‘This is a team you do not want to miss.’ UK’s Elzy revs up crowd at Big Blue Madness.

Big Blue Madness returned to its natural home Friday night, and the Kentucky women’s basketball team was more than willing to put on a show.

The signature event that serves as the ceremonial start of the Kentucky men’s and women’s basketball seasons, last year’s Big Blue Madness was a television-only production held without fans inside Memorial Coliseum.

On Friday, the event returned to Rupp Arena, with fans and recruits on hand to witness the proceedings.

The 2021 edition of Big Blue Madness was the first for UK women’s head coach Kyra Elzy as the team’s full-time coach. Last year’s event occurred after former coach Matthew Mitchell resigned, but while Elzy was still just the team’s interim coach.

Elzy was appointed on a permanent basis last December, before guiding the Wildcats to a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

At her first traditional Big Blue Madness, Elzy made quite the entrance.

During the women’s basketball team’s introductions, Elzy rappelled from the Rupp Arena ceiling, giving her a signature moment after Mitchell made his introductory dance an iconic part of the event.

After she returned to the ground, Elzy also briefly addressed the Rupp Arena crowd. The arena had a noticeable number of vacant seats for the event early in the night, despite tickets being sold out.

“We need y’all to help us pack out Memorial Coliseum this year. This is a team you do not want to miss,” Elzy shouted. “I’m asking you to commit to it.”

With Elzy’s feet safely back on the hardwood, and after she led the crowd in a Go Big Blue chant, the team took part in team and individual three-point shooting contests, as well as a brief five-on-five scrimmage.

In the individual three-point shooting contest, Blair Green topped a field that also included Rhyne Howard, Emma King and Treasure Hunt.

The rosters for the five-on-five team scrimmage saw Hunt, Howard, King, Dre’Una Edwards and Jada Walker grouped together, playing against a team of Jazmine Massengill, Robyn Benton, Olivia Owens, Nyah Leveretter and Green.

The lone player on the UK roster that didn’t take part in the scrimmage was freshman walk-on Kristen Crenshaw-Gill, who earned a roster spot during open tryouts in September and was formally announced as a member of the team this week.

Throughout the evening, several members of the Kentucky team took part in the SEC Network broadcast of the event, with Elzy being interviewed during the scrimmage.

In addition to the on-court display, Friday was also a key night for the Wildcats from a recruiting standpoint.

“I’m looking for high-character athletes that want to achieve academic success,” Elzy told the Herald-Leader in July. “We have always been a blue-collar, roll-up-your-sleeves, go-to-work type of program, so it was really important to make sure that was the type of kid that we were finding at Kentucky.”

Here are the recruits Kentucky hosted at Friday’s Big Blue Madness, with the players organized by class.

Class of 2022

Cassidy Jo Rowe: Now a senior point guard at Shelby Valley High School in Pike County, Rowe committed to the Wildcats back in August 2018. Rowe committed to Kentucky under Mitchell, but it appears her relationship with Elzy is progressing just fine: The pair spent time together in September hiking in southeastern Kentucky. Rowe has suffered two separate ACL injuries, one to each knee, during her high school career.

Class of 2023

Sole Williams: A guard from Princeton High School in Sharonville, Ohio. Williams is listed as a four-star recruit by ESPN. She was offered by Kentucky in July 2020.

Aylasia Fantroy: A combo guard from Palestine High School in Palestine, Texas.

Monica Williams: A guard from Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis. Williams has received offers from UNC Wilmington and Ball State, among others.

Abigail Holtman: A combo guard from Ryle High School in Union. Holtman plays for the Kentucky Premier EYBL program and has offers from several local schools including Bellarmine, Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky and Murray State.

Jadyn Donovan: A shooting guard/wing from Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. Donovan is listed as a five-star recruit by ESPN. She was a member of the 2021 USA Basketball under-16 national team, and averaged more than 12 points per game with six rebounds per game as the USA won the 2021 FIBA Americas under-16 championship.

Mari Bickley: A guard from Laurel High School in Shaker Heights, Ohio. She was offered by Kentucky in July 2019.

Class of 2024

Jaloni Cambridge: A point guard from The Ensworth School in Nashville, Tennessee. Cambridge has offers from Arizona, Auburn and Oregon, among others. Cambridge is rated as a five-star recruit by ESPN. She was offered by Kentucky in July 2019. Cambridge was also part of the 2021 FIBA Americas under-16 championship-winning team with the United States.

Ramiya White: A center from Mercy Academy in Louisville. White has offers from the likes of Miami (Fla.), Rutgers and West Virginia. White took an unofficial visit to Kentucky in June.

Trinity Rowe: A point guard from Pikeville High School. Rowe had an unofficial visit to Kentucky in June.

Sarah Baker: A center from Ryle High School. Baker has offers from Eastern Kentucky and Marshall, among others.

Shaelyn Steele: A point guard from Russell High School. Like Baker, Steele has offers from Eastern Kentucky and Marshall, among others.

Class of 2025

Leah Macy: A wing and power forward from Bardstown High School. Macy had an unofficial visit to Kentucky in August, and soon afterward was offered a scholarship. Macy plays for the Kentucky Premier EYBL program, and previously played for Eliza­beth­town High School.

Zakiyah Johnson: A guard/wing from Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville. Johnson received an offer from Kentucky in July 2020 and also visited UK in June 2021. Johnson previously played at Shelby County High School in Shelbyville. Johnson also plays for the Kentucky Premier EYBL program.

Class of 2026

Ariyana Cradle: A point guard from Ohio. Cradle received an offer from UK and visited Kentucky in June.