1 - University of Kentucky Athletics

When Mickie DeMoss accepted the head
coaching position at Kentucky before the
2003-04 season, she promised to put UK
women’s basketball back on the national map.
Since the program’s glory days in the early
1980s, UK Hoops had seemed to have dropped
off the face of the earth.
But by the time DeMoss had stepped down
four years later, Lexington had not only found its
way back onto the map, but was now circled as a
dangerous stop on the schedules of SEC foes and
opponents across the nation. Equally important
for victory-starved fans across the Bluegrass, all
roads now led to Memorial Coliseum, where the
Wildcats’ attendance grew from paltry to being
ranked in the nation’s top 20 in each of the past
four seasons.
Entering the 2006-2007 season, the Cats
faced a new – but welcome – challenge: contending
with national expectations. Kentucky began
the season ranked in both major polls for the
first time in school history. After an NCAA second-
round appearance and a win against topranked
Tennessee in front of a school-record
13,689 fans in Rupp Arena the previous season,
the Wildcats had earned wide-spread notoriety.
By season’s end, Kentucky had notched its
second consecutive 20-win season, reached postseason
play for three straight years (the first time
since the program’s four-year string
of appearances from 1979-83) and
continued to establish itself as a
national power and a fan favorite.
“We’ve been to three postseason
tournaments in three years, which
hasn’t happened in 25 years,” DeMoss
said. “We had another 20-win season
and that gives us back-to-back 20-win
seasons. I really believe our program is
certainly heading in the right direction
and we’ve made it something that the fans
have enjoyed watching.”
Returning all but one player from the
2005-06 NCAA Tournament team, the
Wildcats were suffered a devastating
loss in pre-season practice. Junior
forward/center Eleia Roddy, who
had made a big impact the previous
year, went down with an ACL
injury that sidelined her for the
entire season.
In 2006-07, the Cats ranked
13th nationally and second in
the SEC in average
attendance, averaging a
school-record 5,863 fans per
game. It marked the fourth
straight season UK has
ranked in the nation’s top 20
in average attendance.
102 • 2007-08 Women’s Basketball