matthew mitchell - University of Kentucky Athletics

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MITCHELL LEADS WILDCATS TO SCHOOL-RECORD FOURTH CONSECUTIVE POSTSEASON APPEARANCE IN 2007-08 MEDIA INFO OPPONENTS HONORS HISTORY RECORDS REVIEW STAFF WILDCATS OUTLOOK KENTUCKY UK HOOPS Overall Record: 17-16 SEC Record: 8-6 (4th) SEC Tournament Semifinalist WNIT Quarterfinalist Home: 10-8 (9-5 Memorial; 1-3 Rupp Arena) Away: 5-5 Neutral: 2-3 Overtime: 1-1 Despite being picked to finish sixth in arguably the nation’s toughest women’s basketball conference, the Southeastern Conference, first-year Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell led his team to a school-record fourth-straight postseason tournament 2007-08. The Wildcats exceeded expectations by finishing fourth in the SEC with an 8-6 overall conference mark, the most league wins by a first-year head coach in school history. The Wildcats overcame injuries to key players (five different players missed a total of 50 games) and navigated their way through one of the nation’s toughest schedules (14th) to post their fourth consecutive winning season at 17-16. Along the way, the Cats earned three wins against nationally ranked opponents (Georgia twice and Auburn) and a school-record five Wildcats earned postseason honors. UK ENDS SEASON IN WNIT QUARTERFINALS Kentucky gave a valiant comeback effort after trailing by 15 points in the second half before falling 69-64 to eventual champion Marquette in the quarterfinals of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament in UK’s Memorial Coliseum. UK, which received a first-round bye in the tournament, moved on to the final eight after defeating Middle Tennessee in overtime in the second round and James Madison in the third round. Both games were held in Memorial Coliseum. The Wildcats trailed Marquette 53-38 with 11:48 remaining before the Wildcats engineered a 12-0 run over the next 3:22 to pull within three. Behind 65- 58 with 4:05 left, red-shirt junior Eleia Roddy converted a three-point play and senior Samantha Mahoney followed with a free throw to bring the Cats within three, 65-62, with 58 seconds to go. With Marquette attempting to hold the ball and run time off the clock, senior Chelsea Chowning forced the Golden Eagles’ Krystal Ellis to turn the ball over with 35 ticks left. UK turned the ball over, however, and was forced to foul with 30.8 seconds remaining as the shot clock re-set due to a change of possession. Ellis nailed a pair of charity shots with 19 seconds left to ice the win for Marquette. Mahoney led the Wildcats in scoring with a game-high 15 points. SCHOOL-RECORD FIVE WILDCATS EARN SEC POSTSEASON HONORS A school-record five Kentucky players were named to the All-Southeastern Conference team for the 2007-08 season. Two were named to the second team, two were selected to the All-SEC freshman team and one was honored as the Scholar Athlete of the Year. Senior guard Chelsea Chowning was named UK’s first SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year after earning a 4.00 grade point average in the school’s prestigious College of Pharmacy. Second-team picks included seniors Sarah Elliott and Samantha Mahoney. Freshmen Victoria Dunlap and Amber Smith were selected to the All-SEC Freshman team. It was the fifth straight season UK had at least one player selected to the All-SEC teams. Elliott and Mahoney also were named honorable mention All-SEC by The Associated Press. SEC SUCCESS Kentucky charted eight wins during regularseason SEC play, marking the second-most league wins in school history. In his first season as head coach of the Wildcats, Matthew Mitchell became the first first-year head coach in UK Hoops history to lead a team to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. His eight SEC wins also marked the most conference wins by a first-year head coach in UK Hoops history. Wildcats Advance to Semifinals of SEC Tournament Kentucky rebounded from a tough loss to South Carolina in its regular-season finale to upset No. 23/21 Georgia, 57-50, in the second round and advance to the SEC TOP FOUR SEC TEAMS 07-08 LSU 14-0 31-6 Tennessee 13-1 36-2 Vanderbilt 11-3 25-9 Kentucky 8-6 17-16 88
By The Big Blue Numbers 4,765 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Average attendance in 2007-08 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .UK’s national attendance ranking 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .UK’s strength of schedule according to CollegeRPI.com 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Televised games during 2007-08 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Opponents ranked in AP top 25 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Wildcats who earmed SEC postseason awards 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .UK’s attendance ranking in the SEC Tournament semifinals vs. top-seeded LSU. Sixfoot-six senior center Sarah Elliott, who had played just eight minutes and scored only two points against the Gamecocks on Senior Day, tallied a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds in the winning effort against Georgia. She also added two assists and two blocks. The Wildcats, who were known for their defensive prowess throughout the season, held Georgia to 35.2 percent