Kentucky women’s 79-58 NCAA Tournament victory over a very respectable Oklahoma squad earlier this week was really awesome.
So sweet that the No. 3 seed Wildcats will still be staying home to participate in NCAA Sweet Sixteen in the Lexington Regional, joining Washington, Stanford and favored Notre Dame. In addition, UK’s Friday night showdown (ESPN2, 7 p.m.) with Washington will mark the first time the UK women’s program has ever played an NCAA Tournament game at Rupp Arena.
Last Monday’s matchup played before a loud crowd of over 3,000 at Memorial Coliseum also partially erased a big disappointment UK had suffered last season when it was knocked out on its home floor following a second-round upset by Dayton.
And the 12th-ranked Wildcats’ emotional win over the Sooners was one of the more exciting basketball games that I’ve seen in person this season, including the men’s. Even though I have covered nearly all of UK men’s home games as well as the SEC Tournament in Nashville, I have had lots of fun covering women’s action in Lexington, including games with Colorado, Duke, South Carolina and Tennessee as well as the NCAA tournament.
Photo by Jamie H. Vaught
