Two signees give UK women a top-10 class

Kentucky got signed letters from two of the nation's top players and still has its fingers crossed on at least two more.

The signing of guard Bria Goss (No. 17 in the nation) and forward Azia Bishop (No. 34) elevates UK to the No. 10 class in the nation, according to ESPN's Hoopgurlz.com.

A 5-foot-10 guard, Goss has an 83-2 high school record at Ben Davis in Indianapolis. She chose UK over Maryland, South Carolina, Purdue and Indiana.

Bishop, a 6-2 forward from Start High in Toledo, chose Kentucky over Ohio State.

"They are two players that really fit great with us," Coach Matthew Mitchell said.

The Cats are still in the hunt for sixth-ranked Briyona Canty and 11th-ranked Betnijah Laney, who have not committed yet.

Canty told Hoopgurlz in an e-mail on Thursday that she plans to make her decision by next week and that she will sign in the early signing period. She has narrowed her choices to UK, Miami, Penn State, Rutgers and South Carolina.

At his pre-game news conference Thursday, Mitchell indicated that UK was still actively trying to sign more players.

"We're still plugging with the recruiting class," he said.

More Morehead to come

New Morehead State coach Tom Hodges is the youngest women's basketball head coach in the country at 28 years old. But since he was hired in May, he says he has aged considerably.

"This last four or five months have made me an old 28-year-old," he joked.

Starting the season at the ninth-ranked team in the nation doesn't help.

But expect there to be many more games against Kentucky.

Hodges, who has many ties to the UK staff, said Morehead has a contract with Kentucky for the next four years to be each other's opening games.

Hodges previously worked at Middle Tennessee State, where he was an assistant under Rick Insell, father of UK assistant Matt Insell.

One assistant on Hodges' staff, Christian Stefanopoulos, spent the past three seasons as the Cats' video coordinator. Her brother David is a team manager at UK.

The Morehead coach had nothing but nice things to say about the Cats.

"They're an inspiration to every coach and every team that will compete this year," he said. "If you turn on Kentucky, there's no way you can't be taken aback by how hard he gets his players to play and the intensity with which they operate."

Parking will be tight

Because UK is playing an 11 a.m. game on a day when school is in session, there could be some parking issues.

Those attending the game are encouraged to park (for free) in the parking structure on Limestone, next to Kennedy's Bookstore. Vouchers will be available and a shuttle will run from the garage to the coliseum from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

This story was originally published November 12, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Two signees give UK women a top-10 class."