‘We’re here and we’re hosting.’ UK women’s basketball hoping for big NCAA Tournament crowd
When Kenny Brooks took the Kentucky job a year ago, he didn’t expect the Wildcats to earn the opportunity to host first-weekend NCAA Tournament games in his first season.
And yet, Kentucky (22-7) has managed to do just that, capping a fourth-place finish in the new-look Southeastern Conference and a regular season spent entirely in the Associated Press women’s college basketball Top 25 poll with a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The distinction marks Brooks’ third time having earned hosting privileges, and third consecutive, while also bringing Kentucky women’s basketball’s grand total to seven.
“You can never expect that,” Brooks said. “As a matter of fact, a lot of people look to us in our program and the way that we have done it so quickly, and they say, ‘Well, it can be done.’ And so, you know, very proud of that, but you know, you never can tell that a group’s gonna come together this fast.”
But come together, it did. Brooks built a staff, signed three freshmen and welcomed eight transfers to the fold. Graduate guards Georgia Amoore and Dazia Lawrence served as immediate leaders, both in terms of experience and production, steadying the ship in light of unfortunate injuries sustained by transfer guards Jordan Obi and Dominika Paurová during the offseason, and setting an example for the talented trio of Amelia Hassett, Teonni Key and Clara Strack.
Only Amoore has significant NCAA Tournament experience, what with Key sidelined to a reserve role throughout her time at North Carolina, Lawrence making just one March Madness appearance during her career at Charlotte and Strack having been thrust into starter responsibilities only during Virginia Tech’s postseason last year following the season-ending knee injury sustained by All-America center Liz Kitley.
While lifting the Wildcats to their first Big Dance since 2022, Brooks met — if not exceeded — outside expectations. Even UK director of athletics Mitch Barnhart gave Brooks “a little leeway” when it came to building what fans hope eventually reveals itself to be a championship foundation. Amid inexperience in March, not to mention real parity in women’s college basketball, just how big of an advantage is hosting first- and second-round games?
“It’s a big difference,” Brooks said. “And obviously, five years ago, when we first heard our name at Virginia Tech, I was just hoping to get in. I didn’t care about seeding. When I was at James Madison, I didn’t even know what seeding meant. It was just like, ‘OK, we’re in.’ We celebrated, it didn’t matter what your number was. As we got to be pretty good at James Madison, we understood the importance of seeding. And so, you know, being on that four-line, and being able to host, and we hosted when I was at Virginia Tech, and it means the world. Gives you a home-court advantage. It gives you an opportunity to advance.”
Kentucky constructs ‘great environment’ for basketball
UK Athletics was clear in its messaging when detailing the intended impact of the ambitious, $82 million renovation to Historic Memorial Coliseum. How it really matters that four of Kentucky’s women’s programs — basketball, volleyball, STUNT and gymnastics — have a home of which they could be proud. To put Big Blue Nation as close as possible to the action. To present coaches, student-athletes, recruits, fans and even opponents with a state-of-the-art facility.
To Brooks and his fellow newcomers to Lexington, Memorial Coliseum is just that — a good atmosphere. Brooks has said many a time throughout his Kentucky tenure that, because he doesn’t know what “old” Memorial was like, he gets to appreciate it differently from those who do.
“I have to look at it vicariously through everyone else’s eyes,” Brooks said. “Because I didn’t see it. I didn’t see it, but I think it’s a spectacular venue for women’s basketball.”
However, several coaches who had experienced the “old” Memorial Coliseum really took note of the changes. Former Arkansas head coach Mike Neighbors, who resigned March 11 after eight seasons, complimented the UK administration for the project after his team’s 89-69 loss to the Wildcats on Jan. 26.
“The university’s done an amazing job with Memorial. ... That is spectacular,” Neighbors said. “I walked around yesterday. The attention to detail is amazing.”
Alabama head coach Kristy Curry, who will lead the Crimson Tide as a No. 5 seed against No. 12 Green Bay on Saturday, took the time to appreciate the differences in the environment post-renovation, and highlighted the impact of the fans after her team’s 65-56 loss to UK on Jan. 30.
“Having been here, gosh, it looks beautiful,” Curry said. “It’s a great environment. ... I love how they put the students. I think anytime that you can give your students the opportunity to be closer to the floor. I believe they’re in the end zone, if I picked up on that. And so, just an amazing environment. I love how you have the fans courtside down there on our bench end because they’ll give you a hard time. And so it was a perfect, the way they designed it, it’s beautiful. The traditional, but yet it still has a lot of the old feel to it. Old-school basketball gym, I love it.”
The UK faithful knows a thing or two about the power of a home-court advantage, which can be especially useful in high-pressure situations, regardless of the venue. Take South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, who thanked Gamecocks “FAMS” (fans) for making a difference in their regular-season finale, a 78-66 victory over Kentucky to solidify its status as the 2025 co-conference champion. Or LSU’s Kim Mulkey, who Tuesday, purchased all student tickets for the Tigers’ first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games.
“All we need is for you to show up, be loud and help propel us to victory!” Mulkey said in the statement.
Attendance for Kentucky women’s basketball this season
Now that Kentucky has the facility, can it also get the fans?
This year, Kentucky played 16 home games (with a record of 14-2) and the program reported four sellouts — Louisville on Nov. 16, Georgia on Feb. 16, LSU on Feb. 23 and Tennessee, also the Senior Day game, on Feb. 27.
