Jen Smith on UK women’s basketball

Kyra Elzy, Kentucky’s top assistant coach, will be wearing orange again next season, according to a Knoxville News Sentinel report posted Tuesday morning.

Elzy, who played on two national championship teams at Tennessee, will leave UK and join the Lady Vols’ staff of new coach Holly Warlick. She will fill one of two assistant coach openings.

The LaGrange, Ky., native has been the recruiting coordinator on UK Coach Matthew Mitchelll’s staff since 2008 and she has been responsible for helping to bring in not only the school’s first-ever McDonald’s All-American but also four more since then.

Elzy didn’t return calls from the Herald-Leader, nor did Mitchell.

Kentucky’s spokesman for women’s basketball Susan Lax said she could not confirm anything and referred calls about the hire to Tennessee’s media relations staff.

Elzy’s most recent one-year contract was for $165,000 with incentive compensation. This year because UK won the regular-season Southeastern Conference title, she received a bonus of two months salary.

Every sports writer’s nightmare is a 9:45 p.m. start time and a game that comes down to a final shot. That perfect storm happened for me on Monday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. So what you read in this morning’s paper couldn’t possibly capture just how interesting and emotional that game was for both teams.

There were several big things from Kentucky’s 65-62 win over Green Bay that barely got mentioned in the main game story, so here’s a run down of some key points before UK heads to Rhode Island to play No. 11 seed Gonzaga in the field of 16.

QUITE THE CHARGE: Kentucky took three charges in the final 3:30 of the game last night, including a key one by freshman Bria Goss that helped set up the go-ahead basket by Keyla Snowden. Before Monday night’s game, UK had drawn 60 charges this season, including a team-best 19 for Goss.

Those charges were key, both coaches said.

• “Our defense carried us with some charges and some stops,” UK Coach Matthew Mitchell said afterward. “Those were some tough charges we took where it almost looked like a glimmer of hope was about to be extinguished. We were able to just stand in there and take charges and make some plays.”
• Green Bay Coach Matt Bollant said he was glad to see his team being aggressive in the final minutes, even if it meant calls not going its way. “If you lose, you want to lose being aggressive and attacking the other team and going after them.”

WALKER’S PLAY: Connecticut transfer Samarie Walker is going to get a lot of attention this week being in the same Kingston Region with the top-seeded Huskies. She drew a lot of praise after he game against Green Bay, in which she had her second double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. This is the same Walker who struggled in the SEC Tournament, going a combined 2-for-9 from the field in two games. On Monday, the sophomore forward went 7 of 10 from the field and also had three steals.

• “Walker was the difference maker,” Green Bay’s Bollant said. “Her offensive rebounds and put backs. She was amazing and was a big key for us, not being able to keep her off the offensive glass.”
• Mitchell was pleased to see Walker play so well: “I’m happy for her. A lot of her struggles weren’t for a lack of effort; it was a fundamental thing and to see her rewarded with a really tremendous game makes me very happy for her. She was outstanding.”
• Teammate A’dia Mathies agreed that UK couldn’t have won it without her and said she was proud of the sophomore’s effort: “She had an extraordinary game. She was on the boards and she was putting in layups. … She had a good all-around game. I was proud of her.”

OTHER THINGS OF NOTE: The Cats are now 11-3 in games decided by 10 points or less this season. Snowden is 7 of 8 from the free throw line in clutch situations (final three minutes of the game, in a game that is decided by six points or fewer.) Kentucky has now Kentucky is now 22-0 this season when winning at the half.

With the win over 10^th-ranked Green Bay, UK has now won a school-record six games against teams ranked in the Top 10 this season. Overall, UK is 6-2 against ranked foes. Bollant lamented the fact that the No. 10 Phoenix and No. 12 Kentucky had to meet in the second round of the tournament: “It’s a shame to have to play Kentucky – two top 12 teams in the nation having to play in this round. But give Kentucky all the credit. They made it happen down the stretch.”

The Kentucky women’s basketball team has at least a share of a Southeastern Conference championship to celebrate and it is inviting up to 8,000 of its closest friends to join it Sunday night.

The SEC title, UK’s first since 1982, will be celebrated on Sunday at 7 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum after the team returns from its game at Mississippi State this afternoon.

That game, which will air on ESPNU at 1:30 p.m., will determine if the Cats are celebrating a solo title or sharing one with Tennessee. With a win at Humphrey Coliseum, the Cats earn the title outright.

A UK loss and a Tennessee win over Florida in Knoxville later Sunday means Kentucky shares the crown with the Lady Vols.

Admission is free to the event and doors at Memorial Coliseum will open at 6 p.m.

The team is expected to arrive around 7 p.m.

Kentucky’s women’s basketball has started a ticket special for its three remaining home games in December called “Dollar in December.” The special starts on Thursday for the No. 10 Cats’ game against No. 6 Duke at Rupp Arena. UK also will host Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Sunday and then Samford on Dec. 21 at Memorial Coliseum.

In order to get the $1 ticket special, they have to be purchased in advance at the Joe Craft Center Ticket Office. Tickets for $1 will not be available online unless for a group of 20 or more. Tickets for $1 also will not be available for purchase on game day at the Rupp Arena or Memorial Coliseum ticket office.

UK is reporting that reserved tickets for the lower section of Rupp Arena (capacity 10,317) is sold out. As of Monday afternoon, 11,082 tickets have been sold. The UK women’s attendance record at Rupp is 13,689 in 2006 when they beat top-ranked Tennessee. The second-highest attendance 10,622 at Memorial Coliseum when UK played Old Dominion in 1983.

capacity in lower is 10,317

Kentucky junior A’dia Mathies was named to the Naismith Trophy watch list on Wednesday afternoon. Mathies, a 5-foot-9 guard from Louisville, was a pre-season Southeastern Conference selection by both the coaches and the media. Mathies averaged 12.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 steals a game last season.

• Other names of note on the list include former Lexington Catholic star Natalie Novosel and her Notre Dame teammates Skylar Diggins and Devereaux Peters. Louisville’s Monique Reid and Shoni Schimmel are on the list as well.  Other UK opponents that are on the watch list include Duke’s Chelsea Gray.
• SEC players on the watch list include LaSondra Barrett (LSU); Jasmine James (Georgia); Glory Johnson, Shekinna Stricklen and Meighan Simmons (Tennessee).