from Parking Structure # 5 located off Limestone and Upper Street and the Transit Center Parking Garage located off High Street and Vine Street.
Parking Structure # 5 (blue route) picks up/drops off on Administration Drive, at the end of the pedestrian sky bridge accessed from the 3rd floor of the parking garage.
Transit Center Parking Garage (green route) picks up/drops off near the corner of High Street and Martin Luther King. See event staff for assistance.
Shuttles will start back up at halftime and continue until 1 hour post-game to return guests to their parking areas.
Game day Information:
Doors to the Coliseum will open one (1) hour prior to tip-off.
UK Athletics encourages women’s basketball fans to arrive early to ease traffic and parking congestion around the Coliseum.
Surface event lots (i.e. Student Center, Joe Craft Center North and LR Cooke lot) typically reach capacity approximately 1 hour prior to tip-off, at which point, vehicles should proceed directly to Parking Structure #5 (PS#5) or the Lexington Authority Transit Center Parking Garage.
For more information on parking around Memorial Coliseum and other game-day questions visit www.ukathletics.com/wbbgameday.
