Wildcats will meet Chippewas in McGuirk Arena for first road contest of the season
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 13/9 Kentucky women’s basketball team will travel to Mount Pleasant, Mich., for its first road contest of the season when it takes on the Central Michigan Chippewas Saturday, Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. ET in McGuirk Arena (5,300). The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.com and broadcast on the UK Radio Network with Neil Price calling the action.
Tickets are available on Central Michigan’s website www.cmuchippewas.com or by calling the Chippewas’ ticket office at 1-888-347-3872.
The Wildcats (3-0) are looking to open the season at 4-0 for the second straight year and fifth time in the Matthew Mitchell era. It’s been a jam-packed week for the Wildcats as Saturday will mark their third game in six days. UK played host to No. 8/9 Baylor on Monday in the opening game of ESPN’s College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon in Rupp Arena. Paced by 22 points from senior guard Jennifer O’Neill, including 18 in the final stanza, UK clawed back from a 14-point second-half deficit to upset the Lady Bears, 74-64, in front of the second-highest crowd in school history (22,075). Just two days later, the Cats welcomed intrastate foe Morehead State in Memorial Coliseum at 11 a.m. ET for “Class of 2021 Day.” Over 1,500 sixth-graders from local elementary schools visited UK’s campus and helped cheer on the Wildcats to a 91-62 victory and UK’s 15th consecutive win over the Eagles in Memorial.
“It’s going to be a very difficult game,” UK Hoops head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “They’re a very fine team, well-coached. We had a heck of a game here last year in Memorial and they have a lot of experience back and they are an explosive team. They are going to try to spread the floor and really drive the basketball, put a lot of stress on our defensive positioning. We’re going to have to play a really clean game, going to have to be in the right spots and do a great job with on-ball defense. So we tried to work on that yesterday. We’re going to try to work on it today and really guard the ball well tomorrow night, but it’ll be a tough game and they are a very, very dangerous team and they’re really good on their home court. So this is a big challenge for our team to go on the road for the first time.”
UK has benefited from a very balanced scoring attack through the first three games of the season as eight players are averaging 5.3 points per game or better, including five in double figures. This marks the first time in the Matthew Mitchell era that five players have averaged double figures in the first three games. O’Neill leads the way with 18.7 points per game, while sophomore guards Linnae Harper and Makayla Epps follow with 13.7 and 12.3 ppg, respectively. Junior point guard Janee Thompson is dropping in 11.3 ppg, while senior center Azia Bishop rounds out the double-digit scoring column with 10.3 ppg.
Located in Mount Pleasant, Mich., Central Michigan is 1-0 after defeating UMass, 72-70, in its season opener on Nov. 16. Four starters return from last year’s team that finished 20-12 and won the Mid-American Conference West Division title last season. The Chippewas were picked to win the MAC West and the league tournament in the preseason coaches’ poll.
Senior Crystal Bradford, who was the 2014 MAC Player of the Year and MAC Defensive Player of the Year, has picked up where she left off last season, averaging a team-high 17.0 points per game.
This marks just the second meeting between the programs in school history. The teams met for the first time last season in Lexington with the Wildcats coming out on top, 96-74. UK is 31-4 all-time vs. teams from CMU’s Mid-American Conference. UK has won 11 straight games vs. MAC opponents.
