Makayla Epps Named SEC Player of the Week

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After scoring 52 points with 19 rebounds and 11 assists combined last week against two top-15 teams in Oklahoma and Louisville, University of Kentucky women’s basketball senior guard Makayla Epps has been named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week. 

This is the first weekly honor of the season for Epps, who has been named SEC Player of the Week by the league office three times in her career. Fellow senior Evelyn Akhator was named the SEC Player of the Week in early November. 

The award comes after Epps’ impressive performances against No. 12 Oklahoma and No. 7 Louisville last week. The senior guard started the week with a season-best 30 points against the Sooners, including 12 points in the first quarter. Epps, who was 12-of-19 from the field against Oklahoma, added five assists, two steals and a block in Kentucky’s 82-68 victory.  

The native of Lebanon, Ky., played well in Kentucky’s nail-biting overtime loss to No. 7 Louisville. Epps scored 22 points, adding a career-high 16 rebounds with six assists and three steals in a career-high 45 minutes played against the in-state rival. Overall on the week, Epps shot at a .526 clip with 52 points, 19 rebounds, 11 assists, one block and five steals. 

Epps, who has scored 1,362 career points to rank 15th on UK’s all-time scoring list, is off to a great start this season for the Wildcats. The senior is averaging a team-best 19.4 points per game and leads the team with 42 assists and 14 steals. Epps has scored in double figures in every game but one this season, including four games with 20-plus points. 

Epps earned lofty praise this preseason after averaging 17.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists last season. She has been named to several national player of the year watch lists, including the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List, Naismith Trophy Top 50 and Wade Trophy Watch List. Epps was named to College Sports Madness’ and The Sporting News’ Preseason All-America First Team, Athlon Sports Preseason All-America Second Team and was named Preseason All-SEC by league media and league coaches. Last season, Epps earned honorable-mention All-America honors by both The Associated Press and WBCA.

For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, or Kentucky Women’s Basketball on Facebook.