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Avery Skinner, who starred for Kentucky Wildcats, wins silver with Team USA volleyball

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Avery Skinner, who starred for Kentucky Wildcats, wins silver with Team USA volleyball


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The first Olympics appearance of Avery Skinner’s career was a memorable one. As well as a successful debut.

Skinner, the first former Kentucky volleyball player to ever compete in the Olympic Games, won silver with Team USA on Sunday in Paris. The U.S. lost to Italy, 25-18, 25-20, 25-17, in the championship match. Skinner finished the gold-medal match with seven points on a team-leading 22 attacks.

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Starring as an outside hitter for the Wildcats from 2017 to 2021, Skinner was a key cog for UK’s national title-winning squad in 2020, which was held in 2021 after the coronavirus pandemic delayed NCAA championship events in fall sports to the spring.

She won SEC championships all four seasons at Kentucky, earning first-team All-America laurels from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) during her senior season after hitting .366 with 3.77 kills per set. She also was an All-SEC and AVCA Southeast All-Region selection that season. In her maiden campaign with the Wildcats in 2017, Skinner landed on the SEC All-Freshman Team after notching 363 kills, averaging 3.32 kills per set.

A native of Katy, Texas, the 6-foot-1 Skinner comes from a family of athletes.

Her father, Brian Skinner, spent 14 seasons in the NBA. Skinner’s younger sister, Madi Skinner, was part of Kentucky’s volleyball program for two seasons — including winning the NCAA championship with Avery in 2020 — before transferring to Texas.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

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Kentucky Man Arrested After Allegedly Stealing Vehicle from Local Dealership

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Kentucky Man Arrested After Allegedly Stealing Vehicle from Local Dealership


The suspect is also accused of leading law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit.

Idris Muktar. Photo provided.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – Dearborn County Prosecutor Lynn Deddens has released information regarding a police pursuit that took place on January 21.

It was around 2:00 a.m. on January 21 when Lawrenceburg Police observed a blue Dodge Charger run a red light and turn onto U.S. 50.

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The vehicle, driven by Idris B. Muktar, allegedly accelerated to evade police. A pursuit ensued onto State Road 48 and back to U.S. 50.

According to Deddens, Muktar’s vehicle reached speeds of 115 to 120 mph before the pursuit was terminated near U.S. 50 and Dutch Hollow Road. The vehicle was later located abandoned on U.S. 50 with a broken rear passenger window, a Kelsey Chevrolet tag, a backpack inside, and shoe prints leading into the nearby woods.

Lawrenceburg Police deployed K9 Siri to track the suspect. A homeowner in the area told police that a black male in a blue jacket knocked on the door, claiming his car had broken down with his mother inside before running west toward U.S. 50.

Almost two hours after the pursuit started, Aurora Police located Muktar walking on U.S. 50 near Highbridge Road.

He was taken into custody and during a search, police found a lanyard around his neck with a Dodge key fob and two other broken fob pieces.

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Kelsey Chevrolet confirmed that a blue Dodge Charger was missing from the lot. The vehicle’s VIN matched the Charger found abandoned on U.S. 50. Security footage from the dealership showed a man breaking the Charger’s window, entering the vehicle, and driving it off the lot. Additional footage from White Castle revealed an orange Dodge Charger in the drive-thru, dropping off a man matching the description of the suspect.

Muktar is facing charges of Resisting Law Enforcement, Reckless Driving, Resisting Law Enforcement, Theft, Unlawful Entry into Motor Vehicle, Operating a Motor Vehicle w/o Ever Receiving a License, and Refusal to ldentify Self.

He is held in Dearborn County Jail on $200,000 surety and $7,500 cash bond.





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Kentucky's History at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center

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Kentucky's History at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center


Your University of Kentucky Wildcats are off to a new city, Food City, for their next SEC road challenge. The eighth-ranked Tennessee Vols await in Knoxville, where recent history has been good for Kentucky in this spot.

Before the game tips off, we look back at all of the history between Kentucky and Tennessee in the Vols’ home arena. Only the games Kentucky won, though, because we don’t need any negativity heading into Tuesday night.

Kentucky is unbeaten at Food City

Mar 9, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; The Kentucky Wildcats bench reacts to a three-pointer against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Technically, the Wildcats head to Food City Center with a 1-0 record. Last year, Antonio Reeves and Reed Sheppard scored 27 points each in Kentucky’s 85-81 win over the Vols in the Food City Center’s debut season. Unfortunately, it was the last win for that Kentucky team because it came in the regular season finale before a 0-2 run in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. Still, the record is the record, and Kentucky is unbeaten in Food City.

We’ll include all Thompson-Boling Arena games for the remainder of this exercise.

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Best Performance: Jodie Meeks

Jodie Meeks had the most memorable individual performance at Thompson-Boling Arena. Meeks’ day is arguably the best performance in any arena by a Wildcat, considering his 54 points on January 13, 2009, are still the school’s record for points in a single game.

Meeks broke Dan Issel’s 39-year-old record by hitting 15 of 22 shots from the field, including a school-record 10 made 3-pointers on 15 tries. He set the new record at the free throw line, where he was 14 of 14 in UK’s 90-72 win over the Vols.

Second-Best Performance: Tayshaun Prince

Before Meeks, Tayshaun Prince had Kentucky’s best game in Thompson-Boling Arena. Prince dropped 30 on the Vols in 2001, hitting six 3-pointers with only one miss. He went 9-13 from the field and made all six free throws to set a new career high in scoring in UK’s 103-95 win. The headline on early-internet ESPN.com read, “Prince is King.”

