No. 15 Kentucky WBB Returns to Memorial Friday vs. Middle Tennessee

The No. 15 University of Kentucky women’s basketball team begins its longest homestand of the season Friday when it starts a four-game stretch by playing host to Middle Tennessee at 7 p.m. ET inside Memorial Coliseum.
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 adult general admission and $5 for youth (6-18/seniors 65+) general admission seating. General admission seating is free for ages five and under.
The game will be broadcast live on the SEC Network+ with Jeff Piecoro on play-by-play and Christi Thomas as the analyst. The action can also 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 on WLAP 630AM. Live stats and free audio will be available online at ukathletics.com.
The Middle Tennessee game begins a four-game home stretch for Kentucky that will continue Sunday when the Wildcats face top-25 ranked Arizona State at 1 p.m. ET inside Rupp Arena. UK will then take a week off for final exams before facing Radford on Dec. 19 and Washington State on Dec. 21. UK ends non-conference play on Dec. 29 at No. 21 Duke.
Kentucky is coming off a challenging week where it faced two top-12 teams, defeating No. 12 Oklahoma before falling at No. 7 Louisville. The 1-1 week moved Kentucky to No. 15 in The Associated Press Top 25 and No. 18 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25, extending the Wildcats’ school-record streak of being in the top 25 to 137 weeks.
Senior guard Makayla Epps was the star for the Wildcats last week, scoring 52 points with 19 rebounds and 11 assists to be named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week. Epps scored 30 points – including 14 in the first quarter – against Oklahoma, before 22 points with a career-high 16 rebounds against Louisville.
Epps, who is on several national player of the year watch lists, leads Kentucky in scoring this season with 19.4 points per game, adding 4.4 rebounds per game and a team-best 42 assists. Fellow senior Evelyn Akhator is averaging 15.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, while sophomores Taylor Murray and Maci Morris are each averaging double figures. Murray has scored 10-plus points in four of UK’s last five games to up her season average to 11.9 points per game, while Morris is tied for the team lead with 15 made 3s and is averaging 11.8 points per game.
The Wildcats have scored 80 or more points four times this season and are averaging 77.0 points per game, while limiting opponents to 59.4 points per game. Kentucky is shooting 46.3 percent from the field this season, including 34.3 percent from 3. UK is outrebounding opponents by 4.1 rebounds per game, while the Wildcats have the best assists-turnover ratio in the SEC.
Middle Tennessee enters Friday’s game with a 2-3 overall record, having defeated Tennessee Tech and Tulane and lost to Virginia, Louisville and Ohio. Most recently, the Blue Raiders downed Tulane 62-59 on Dec. 3. In the victory, MT shot 41.7 percent from the field, making 10-of-24 from beyond the arc. Junior guard Abbey Sissom led the way, pacing all scorers with 21 points.
Senior guard Ty Petty leads the Blue Raiders in scoring and assists this season, averaging 14.8 points and 5.2 assists per game. Sophomore forward Alex Johnson is second on the team in scoring with 13 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Sissom is the final MTSU player averaging double figures, posting 10.2 points per game. Junior forward Gabby Lyon leads the team in steals with 12 and rebounds with 6.6 per game.
Middle Tennessee returns four starters and eight letterwinners from last year’s team which went 24-9, including a 15-3 record in Conference USA. The Blue Raiders went on to win the C-USA Tournament, gaining entry to the NCAA Tournament. However, the Middle Tennessee was ousted by Florida State in the first round with a 72-55 loss.
Friday’s meeting with Middle Tennessee is the 19th all-time in program history. The Wildcats lead the overall series 14-4, including wins in each of the last four meetings. UK leads the all-time series in games played in Lexington, 8-1. Middle Tennessee’s lone win against Kentucky in Lexington came in 1984. The two programs have met every year since 2008 with Kentucky holding a 6-2 mark in those games.
Kentucky and Middle Tennessee met last season in the Murphy Center with the Wildcats earning a 68-52 victory over the Blue Raiders. Epps led Kentucky with 17 points and four assists, while Morris and Murray each had 10 points. The Wildcats shot 46.7 percent from the field in the game. UK forced MT into 26 turnovers and scored 21 points off those miscues. Middle Tennessee out-rebounded UK, 40-32, but the Wildcats won the battle in points in the paint, 40-24.
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.
Parking
– New spectator parking options include the High Street Lot, located at the corner of East High Street and South Martin Luther King Boulevard, and the Alumni Center Lot on Linden Walk, resulting in nearly 200 additional parking spaces.
– Spectator parking is located in all of the E-lots surrounding Memorial Coliseum, all lots 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. See the shuttle map and route information diagram below for all available women’s basketball spectator parking options.
– 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 issued disabled hang tag in the E-Lot (Employee Lot) north of the Joe Craft Center. These spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis until full.
– A parking map can be found, here: http://ukathleticsgameday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2016-17_WBB_Shuttle_Map_Routes_small.pdf
Transit Center Parking Garage
– UK women’s basketball fans can avoid traffic and congestion around Memorial Coliseum and park for FREE at the Transit Center Garage – available after 5 p.m. ET on weekdays and all day for weekend games.
– The Transit Center Parking Garage is accessible from Vine Street of High Street.
– Push the green flashing button upon entry, take the yellow token and store it in a safe place. Park in the garage and find the UK Athletics event staff member at the entrance of the garage near Lexington Avenue for a free parking token to use after the game when you exit the garage. Staff will remain on site until 20 minutes after tip.
– Please do not lose your token. If you lose your token, you will be charged an $8 fee for a lost token fee. If you lose your token, visit the pay on foot station located in the 7th floor elevator lobby of the garage and choose “lost token.” You will be charged $8.00 and given a new token that can be used to exit the garage.
Shuttles
– Shuttles are available beginning 2 hours prior to tip and pick up and drop off near the South Limestone Garage (Parking Structure # 5) (blue route) and near the Transit Center Parking Garage and High Street Lot (green route).
– Shuttles will start back up after halftime to return guests to their parking areas, the shuttle will discontinue service 1-hour postgame.
– A shuttle map with route information is available here: http://ukathleticsgameday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2016-17_WBB_Shuttle_Map_Routes_small.pdf
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/.
Evan Crane
Assistant Media Relations Director
University of Kentucky Athletics