One Young Kentucky Fan Shows Girl Power in Rupp Arena Halftime Show

This one’s for the girl who stole the show at Rupp Arena Thursday night.

Many non-conference November Kentucky basketball games fail to provide the energy we’re used to seeing at the home of the Wildcats. That was exactly the case when South Carolina State came to Lexington. The first ten minutes of the game did not produce many fireworks as the Bulldogs hung around and kept it within four points.

The Wildcats gained more momentum late in the first half thanks to a couple of break-away dunks by Jacob Toppin and Oscar Tshiebwe that brought the home crowd to its feet. They were impressive, but it paled in comparison to what one little girl did during the Rupp Arena halftime show.

Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, the fine folks at Kroger sponsored a game of musical turkeys. Five contestants circled four giant beanbags at midcourt until they heard a turkey call. The sound prompted them to sprint to the basket, hit a shot, then return to jump on the beanbags, a la musical chairs.

Four of the participants were boys. Ava Fugate was better than them all. When she jumped into the beanbag one final time victoriously, the crowd erupted in its loudest applause of the young 2022-23 basketball season. It was a Rupp Arena halftime show to remember.

Ava got a standing ovation, a Kroger cart full of Thanksgiving food and a Kentucky basketball win. Not too shabby.

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