‘This is exactly the kind of challenge we need.’ UK, Louisville set for showdown.
After spending the first stretch of the season rolling over inferior opponents, the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team is about to see how it stacks up against a much tougher foe.
The No. 14 Wildcats (10-0) face No. 7 Louisville (9-1) in Rupp Arena on Sunday. It will mark the first time this year that UK, whose schedule ranks 173rd in the country in terms of difficulty, has met a ranked opponent.
Kentucky Coach Matthew Mitchell said at Friday’s press conference that the matchup with the Cardinals, who have beaten the Wildcats three straight years, comes at the perfect time.
“They will pose a great challenge for us. We know throughout our conference season we’re going to play some very good teams, and I think this is exactly the kind of challenge we need right now,” Mitchell said. “I’ve been really proud of how the team has worked to get to this point. It’s a tremendous opportunity now to see where we are.”
UK struggled to find its footing from a shooting standpoint in the first few games of the season, but the Wildcats have righted the ship in the last month. They’ve shot better than 45 percent from the field in each of their last five outings and twice topped 50 percent, including in Wednesday’s 91-36 romp over Winthrop. The Cats have beaten their opponents by an average of more than 40 points per game during that stretch. Their surging offense will surely be tested by the Cardinals, who are holding opponents to 36-percent field-goal shooting.
Mitchell said his players are ready for that test.
“There is no denying that they’re excited … not only is Louisville a top team in the country and a very good team, but it’s Kentucky versus Louisville. So, they understand that. They’re highly motivated to win,” he said. “We want to play with tremendous respect for them and we certainly have that for their team … But we are excited to play and we want to play our best, and we definitely want to win this game badly for our team and all of our fans.”
Louisville is coming off a 32-4 season in which it won a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference title and made a run to the Elite Eight. The Cardinals appear to have successfully reloaded after losing first-team All-American Asia Durr, who was selected No. 2 overall by the New York Liberty in the 2019 WNBA Draft.
Louisville is led in scoring by sharpshooting junior guard Dana Evans, who averages 19.1 points per game and has hit 30 of 61 three-point shots on the season. Elizabeth Balogun, one of two sophomores who transferred from Georgia Tech, is averaging 10.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 41 percent from the perimeter. The other former Yellow Jacket, Elizabeth Dixon, is chipping in 6.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
At 6-foot-5, Dixon is Louisville’s tallest player. She and 6-foot-4 senior Kylee Shook, who averages 9.6 points and 8.2 rebounds, could pose a challenge for Kentucky starting forwards Tatyana Wyatt and KeKe McKinney, who are 6-2 and 6-1, respectively.
The Cardinals have already captured a signature win this season, knocking off then-No. 1 Oregon, 72-62, in the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam on Nov. 30. They lost their next game at unranked Ohio State.
Louisville Coach Jeff Walz, who has guided the Cardinals to three Final Fours in 12 years with the program, has a unique perspective on Kentucky sophomore superstar Rhyne Howard. He coached her on the United States’ under-19 national team that won this year’s FIBA World Cup, as well as the under-18 team that won the World Cup in 2018.
Asked if he thought that familiarity with Howard, who averages 19.6 points per game to lead the Cats, would give Walz an edge in Sunday’s matchup, Mitchell said: “That will put too much stress on my brain trying to figure out that dynamic. If that helps them in some way, it’ll just have to help them. I think Jeff has talked about his respect for Rhyne and what she has meant for USA Basketball.
“In our game, one thing that you do know is that they’re going to try to make it hard on Rhyne, and Rhyne has to be prepared for that. It’s not going to be a picnic on Sunday afternoon for her. She has to be mentally prepared and you can’t let any of the external things get into your way of preparing. It’ll be a tough game on Sunday afternoon and we will try to be well prepared in what we hope will be a great victory.”
Sunday
No. 7 Louisville at No. 14 Kentucky
When: 1 p.m.
Where: Rupp Arena
Records: Louisville 9-1; UK 10-0
Series: UK leads 34-21
Last meeting: Louisville won 80-75 at home on Dec. 9, 2018
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
This story was originally published December 14, 2019 at 3:09 PM.
