The Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team represents the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...
in the
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
. The Wildcats have four Elite Eight appearances and seventeen appearances in the
NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic ...
. They have won the
SEC tournament
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) sponsors nine men's sports and twelve women's sports. This is a list of conference champions for each sport. Also see the list of SEC national champions.
Members
The SEC was established on December 1932, when t ...
twice and SEC regular season championship once.
The first University of Kentucky women's basketball team was organized in 1902, and competed for the first time on Feb. 21, 1903. However, in 1924, despite a perfect 10-0 season, the University Senate passed a bill to abolish women's basketball in part because, according to state politicians, "basketball had proven to be a strenuous sport for boys and therefore was too strenuous for girls."
After 50 years, women's basketball was granted varsity status in 1974, and most of the official records maintained by the university only reflect games since that time. The team, coached by Sue Feamster, was given the nickname "Lady Kats", which continued to be used until May 1995.
The team is currently coached by
Kyra Elzy
Kyra Elzy (born August 17, 1978) is the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team. On December 14, 2020, after starting the season 6-0 and having a top-ten AP ranking, AD Mitch Barnhart removed the "interim" tag and made Elzy th ...
.
Facilities
Since the restoration of the program in 1974, the Kentucky Wildcats have played their home games in the 8,500 seat Memorial Coliseum, and their record attendance in that building is 10,622, set on February 5, 1983 against
Old Dominion
Old Dominion most commonly refers to:
*The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia
** Colony of Virginia
*Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia
**Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...
; they also led the nation with an average attendance of 3,645 that season. In recent years, the team has also played occasional games in
Rupp Arena
Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility o ...
, which had a capacity of 23,500 before a renovation completed in 2019 reduced the capacity to 20,545.
In January 2007, the university opened the
Joe Craft Center
The Joe Craft Center, opened in January 2007, is a basketball practice facility and athletics office building attached to Memorial Coliseum (University of Kentucky), Memorial Coliseum on Kentucky Route 1974, the "Avenue of Champions" at the Unive ...
, a $30 million state-of-the-art basketball practice facility for both the men's and women's teams, named after businessman and philanthropist
Joe Craft
Joseph Craft III (born 1950) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the president and chief executive officer of Alliance Resource Partners, L.P., the third-largest coal producer in the eastern United States. Craft has taken the Gi ...
.
In July 2022,
Athletic Director
An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...
Mitch Barnhart announced that Memorial Coliseum would be receiving extensive upgrades next year. Most notably, Air Conditioning would be added to the building for the first time, as well as seating upgrades, and the addition of new event space. The renovations are expected to last for one competitive year, displacing all 4 teams who call the arena home.
History
Led by UK all-time leading scorer Valerie Still, Patty Jo Hedges, and Lea Wise, the Lady Kats won the SEC Tournament in 1982. The following year, the same trio led the team to a #4 ranking in the country, the highest in the team's history.
Head coaches
* Jane Todd Watson (1903)
* C.P. St. John (1904 - ?)
* Thomson Bryant (? - 1907)
* C.W. Leaphart (1907–1908)
* Walter C. Fox (1908 - ?)
*
John J. Tigert
John James Tigert IV (February 11, 1882 – January 21, 1965) was an American university president, university professor and administrator, college sports coach and the U.S. Commissioner of Education. Tigert was a native of Tennessee and the ...
(? - 1915, 1916–1917)
* William Tuttle (1915–1916)
* Jim Park (1917–1918)
* Andy Gill (1918–1919)
* Sarah Blanding (1919–1922)
* Happy Chandler (1922–1923)
* Bart Peak (1923–1924)
* Sue Feamster (1974–76)
* Debbie Yow (1976–80)
* Terry Hall (1980–87)
* Sharon Fanning (1987–95)
* Bernadette Locke-Mattox (1995–2003)
*
Mickie DeMoss
Mickie Faye DeMoss (born October 3, 1955) is a former American college basketball coach and player. She was the women's head coach at the University of Florida and the University of Kentucky. She was also an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech Univ ...
Kyra Elzy
Kyra Elzy (born August 17, 1978) is the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team. On December 14, 2020, after starting the season 6-0 and having a top-ten AP ranking, AD Mitch Barnhart removed the "interim" tag and made Elzy th ...
(2020–present)
Year by year results
Year Record Coach
1903 1-0 Jane Todd Walton
1904 2-0 C.P. St. John
1905 Unknown
1906 0-1 Thomson Bryant
1907 No Games Thomson Bryant
1908 3-0-1 C.W. Leaphart
1908–09 4-1 Walter C. Fox
1909–10 7-1 No Coach Listed
1910–11 No Record
1911–12 4-1 J.J. Tigert
1912–13 5-0 J.J. Tigert (State Champions)
1913–14 4-2 J.J. Tigert
1914–15 5-1 J.J. Tigert
1915–16 2-2 William Tuttle
1916–17 5-0 J.J. Tigert
1917–18 1-4 Jim Park
1918–19 2-0 Andy Gill
1919–20 0-3-1 Sarah Blanding
1920–21 1-7 Sarah Blanding
1921–22 2-4 Sarah Blanding
1922–23 7-3 A.B. "Happy" Chandler
1923–24 10-0 Bart Peak (Champions of the South)
Total: 65-30-1
Conference tournament winners noted with W Source
NCAA tournament results
Accomplishments
2009–10
* SEC Player of the Year (consensus):
Victoria Dunlap
Victoria Dunlap (born September 19, 1989 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a basketball player who most recently played for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association. She had previously played at the University of Kentucky.
K ...
* SEC Freshman of the Year: A'dia Mathies
* SEC Coach of the Year: Matthew Mitchell
2010–11
* SEC Player of the Year (AP): Victoria Dunlap
* SEC Defensive Player of the Year: Victoria Dunlap
2011–12
* SEC Player of the Year (consensus): A'dia Mathies
* SEC Freshman of the Year (consensus): Bria Goss
* SEC Sixth Woman of the Year (shared; awarded only by coaches): Keyla Snowden
* SEC Coach of the Year (AP): Matthew Mitchell
2012–13
* A'dia Mathies Drafted in the First Round of the 2013 WNBA draft
* SEC Co-Player of the Year : A'dia Mathies
2018–19
*
USBWA National Freshman of the Year
The USBWA National Freshman of the Year, with the men's and women's versions respectively named the Wayman Tisdale Award and Tamika Catchings Award, is an annual basketball award given to college basketball's most outstanding freshman male player ...
: Rhyne Howard
2019–20
* SEC Player of the Year (consensus): Rhyne Howard
Victoria Dunlap
Victoria Dunlap (born September 19, 1989 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a basketball player who most recently played for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association. She had previously played at the University of Kentucky.
K ...
, 2010 (AP; USBWA; Coaches')
*
A'dia Mathies
A'dia Mathies (born May 18, 1991) is an American professional basketball player, who was drafted in 2013 by the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.
Mathies is a guard, and played her college ball at the University of Kentucky.Rhyne Howard, 2020 (AP, USBWA)
Player awards
SEC Awards
*
Player of the Year
Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award.
Association football
In association football, this award is he ...
:
Victoria Dunlap
Victoria Dunlap (born September 19, 1989 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a basketball player who most recently played for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association. She had previously played at the University of Kentucky.
K ...
- 2010, 2011
:
A'dia Mathies
A'dia Mathies (born May 18, 1991) is an American professional basketball player, who was drafted in 2013 by the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.
Mathies is a guard, and played her college ball at the University of Kentucky.Rhyne Howard – 2020 , 2021