We can’t leave Kenny Walker out of this discussion. Walker scored 32 points with nine rebounds in Knoxville’s old Stokely Center, which was replaced by Thompson-Boling and eventually demolished. Walker led UK to a win in 1986, snapping a run of 12 losses in 13 trips to the Stokely Center.

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Win #1000

Another one from the old Stokely Center that’s worth mentioning before we keep our focus on Thompson-Boling (we’re making up the rules as we go). In January 1969, Kentucky became the first school to win 1,000 games by beating Tennessee in Knoxville. Dan Issel scored 21, Larry Steele 18, and Mike Pratt 17 in the 69-66 win over Ray Mears’ Vols. When Kentucky returned home, a celebration was held in Lexington before the following game, which included a cake with 1,000 candles.

Widest Margin of Victory

Feb 17, 1996; Knoxville, TN, USA; FILE PHOTO; Kentucky Wildcats guard Allen Edwards (3) in action against the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

The scoreboard has never been uglier for the Vols than in 1996 when Rick Pitino’s eventual national champion Wildcats beat Tennessee by 40 in Thompson-Boling Arena. Eight players scored between 7 and 13 points in a balanced offensive attack, while the defense shut down the Vols in Knoxville. Tennessee shot 37% from the field with 20 turnovers in the loss.

Most Assists

Wayne Turner scored 17 points in Kentucky’s 1998 win in Knoxville. However, it was his 11 assists, a career-high, that turned heads in the 85-67 win. Led by Turner’s double-double and a game-high 20 points from Scott Padgett, who was ejected, Kentucky ran away with a fun January win in Thompson-Boling, a couple of months shy of the NCAA Tournament championship.

Best Chest Bump

If you’re listing the best chest bumps in Kentucky Basketball history, it’s a list of one: Tubby Smith and Brandon Stockton at Tennessee in 2006. Smith and his senior guard met at midcourt for a chest-to-chest celebration after the buzzer sounded on Kentucky’s two-point win. Shortly before the bump, Stockton made the defensive play of the game with a late steal.

Back-to-back upsets against a top-five team

Kentucky was a heavy underdog in its last two trips to Knoxville. In 2023, Tennessee was ranked fifth in the country and laying 11.5 points to Kentucky when Antonio Reeves (18 points) and CJ Fredrick (13 points) stepped up with Oscar Tshiebwe (15 points and 13 rebounds) to help the unranked Wildcats pull off the upset. Kentucky was without point guard Sahvir Wheeler due to injury, and future NBA guard Cason Wallace battled injury and foul trouble throughout the game. Even Adou Thiero filled in at point guard, yet Kentucky got the win.

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Then, last season, Kentucky opened as a heavy underdog again, getting 9.5 points in the regular season finale in Knoxville. Reeves and Reed Sheppard broke in the new Food City Center with 27 points each in the upset of the fourth-ranked Vols. Kentucky hit 15 of 29 shots from 3, with Sheppard responsible for seven of the makes. Dalton Knecht scored 40 in the loss.

Other Kentucky memories in Thompson-Boling Arena

Feb 20, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Derrick Miller scored 23 points in Kentucky’s first-ever win in Thompson-Boling Arena.

— A young Scott Padgett had a career day at Tennessee in 1997, his sophomore season. Padgett scored a career-high 24 points for the defending champs in a 74-64 win in Knoxville.

— In 2004, Cliff Hawkins forced overtime by hitting a game-tying 3 with 16 seconds to go. Kentucky won in overtime, 69-68.

— A year after Hawkins’ heroics, Chuck Hayes‘ trip to a nearby hospital inspired Kentucky to another win in Thompson-Boling. Bobby Perry and Sheray Thomas stepped up when Hayes left with a broken nose halfway through UK’s 84-62 win.

Jules Camara hit a couple of big shots late in Kentucky’s 2003 win against Tennessee. The senior forward scored six straight down the stretch, including the go-ahead jumper with under a minute left.

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Kentucky’s 2020-21 team didn’t have many highlights in its nine-win season. However, the worst year in school history still managed to find a win against 19th-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville, and by a big margin. Kentucky won, 70-55, led by Isaiah Jackson with 16.



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Where is Kentucky women’s basketball in updated AP Top 25, new USA TODAY Coaches Poll?

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Where is Kentucky women’s basketball in updated AP Top 25, new USA TODAY Coaches Poll?


Kentucky women’s basketball went 1-1 last week and suffered its first SEC loss this season.

The Wildcats lost to host Texas A&M, 61-55, on Thursday. They shot under 40% for the second time this season. The Cats are now 0-2 when they score fewer than 60 points.

They bounced back with an 89-69 home victory over Arkansas on Sunday. They are 11-0 at home, their best home record to start the season since 2018-2019.

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All five Kentucky starters scored in double digits against Arkansas, and the Wildcats held the Razorbacks to a 36.1% field-goal percentage. In 14 of 18 games, the Wildcats have held their opponents to under 40% shooting.

The Wildcats (17-2, 6-1 SEC) dropped one spot to No. 12 in the AP Top 25.

UK will host Alabama at 7 p.m. Thursday at Memorial Coliseum.

This story will be updated with the USA TODAY Coaches Poll on Tuesday.

Reach sports reporter Prince James Story at pstory@gannett.com and follow him on X at @PrinceJStory.

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