KENTUCKY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
No. 17 Kentucky vs. No. 15 Duke
Cameron Indoor Stadium – Durham, N.C.
Dec. 29, 2016
FINAL SCORE: No. 17 Kentucky 54, No. 15 Duke 69
Team Records and Series Notes
– Matthew Mitchell is in his 10th season with Kentucky. Mitchell is 257-122 overall as a head coach and 227-93 during his tenure at Kentucky.
– Currently, UK is No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 23 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25. Kentucky has been ranked in both the USA Today/Coaches’ Top 25 and The Associated Press Top 25 since week 13 of the 2009-10 season, which is a program-record streak of 140 weeks.
– With today’s loss, Duke holds a 6-2 overall series record over the Wildcats.
o UK is now 0-3 vs. Duke in Durham.
o This is the sixth meeting between the two schools in as many years. Last season, the Wildcats earned a 71-61 victory on Dec. 20 inside Rupp Arena.
– Kentucky will return to action Sunday, Jan. 1 at 4 p.m. ET, when the Wildcats head to Knoxville, Tenn. to open Southeastern Conference play against the Tennessee Lady Vols. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and on the UK Sports Radio Network in Lexington on 630AM WLAP.
Team Notes
– Kentucky used the starting five of Makayla Epps, Evelyn Akhator, Maci Morris, Alyssa Rice and Taylor Murray.
o UK is 6-2 this season with that starting-five combination.
o It was the first time the Wildcats had used those five since Dec. 1 against Oklahoma.
– With today’s loss, UK concludes non-conference play with a 9-4 overall record.
o In the latest NCAA RPI report, UK has the third toughest schedule in the nation.
– The Wildcats are now 0-2 against ACC teams after falling to in-state rival Louisville on Dec. 4.
– UK also falls to 0-3 on the road this season.
– Kentucky was plagued by shooting woes in the fourth quarter, posting its lowest field-goal percentage of the season at 30.0 percent (18-of-60).
o This was the first time the Cats have shot 30 percent or lower since April 1, 2013, when UK shot 30.6 percent (19-of-62) against UConn.
o UK went just 6-of-34 (17.6 percent) from the floor in the second half.
– The Cats capitalized on 21 forced turnovers, scoring 21 points off those turnovers.
o Duke had just 18 forced turnovers which they scored 13 points off of.
– Defensively, UK limited Duke – who entered the game averaging over 80 points per game to just 69 points.
Individual Notes
– Taylor Murray led the team with 18 points to go along with four rebounds, one assist and one steal in her first game back from injury.
o The sophomore tied a season-high two 3-pointers made on two-of-two 3-point shooting.
o Murray missed the previous two games due to a pinky injury.
– Makayla Epps had 12 points, three boards, three steals and two assists in the game.
o With today’s performance, Epps needs just 43 points (1,487 total) to enter Kentucky’s top-10 scorers in school history, as her total is currently 1,434 which is 15th in UK history.
– Maci Morris added 11 points, three rebounds, one block and one steal.
o Seven of Morris’ 11 points came in the second half.
– Evelyn Akhator grabbed 15 rebounds and four steals for the Wildcats.
o Despite her excellent defensive efforts, she scored a season-low one point.
– Makenzie Cann posted five points, five steals and four rebounds.
o Her five steals mark a career-high, as her previous high was three which she set against No. 14 Miami in the season opener on Nov. 11.
– Jess Hardin added three points with just one 3-point attempt.
o Hardin has made a 3 in eight-of-13 games this season.
– Jaida Roper scored two points to go along with one steal in just six minutes of action.
