LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s basketball program will begin its 49th season this week when it hosts Radford on Monday, November 7 at 7:00 PM ET inside Memorial Coliseum. The season opener will be broadcast on SEC Network+, with Jeff Piecoro and Christi Thomas on the call.
The first 1,000 fans will receive a free charge, while free posters will be available at venue entrances throughout the season.
Memorial Coliseum doors will open one hour prior to tip time. Bags must adhere to the UK Athletics Clean Bag Policy and bags and items will be checked. To avoid additional touch points, fans are strongly encouraged not to bring unnecessary bags into Memorial Coliseum. More on UK Athletics’ clean bag policy can be found online here.
Game parking is available beginning three hours prior to tip-off in most surface lots around Memorial Coliseum, including the High Street Lot, East Maxwell Lot, Joe Craft Center Lot, College View Lot, Alumni Center Lot and Career Center Lot. Cornerstone Garage and Parking Structure no. 2 will open two hours before tipping. The Gatton Student Center lot is a paid parking lot while all other parking options are free. The JCC lot is primarily used for handicap/mobility parking. At this point in the season no transportation is provided.
Darren Headrick will have the call on the UK Sports Network at 630AM WLAP in Lexington. Free live audio will be available online at UKathletics.com and live stats will be available online at KentuckyStats.com.
Kentucky is coming off its only exhibition game of the season in Pikeville last Wednesday as the Wildcats cruised past the Bears, 93-45, in front of nearly 1,000 fans at Memorial Coliseum. Four Cats scored in double figures, including two newcomers – Ajae Petty (15), Maddie Scherr (13) – and two returnees – Robyn Benton (14), Jada Walker (14).
Adebola Adeyeye had a game-high 15 rebounds, while Eniya Russell impressed with nine points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Kentucky, which shot 48.3 percent from the field on 43-of-89 shooting, scored 79 points in the paint. They forced the Bears into 25 turnovers, while the Cats scored 32 points off those turnovers. Kentucky also outrebounded Pikeville, 59-37, while UK scored 26 second-chance points.
Blair Green, a graduate student from Harlan County, Kentucky, will make her official return to the court after missing the entire 2021-22 season after suffering a torn Achilles in the preseason scrimmage more than a year ago. She had eight points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes of action against Pikeville.
In all, Kentucky’s roster features 15 players, including five returners, four transfers and six freshmen. Tionna Herron, a freshman from DeSoto, Texas, is UK’s lone inactive player after the center had successful open-heart surgery on Aug. 24. She is back on campus and participating in all team activities this season, while her participation has been limited during her rehab process. There is no timeline for her return to the game.
Monday’s game will mark the season opener for Radford as well, as it defeated Roanoke College, 100-51, in an exhibition game last Wednesday. The Highlanders have nine newcomers and two new assistant coaches in Amber Easter and Alex Tomlinson’s program.
Rachel LaLonde and Jackie Christ both return to form the team’s senior leadership. LaLonde started 25 games last season, scoring 7.4 points per game and grabbing 7.0 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Christ, who started 24 games in 2021-22, had 3.8 points per game and 2.9 rebounds per game a season ago.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