However, announced attendance numbers are based on ticket sales, not actual scanned tickets by attending fans on game day.
For example, UK’s announced attendance for the Georgia game was 5,625 but, actually, only 2,668 tickets were scanned. The announced attendance for UK-LSU was 6,000, but the scanned attendance number was 4,389. On Senior Day, UK’s announced attendance for the Tennessee game was 5,951, but only 3,869 tickets were scanned.
The first year Brooks and his staff earned hosting privileges, 2023, the No. 1 seeded, Amoore-guided Virginia Tech team defeated its first- and second-round opponents, Chattanooga and South Dakota State, by an average margin of 18.5 points in a rocking Cassell Coliseum. When asked what message she wanted to give fans, Amoore emphasized the importance of creating an advantage.
“You have to bring a crowd,” Amoore said. “I’ve been in the situation where the crowd has made everything better. You know, I played at Virginia Tech, and when we went on that run, we had sold-out crowds, and it was a booming atmosphere. The NCAA will do everything to make it not seem like it’s a home game, but that’s where the people come in to bring that energy. And it can really push a good team forward.”
This season, Kentucky’s actual attendance peaked at 4,680 — the Wildcats’ first victory over Louisville since 2015. The announced attendance for the Battle of the Bluegrass was 6,117, also the program’s largest announced attendance this season. Kentucky’s games against Louisville and LSU were the only home games to post an announced attendance of at least 6,000 fans or a scanned attendance of at least 4,000 fans.
When Brooks was hired, he spoke of his desire to continue growing the game, and to building the community’s interest in Kentucky women’s basketball as he built his program. As the sport’s popularity explodes, it’s becoming more normal to see a women’s college basketball game pack the stands. Last year, the five-day Big Ten Tournament sold out in advance, due, in part, to excitement surrounding Caitlin Clark in the final lap of her college career. This season, South Carolina sold out of season tickets for the first time ever.
UCLA head coach Cori Close spoke to the role that fan attendance plays in the growth of women’s sports in a media availability ahead of the Bruins’ first matchup at rival Southern California on Feb. 13, a sold-out battle that resulted in UCLA’s first loss of the season, and the first of two at the hands of the Trojans. Each program earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“We need people to fill arenas,” Close said. “And that’s gotta be a consistent thing. ... We’re probably gonna sell out four times this year at Pauley (Pavilion), next year it needs to be eight. And there needs to be a relentless quest that we’re not done yet.”
A busy weekend of basketball in Lexington
Excitement for the Wildcats is higher than it’s been in years, and that’s reflected in the difference in attendance from just last season to now. But UK isn’t only playing host to the first and second rounds of the women’s tournament; first- and second-round matchups in the men’s tournament will also take place at Rupp Arena this weekend, as Creighton, Louisville, Alabama State, Auburn, Wofford, Tennessee, Utah State and UCLA dance over to Lexington.
Men’s matchups in Lexington will be played Thursday and Saturday, while women’s games will be played Friday and Sunday. Brooks acknowledged the sheer amount of March Madness happening in Lexington this weekend, but encouraged fans to head to Memorial Coliseum and cheer on the Wildcats.
“We look forward to what’s going to come up here,” Brooks said. “It’s going to be a busy time in Lexington, we understand that, but we want to make Memorial historic.”
Amoore, preparing for her fifth and final NCAA Tournament appearance, is hopeful for a strong fan turnout and home-court advantage, particularly given the fact that the Wildcats’ No. 4 seed means “closer seeding matchups.”
“It’s that time of year where you have to just think, ‘It’s just one game at a time,’” Amoore said. “And Memorial’s been great, and I’ve taken advantage of it. But, you know, I’ve only been here a year, too, so I think we just gotta get the people out and celebrate ... (in the event there was an overlap in games between tournaments) we would like the people to come to our game. Because it’s our hometown, and we’re here and we’re hosting.”
Friday
Women’s NCAA Tournament games in Lexington
Where: Historic Memorial Coliseum in Lexington
Noon: No. 4 seed Kentucky vs. No. 13 seed Liberty (ESPN)
About 2:30 p.m.: No. 5 seed Kansas State vs. No. 13 seed Fairfield (ESPNews)
Tickets: All-session and single-session tickets for the three games in Memorial Coliseum went on sale Monday.
Kentucky’s tournament opener
No. 4 seed Kentucky vs. No. 13 seed Liberty
What: NCAA Tournament Spokane Regional 4
When: Noon Friday
Where: Historic Memorial Coliseum in Lexington
TV: ESPN
Records: Kentucky 22-7, Liberty 26-6
ABOUT LIBERTY
Location: Lynchburg, Virginia
Enrollment: 16,000 on campus; 124,000 online
Nickname: Flames
School colors: Blue, Red, White and Grey
Head coach: Carey Green (591-239 in 26 seasons at Liberty and overall)
Conference: Conference USA
NCAA berth: Automatic (Liberty tied Middle Tennessee for first place in the conference in the regular season then won the league tournament.)
All-time series: Kentucky leads 2-1
Last meeting: Kentucky won 83-77 on March 20, 2010, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Louisville.
Common opponents with Kentucky this season: Liberty lost to Tennessee 109-93 (Nov. 16) and beat Arkansas 75-61 (Dec. 18) and Western Kentucky 77-66 (Jan. 2) and 74-70 (March 8).
Notable games this season: Against power conference teams in addition to Tennessee and Arkansas, Liberty lost to Duke 83-67.
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 10:42 AM.
