UK Hoops deserves more airtime
December 9, 2013
By Boyd Hayes | Assistant sports editor
The most exciting game of this women’s basketball season was played out in four overtimes between UK Hoops and Baylor University in the AT&T Center on Friday night, and it wasn’t even televised.
Heroes, drama, broken records — this game had all the makings of a classic.
Every sports lover in America should have been watching, but it was instead relegated to ESPN3, an online-only broadcast channel. However, some of the final minutes were shown on TV as they impeded with the beginning of the men’s basketball game between UK and Baylor meant to begin at 11 p.m.
Unlike last season’s quick 85-51 blowout, in which the Cats were trampled by Baylor and superstar Brittney Griner, this game was much more fitting of its imposing venue.
When Baylor senior guard Makenzie Robertson hit her first free throw about a minute into the fourth overtime period, she put the game in the history books as the highest-scoring NCAA Division I women’s basketball game ever, as the Cats led 128-125.
Four minutes later, another record-breaking free throw dropped, this time from the hand of UK junior guard Jennifer O’Neill.
Though she missed her second shot at the line, her first gave her 43 points on the night, a UK single-game scoring record.
She wasn’t even the most prolific scorer in the game. Baylor senior guard Odyssey Sims posted 47 points in 41 minutes, playing all but a couple minutes of regulation before fouling out of the game in the first overtime.
Time and again, the game seemed over, a few points separating the teams with seconds left to play. But then the first overtime happened, then the second and the third and fourth.
Heart-stopping buzzer beaters and missed free throws kept the game going and going and going.
It wasn’t exactly a pretty game.
Nine players fouled out, whilst five more had four personal fouls to their names. Both teams missed free throws in high-pressure situations.
The game was fun to watch. It gave you 100 reasons to love the sport. And it was on ESPN3.
Games like this deserve more respect. NCAA women’s basketball deserves more respect. A top-10 matchup in a major arena should be on cable. It should be on your local television stations.
The Cats cemented their place as a championship contender against one of the best teams in the country, and most of the Big Blue Nation missed it.