shooting in the game, including just 29.0 percent in the first half. Georgia’s 50 points were its second-lowest point total of the season. The Lady Bulldogs’ previous scoring low was 44 points against UK in the regular-season matchup. UK met No. 7/6 LSU in the semifinals but couldn’t overcome a poor shooting night as the Wildcats shot just 31.1 percent compared to 49.0 percent from the Lady Tigers in a 66-49 defeat. Two Wildcats Move Up Career Charts Seniors Samantha Mahoney and Sarah Elliott became members of Kentucky’s 1,000-point club during their junior seasons and climbed into the top 10 list by the end of their senior seasons. Mahoney ended her illustrious career ranking third with 1,601 points, surpassing Pam Browning, who scored 1,598 points from 1974-78. Elliott scored 1,502 career points and finished at No. 6. ELLIOTT TOTALS 800 CAREER REBOUNDS Senior center Sarah Elliott pulled down 800 rebounds in her four-year career, a mark that ranks fourth on UK’s all-time list. She became just the fourth Wildcat in school history to chart 800 or more rebounds in a career. Elliott Breaks Blocks Record Senior center Sarah Elliott became UK’s alltime career blocks leader with a school-record 195 swats, smashing the 24-year-old record of 156 blocks set by All-American Valerie Still (1979-83). With five blocks vs. Marquette in the quarterfinals of the WNIT, Elliott set a new single-season record with 56. She eclipsed the previous record of 53 set by Valerie Still during the 1980-81 season. She also holds the school record for blocks in a single season by a freshman, junior and senior. SENIORS SET CAREER GAMES RECORD Seniors Sarah Elliott and Samantha Mahoney played in 132 career games, breaking the school record of 129 games set by Jennifer Humphrey from 2003-07. Too Close for Comfort Twenty of 33 games (60.6 percent) were decided by 10 points or less during the 2007-08 season and UK held a 12-8 record in those games, including a 7-2 mark in SEC play. Eleven games were by five points or less and the Wildcats were 6-5 overall, 5-1 in conference games. Thirteen of UK’s 16 losses came against NCAA-bound teams, including playing Final Four participants Tennessee and LSU a combined total of five times. UK CHARTS “FIRSTS” IN WIN AT GEORGIA With Kentucky’s impressive come-frombehind victory over No. 17/14 Georgia in Athens, Ga., on Jan. 31 the Wildcats were able to boast a series of “firsts”: • First win over Georgia since 2005 • First win in Athens, Ga., since 1994 • First win over a ranked SEC opponent on the road since Feb. 2, 1986, when the Cats defeated No. 11 Auburn, 91-90, in double-overtime in Auburn, Ala. • First win over any ranked opponent on the road since defeating No. 14 Western Kentucky on Dec. 8, 1997 in Bowling Green, 66-64, in overtime. “PACK THE HOUSE” BRINGS SEASON-HIGH ATTENDANCE VS. LSU Kentucky saw a season-high attendance of 8,335 vs. LSU in Rupp Arena on Jan. 27. It marked the fifth-largest crowd to see a women’s game in the downtown venue and the seventhlargest crowd overall at UK. The game was dubbed “Pack the House” as ticket vouchers were available for only $1 at local Fazoli’s restaurants and on UKathletics.com. CATS “THINK PINK” VS. ALABAMA Kentucky joined the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and over 1,000 schools nationally in the organization's "Think Pink" initiative vs. Alabama on Feb. 17. Wildcat players, staff and 4,879 fans wore pink to help raise money for UK’s Markey Cancer Center. More than $1,000 was raised for the cause. UK HOOPS KENTUCKY OUTLOOK WILDCATS STAFF REVIEW RECORDS HISTORY HONORS OPPONENTS MEDIA INFO In 2007-08, the Cats ranked 23rd nationally and fourth in the SEC in average attendance, averaging 4,765 fans per game. It marked the fifth straight season UK was ranked in the nation’s top 25 in average attendance. 89
Page 2 and 3: H E A D C O A C H MATTHEW MITCHELL
Page 4 and 5: MEDIA INFO OPPONENTS HONORS HISTORY
Page 8 and 9: MATT INSELL ASSISTANT COACH INSELL
Page 10 and 11: HONORS HISTORY RECORDS REVIEW STAFF
Page 12: MEDIA INFO OPPONENTS HONORS HISTORY
Page 17 and 18: 2007-08 GAME-BY-GAME RESULTS Record
Page 19 and 20: SEC Tournament Games Only Record: 1
Page 21 and 22: 2007-08 KENTUCKY SUPERLATIVES Kentu
Page 23 and 24: SEC FINAL INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS-ALL
Page 25 and 26: UK HOOPS 2007-08 GAME REVIEWS Game
Page 27 and 28: Game 13 Xavier 51, Kentucky 46 Jan.
Page 29 and 30: Game 23 Kentucky 59, Ole Miss 54 Fe
Page 31 and 32: DEPARTED SENIORS #2 Chelsea Chownin
Page 33 and 34: DEPARTED SENIORS #4 Sarah Elliott
Page 36 and 37: YEAR-BY-YEAR TEAM STATISTICS STAFF
Page 38 and 39: HONORS HISTORY RECORDS REVIEW STAFF
Page 40 and 41: YEAR-BY-YEAR SCORING — TOTAL POIN
Page 42 and 43: THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS MEDIA INFO
Page 44 and 45: REBOUNDING MEDIA INFO OPPONENTS HON
Page 46 and 47: BLOCKS MEDIA INFO OPPONENTS HONORS
Page 48 and 49: STREAKS MEDIA INFO OPPONENTS HONORS
Page 50 and 51: UK HOOPS KENTUCKY OUTLOOK 18 Points
Page 52 and 53: ALL-TIME RESULTS MEDIA INFO OPPONEN
Page 60 and 61: SCORES VS. ALL OPPONENTS MEDIA INFO
Page 62 and 63: UK IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT MEDIA INFO
Page 64:
WILDCATS OUTLOOK KENTUCKY UK HOOPS
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