Wildcats are the first game in a doubleheader with the UK men vs. Baylor
*Photo by Regina Rickert
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 5/6 Kentucky women’s basketball team will travel to Arlington, Texas, looking to continue its winning ways when the Wildcats take on the ninth-ranked Baylor Lady Bears on Friday, Dec. 6 at 6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET in a doubleheader with the UK men’s team in the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium. The women’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with Fran Fraschilla and Jon Sciambi calling the action. It also will be on the UK IMG Sports Radio Network with Neil Price or fans can follow Twitter updates on @UKHoopCats.
Tickets are still available online at ticketmaster.com.
The Wildcats (8-0) are riding an eight-game winning streak overall and an 18-game winning streak over nonconference opponents after a thrilling come-from-behind 69-64 victory over intrastate rival, No. 4/3 Louisville on Sunday. Friday will mark UK’s second straight game against a top-10 opponent and UK’s second consecutive meeting against the Lady Bears in Texas. The Cats’ last regular-season loss to a nonconference opponent came last season to top-ranked Baylor in Waco.
“We are very excited about our upcoming game,” UK Hoop head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “It’s a great, great experience. We have a great opportunity to play an outstanding team, but the overall experience is a great opportunity and I want to thank John Calipari for really putting this thing together and giving our program a chance to participate in something like this. He just called me one day a couple years back and had the idea and it went from there. He’s been so supportive of our program from the very first time he got here.”
Senior forward DeNesha Stallworth (Richmond, Calif.) leads a very balanced scoring attack this season. She leads five players who average in double-digit scoring with a team-high 14.0 points per game. She also shoots a team-high 58.1 percent from the field which ranks tied for fourth in the Southeastern Conference. Senior guard Kastine Evans (Salem, Conn.) follows close behind with 12.1 points per game. Senior forward Samarie Walker (West Carrollton, Ohio) is averaging a double-double with 10.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. The 10.3 rebounds per game ranks second in the league. Junior guard Jennifer O’Neill and Bria Goss also are averaging in double figures this season with 11.1 and 10.0 points per game, respectively.
Baylor enters Friday’s game at 7-0 after wins over Grambling St. (110-55), Nicholls State (111-58), Rice (79-46), Savannah State (99-31), Northwestern State (88-54), UTSA (92-62) and San Jose State (113-73).
“It’s going to be a great opportunity to play one of the most hard-nosed, aggressive, tough basketball programs in the country,” Mitchell said. “Baylor is just really, really tough and have been ever since Coach Mulkey’s taken over that program. It’s a program we have tremendous respect for. It will be a very difficult game and we’ll have to prepare well to have an opportunity to win. We’re headed down tomorrow with our mind on going down and playing really hard and seeing if we can come back to Lexington with a very significant victory.”
National Player of the Year and 6-foot-8 center Britteny Griner has graduated but the Lady Bears return one of the nation’s top players in All-American guard Odyssey Sims. She leads the team and ranks second in the nation in scoring this season at 27.6 points, while also dishing 5.1 assists per game. Freshman forward Nina Davis is the only other player to average double figures at 15.1 points per contest. Sophomore center Kristina Higgins leads BU in rebounding at 7.3 per game.
“Odyssey Sims is probably the best singular talent that I’ve seen in the country this year,” Mitchell said. “She is really, really amazing. There are some other really talented players, but she is putting up monstrous numbers right now and they found a way to increase their scoring average. They are very good team, certainly not one-dimensional. Life continues after Brittney Griner and they are alive and well, I can promise you that.”
The UK men’s team will tip off with Baylor at approximately 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.
[adsenseyu2]
