UK Hoops tips off season against Appalachian State
UK sophomore point guard Jennifer O’Neill during the second half of the UK vs. Marist basketball game at Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. Photo by Adam Chaffins
November 14, 2014
By Kevin Erpenbeck
An offseason worth of workout sessions and practices that spanned half a year, has led to the UK Hoops 2014-15 season opener, and head coach Matthew Mitchell cannot wait for it to begin.
“It’s finally here and it’s time to play,” Mitchell said. “(I’m) looking forward to this season. A lot of time’s been spent preparing for the 2014-15 season.”
No. 10 UK will face Appalachian State in its first game against a Division I team since its loss to Baylor in the Sweet 16 of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. .
Mitchell said he would like to see the team succeed in the three goals he set for the first game of the season — being fast, disruptive and really tough.
“That needs to be in the forefront of our mind,” Mitchell said. “I think we can be the fastest team in the country, from top to bottom. We’d also like to be a full-court disruptive team with our defense and be the real tough team that takes charges and gets on the floor after basketballs. They’re capable of it, but we have to commit to it.”
UK is coming off a 141-63 win in an exhibition game against Pikeville last week. The point total was the highest amount scored by the Cats in program history, as eight out of the 11 players on the roster scored in double figures.
Senior guard Jennifer O’Neill said that although the game was against an NAIA opponent, this year’s team has a chance to consistently score a high amount of points because of the talent it possesses.
“If everybody runs the floor like we did, we’ve got the potential,” O’Neill said. “That’s why we were able to get into the 100s.”
The Cats return seven letter – winners from a team that went to the Sweet 16 last year and boast an impressive 32-8 record in season openers. According to UK Athletics, UK is currently on a 44-game winning streak in regular season games vs. nonconference opponents in Memorial Coliseum.
Appalachian State opens the season against No. 10 UK coming off a disappointing 13-16 season. The game on Friday will be the Mountaineers first game as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. It also will be the first ever matchup between the teams.
The Mountaineers return first-team All-Conference team member Maryah Sydnor, who finished last season averaging 19.1 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game. Sydnor and the Mountaineers will try to turn around a sub .500 average in season openers (24-33) when they travel to Lexington on Friday.
