Early Tip Offers Big Reward

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After starting the season with back-to-back double-digit wins over teams that made the NCAA Tournament a season ago, the No. 15 University of Kentucky women’s basketball team will hold its annual Winning Tools Education Day on Thursday at 11 a.m. ET against New Hampshire inside Memorial Coliseum.

“We had a good practice this morning, trying to get ready for a New Hampshire team that I’m sure is hungry to come in and win,” Matthew Mitchell said. “We tried to get prepared over the last couple days to improve our team. It is an exciting day as we welcome in students from all over Fayette County for our 11 a.m. tip that we do for our school kids. So it will be a fun atmosphere in the Coliseum tomorrow and would love for everyone to come out and enjoy the game. We are going to try to play really hard tomorrow and see if we can earn the victory.”

The Winning Tools Education Day is based on Mitchell’s Winning Tools of honesty, hard work and discipline, which he has used to successfully build the Kentucky women’s basketball program. UK Athletics invited all local schools to attend the game for free. With the Winning Tools at the center of program, Mitchell is the winningest head coach in program history, guiding Kentucky to a school-record seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

UK students who present a valid student ID at the Euclid Avenue entrance only will receive free admission to the game and be given a numbered ticket. During the game, ticket numbers will be called and select students will have a chance to win a Ford Mustang worth $30,000 from Paul Miller Ford and a custom UK YETI cooler.

UK Athletics will also provide free lunch from Raising Cane’s during halftime of the game for all UK faculty and staff in attendance. The lunch will be served in the Rose Street lobby of Memorial Coliseum. UK faculty and staff receive free admission to all Kentucky women’s basketball home games with a valid UK ID, based on availability.

Due to regular University function, normal spectator parking options surrounding Memorial Coliseum will not be available without a University issued parking pass. All fans without a valid UK parking pass are encouraged to park at John Cropp Stadium and The Bell Soccer Complex off Alumni Drive. A free shuttle service will be available from soccer/softball parking beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET. The shuttle service will operate until 30 minutes after tip and will resume service at halftime until one hour postgame. More information is listed below.

Season tickets are $65 and still available in upper level chairbacks, lower level bleachers and general admission upper level bleachers. Single-game tickets for all Kentucky home games are available through the UK Ticket Office and through ticketmaster.com. Single-game tickets are $9 for reserved seating (all ages), $8 for general admission seating (adults) and $5 for general admission seating (youth 6-18/seniors 65+). General admission seating is free for ages five and under.

Thursday’s game will be broadcast live on the SEC Network+ with Dave Baker and Christi Thomas calling the action. The game can be seen through WatchESPN on computers, smartphones or tablets. Now in his 12th season, Neil Price will have the call on the UK Sports Network. Fans in Lexington can hear Price’s call of the game Thursday on 630AM. Live stats and free audio will be available online at ukathletics.com.

Kentucky opened its 2016-17 season in style last weekend by defeating No. 14 Miami (Fla.) 82-66 and Albany, who went to the NCAA Tournament second round last season and returned three starters, 70-46. It marked the first time that Kentucky has won each of their first two games of a season by at least 16 points since 2011-2012. The win against Miami moved Kentucky up to No. 15 in the latest Associated Press Top 25, while it stayed at No. 19 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25. The Wildcats have been ranked for a school-record 134 straight weeks.

Senior post Evelyn Akhator led Kentucky by averaging 23.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, while fellow senior Makayla Epps averaged 18.5 points per game with 11 assists and three steals. As a team, Kentucky shot .434 from the field in the event averaging 14.5 assists per game and +5 in rebounding margin.

Akhator scored 18 points with 10 rebounds against Miami (Fla.) before earning a career-high 28 points with 13 rebounds and four blocks against Albany. The strong performances earned her National Player of the Week by CollegeSportsMadness.com and Southeastern Conference Player of the Week by the league office. Akhator is the first UK player since Victoria Dunlap in 2009-10, to have back-to-back double-doubles to start a season.

New Hampshire starts the season with a 1-1 record after suffering a 61-56 loss to Cornell University in its season opener last Friday, before defeating New England College on Monday, 58-38.

Against Cornell, UNH posted a strong performance on the boards, out-rebounding Cornell 45-25, including a 16-9 edge in offensive rebounds. Junior Carlie Pogue was the driving force for the Wildcats against Cornell, tallying a game-high 20 points, as well as pacing all players with 13 rebounds. Junior Brittni Lai was the only other UNH player to score in double figures in the outing, adding 17 points to go along with five assists. Lai also recorded the only block for the Wildcats in the game.

Against Cornell, New Hampshire committed 24 turnovers, which ultimately made the difference in the game as the Big Red fully capitalized on them, earning 26 points off of turnovers. UNH turned the tables on New England College, forcing 25 turnovers and limiting NEC to just 22.2% from the field. UNH outrebounded New England 55-38 in the game with 17 second-chance points.

New Hampshire is 0-4 all-time against Southeastern Conference opponents. The last meeting between UNH and an SEC team was Dec. 30, 1997, when they fell to South Carolina 75-70. Kentucky is 2-0 all-time against teams from the current alignment of the America East Conference, including 1-0 this season with its win against Albany.

For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, or Kentucky Women’s Basketball on Facebook.

Special Parking for Thursday’s Early Tip

–          Due to game time and regular University function, all surrounding parking lots of Memorial Coliseum will NOT be available unless you have a valid UK parking pass.

–          All fans without a valid UK parking pass are encouraged to park at John Cropp Stadium and The Bell Soccer Complex off Alumni Drive.

–          A free shuttle service will be available from soccer/softball parking beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET. The shuttle service will operate until 30 minutes after tip and will resume service at halftime until one hour postgame.

–          For more information, visit https://kty-platform-secure-prod.silverchalice.co/v3/files/582c6edde4b08131fe51ee22.

Game Day Information

–          Doors to Memorial Coliseum open one hour prior to tip.

–          UK Athletics encourages women’s basketball fans to arrive early to ease traffic and parking congestion around the Coliseum.

–          For more information on parking around Memorial Coliseum and other game-day questions visit ukathleticsgameday.com/wbb/.