The University of Kentucky women’s basketball team, ranked No. 17/19 nationally, will face Arkansas in the first round of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Tournament on Wednesday, March 4 at 11 a.m. ET. The game will be held as Game 1 of the tournament.
Kentucky enters the matchup with a 21-9 overall record and an 8-8 mark in SEC play. Arkansas holds a 12-19 record and is 1-15 in conference games this season.
Fans can listen to Darren Headrick’s radio call on UK Sports Network via 630 AM WLAP in Lexington and 790 AM WKRD in Louisville. The game will also air on SEC Network with Sam Gore and Tamika Catchings providing commentary.
Historically, Kentucky has played 89 games in the SEC Tournament, holding a record of 44 wins and 45 losses. The Wildcats have won seven out of their last ten tournament games. Last season, under head coach Kenny Brooks’ leadership, Kentucky was seeded fourth and received a double-bye.
The Wildcats have an all-time first round record of 12-11 and have not lost a first-round game since 2009. This year marks only the third time they have competed in the opening round since then.
During regular season league play, Kentucky went 4-5 against Associated Press ranked teams and achieved victories over two top five opponents for the first time in program history. Four of their eight conference losses occurred without starting forward Teonni Key due to injury; the remaining four were against AP Top Six teams, with three defeats decided by a combined seven points.
Kentucky’s most recent outing resulted in a close loss to No. 3 South Carolina, falling 60-56 despite outrebounding their opponent and holding them to their lowest point total this season. Clara Strack led Kentucky with a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds.
In that contest, Kentucky set a new single-season school record for three-point field goals made, bringing their total to 255 entering the tournament.
Wednesday’s game will be the teams’ 46th meeting since their series began in 1983. Kentucky leads Arkansas overall (29-16) and at the SEC Tournament (2-1), though they last met there in 2007. The Wildcats currently hold a two-game win streak over Arkansas.
When these teams last met on February 1, it marked Teonni Key’s return after missing six games due to injury. Kentucky defeated Arkansas by a score of 93-73 behind strong performances from Clara Strack (33 points, 15 rebounds) and Key (15 points, ten rebounds). In that game, Kentucky scored its highest second-half point total in an SEC road game since at least the early 2000s and shot over ninety percent from the field during the fourth quarter.
Kentucky also dominated second chance opportunities by outscoring Arkansas eighteen to zero thanks to a significant rebounding advantage (51-24).
Further information about Kentucky women’s basketball is available at UKathletics.com or through @KentuckyWBB on social media platforms X, Instagram, and Facebook.
