LEXINGTON, Ky. – New Year’s Eve brings back Southeast Conference women’s basketball, with the University of Kentucky’s 13th women’s basketball team hosting the 10th Arkansas Razorbacks on Thursday at 8:30 pm ET inside the Memorial Coliseum.
With an audience limited to 15% of the arena’s normal capacity, most tickets were sold as packages for the full women’s basketball season. Tickets for a single game for the general public are available at Ticketmaster.com. Fans are encouraged to check Ticketmaster.com for any ticket quotas that are returned and released close to match days, as well as for reselling verified tickets. The concession stands will be reopened at the Memorial Coliseum. Doors will open 1 hour before tipping
The game against Arkansas will be broadcast on the SEC Network with Beth Mowins and Rebecca Lobo on the conference call. The action can also be checked by WatchESPN on computers, smartphones or tablets. Darren Headrick will call the UK Sports Network at 630AM WLAP in Lexington. Live statistics and free live audio will be available online at UKathletics.com.
With the start of the conference games comes one of the most difficult moments in the history of the program for Kentucky, which will start playing in the league with consecutive games against the top 15. The UK was originally supposed to travel to Tennessee this weekend, but the game was delayed due to problems with COVID-19 under the UT program. The SEC rescheduled the UK to play number 12 in the state of Mississippi on Sunday. Next week, the UK will travel to 9th place in Texas A&M and 5th place in South Carolina. If all four teams remain in the top 15 of the AP ranking at the time of each game, it will be the first time in the history of the program that the UK will face four consecutive top 15 AP teams. The UK faced three consecutive times.
Kentucky enters the league game ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25 and No. 11 in the USA Today / Coaches Top 25. The Wildcats were ranked throughout the season and reached 9th place on both lists before dropping to 25 first ranked DePaul in Chicago. The UK is led in scoring this year by three players averaging over 15 points per game, starting with the All-American preseason Rhyne Howard, who averages 15.5 points per game with 6.3 rebounds per game and the team’s 15 best points. Second year advanced Dre’una Edwards he also averages 15.5 points per game with the team’s best of 8.9 rebounds per game and eight blocks. Senior Guard Chasity Patterson has an average of 15.4 points per game, with the best 25 assists and 40 steals. His 40 steals and 5.0 steals per game, both rank first in the country.
As a team, Wildcats average 79.4 points per game and only allow opponents 56.1 points per game. As a team, the Wildcats have 95 steals, which ranks ninth in the nation and second in the SEC, while the UK’s +7.4 turnover is 13th in the nation and third in the SEC.
Arkansas is ranked No. 10 in the AP Top 25 and No. 10 in the USA Today / Coaches Top 25 after a 9-1 start to the season. The Razorbacks faced two qualified teams, dropping to then No. 12/11 Maryland 115-96 in a neutral spot before defeating then-No. 4/4 Baylor in Fayetteville as part of the SEC / Big 12 Challenge, 83-78.
Razorbacks have an average of 91.2 points per game and allow opponents 68.1 points per game. Arkansas has reached 101 points out of 3 points this season and averages 10.1 3s per game. Razorbacks have a recovery margin of -2.0 and a turning margin of +9.0. Chelsea Dungee leads the team with 18.9 points per game, adding 18 feats of 3s, while Destiny Slocum has an average of 16.3 points per game with 35 assists and 19 3s. Amber Ramirez leads the team with 26 feats 3s, adding 11.9 points per game.
This is the 39th all-time encounter between Kentucky and Arkansas in women’s basketball, with the United Kingdom having a 24-14 record in the all-time series. The UK leads the all-time 15-3 series in Lexington. Kentucky’s last home loss to Arkansas came on February 13, 2003, when the Razorbacks won 70-60 at the Memorial Coliseum. The UK won 10 consecutive wins against Arkansas until the Razorbacks won a 103-85 win against Kentucky at Fayetteville last season on February 9. That game was the second meeting between the two programs, with both ranked in the top 25, just as Arkansas was 25 and the UK was 15. Thursday will be the third and the first with both teams in the top 15. Kentucky is 1-6 against a qualified Arkansas team with the only victory on January 28, 1996, when the unqualified Wildcats defeated No. 22 Razorbacks 69-65 in Lexington.
Kentucky has 16-22 in SEC openings since 1982-83. This is the second time that the UK and Arkansas have come together to start the league game. The first meeting was on January 6, 2011, being the first meeting between the two programs with both classifieds. No. 25 Razorbacks won a 78-67 home win that day over No. 10 Kentucky. Last season, the UK dropped 99-72 in South Carolina in the league cap lifter.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB at Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.