2019-20 Kentucky WBB team will host Southern Indiana at 7 p.m. Wednesday for exhibition
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The offseason is officially over for the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team as it welcomes NCAA Division II power Southern Indiana to Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday for its lone exhibition of the season. The Wildcats and Screaming Eagles will tip at 7 p.m. ET.
Admission to Wednesday’s game is free and all seating areas are first-come, first-served. With Halloween two days away, Big Blue Nation is encouraged to come to the game dressed for Halloween with free trick-or-treating candy available. Per Lexington city ordinance, masks may not be worn in public and fans will not be allowed to enter Memorial Coliseum with masks or wear masks on game day. For safety purposes, costume props will also not be permitted inside Memorial Coliseum. UK Marketing will also have free posters and schedule cards available on the concourses.
The game will not be televised but will be broadcasted on the UK Sports Radio Network with Darren Headrick, now in his third year with the program, calling the action. Fans in Lexington can hear Headrick’s call on 630AM WLAP. Live stats and free audio will be available online at UKathletics.com.
Although admission to the game is free, the UK Ticket Office will be open before the game and until halftime for fans wishing to purchase season tickets or single-game tickets to any of UK’s home games this season. Season tickets and single-game tickets are on sale not at UKathletics.com/tickets.
Purchasing season tickets offers the best option and price savings for fans. New season ticket purchases are available in upper-level reserved chairbacks (sections AA-JJ), lower-level reserved bleachers (sections R-Z) or general admission bleachers (sections RR-ZZ) for $69 per ticket. Lower-level reserved chairbacks (A-J) sections are sold out again this season. Single-game tickets are $10 (all ages) in reserved seating areas, while general admission tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children (ages 6-18) and seniors (age 65+). Children aged 5 and under do not require a ticket in general admission areas.
Spectator parking is located in all E-lots surrounding Memorial Coliseum and are off control 3 hours prior to tip. Additionally, the South Limestone Garage (PS#5) and the Rose Street Garage (PS#2) are available 2 hours prior to tip. The Bill Gatton Student Center is available as a pay-to-park option. Availability is based on the Gatton Student Center Event Schedule.
Parking is prohibited in any R (Residential) lots. Vehicles parking in R 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. Disabled spectator parking is available with a valid, state issues disabled hangtag in the E lot North of the Craft Center. These spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis until full.
Shuttles are available beginning 2 hours prior to tip off and pick up and drop off near the South Limestone Garage (PS#5) and the High Street Lot. Shuttles will start back up after halftime to return guests to their parking areas, the shuttle will discontinue service 1-hour post-game.
Doors to Memorial Coliseum open 1.5 hours before tip and 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 UKathletics.com.
Kentucky is coming off a 25-win season that saw the Wildcats make an appearance in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The 2018-19 Wildcats were a talented balance of defense and offense as they recorded 355 steals, which ranked seventh most in program history, while hitting 234 3-pointers, which ranked second most in program history.
The Wildcats return three starters from last season’s squad, including the unanimous national freshman of the year in Rhyne Howard along with junior forwards KeKe McKinney and Tatyana Wyatt. Howard set a league record last season with eight Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week honors and became the second rookie in program history to lead UK in points and rebounding, joining former UK All-American and WBB Hall of Famer, Valerie Still.
UK returns 11 letterwinners in total and brings back 63 percent of its scoring, 62 percent of its made 3-point field goals, 87 percent of its offensive rebounding, 81 percent of its total rebounding, 60 percent of its assists, 77 percent of its blocks and 58 percent of its steals.
The Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles are a storied program in the GLVC under head coach Rick Stein, who has led SIU to two GLVC Tournament titles and is the program’s all-time winningest coach. League coaches picked SIU to finish fourth in the league this season.
The Screaming Eagles do have a new look to their 2019-20 roster as they lost six seniors to graduation last season and have welcomed six newcomers. With that said, SIU returns five players and two starters from last season’s squad in senior guard Ashley Johnson and junior guard Emma DeHart. All told, the Eagles return 33.9 percent (702) of their 2,074 points; 26.3 percent (301) of their 1,145 rebounds; 42.0 percent (178) of their 424 assists; 40.5 percent (109) of their 269 steals; and 27.8 percent (30) of their 108 blocks from last year’s squad.
USI is not only playing its first exhibition game since the 2017-18 season, it is playing two exhibition games for the first time since 2014-15. The Eagles’ will follow the trip to Lexington on Wednesday with a short road trip to Purdue for the first time Sunday.
This is the second ever meeting between Kentucky and Southern Indiana in women’s basketball. The two teams met for an exhibition to start the 2017-18 season with UK winning 87-56. Several Wildcats played in that game, including Wyatt (10 points, 5 rebounds) and McKinney (9 points/4rebounds).
