Carly Morrow will play her first basketball game at McKenzie Arena this evening when she and the 14th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats face the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
For the 5-foot-11 senior from Lookout Mountain, Ga., who attended GPS, it will be her first and last chance to play as a collegian in front of a hometown crowd.
Morrow and the Wildcats (6-1) have seen plenty of UTC (3-4) in the past few seasons, however. Tonight’s game is the third between the programs in as many seasons.
“It’s been kind of bizarre,” said Morrow, a guard who has started five games this season and is in the top 10 all-time at Kentucky in 3-pointers made. “I would have never expected that coming here, but it’s been nice to play some familiar faces and play a program that I feel pretty familiar with.”
Morrow grew up going to Lady Mocs games and camps, and UTC assistant coach Katie Burrows was an assistant at GPS when Morrow played for the Bruisers.
“UTC’s a program and Coach [Wes] Moore’s a coach that I respect tremendously,” Morrow said.
The Lady Mocs are 0-7 all-time against Kentucky but have played the Wildcats tight in their past two meetings. In the 2009 WNIT, Kentucky won 81-76 in overtime, and last season, in Lexington, the Wildcats won 65-55.
Kentucky went on to reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament last season, its first NCAA appearance under coach Matthew Mitchell, who is now in his fourth season.
For the Lady Mocs to be successful tonight, Moore said, they must do a good job against the Wildcats’ aggressive play and pursuit of the ball.
“The question is, can we handle their heat?” he said. “They’re really going to get out in the passing lanes, trap or switch on the ball and keep the pressure on you. You’ve got to be able to keep your cool and make good decisions.”
This also is a trip close to home for Kentucky star forward Victoria Dunlap. The 6-1 Nashville native, an early candidate for SEC player of the year, leads the league in scoring (18.2 ppg), rebounding (11.8), steals (3.8) and blocked shots (2.5).
The Lady Mocs have two players from Kentucky: true freshmen Destiny Bramblett (Radcliff) and Lynette Harris (Providence).
Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeatCTFP.