Though it was no culmination of the season or retribution for the loss to South Carolina a month ago, Sunday’s 71-50 victory over South Carolina seemed so sweet.
“I’ve had the good fortune of being a part of some wins over my career and none is more satisfying that today,” head coach Matthew Mitchell said.
Because for two seniors, it was a grander exit than they could have ever dreamed. After three difficult seasons at the University of Kentucky, Amani Franklin and Lydia Watkins walked off the Memorial Coliseum floor for the final time in their careers with a mark that nobody can ever take away:
Perfection.
With the help of Watkins (10 points and six rebounds) and Franklin (nine points and nine rebounds), UK became just the second team in school history to go undefeated at home. The Cats notched 17 straight victories on the season, winning by a margin of 27.8 points per game.
“We’ve worked extremely hard on a few levels,” Mitchell said. “One is trying to make these players understand how special it is to play at Kentucky and the opportunity they have to be Kentucky Wildcats. There is no greater opportunity you have than to put on your jersey in front of your fans and play in this storied building. I think we’re very fortunate to do that.”
It was fitting then that a season-high crowd and sixth largest in Memorial Coliseum of 7,742 fans showed up Sunday to celebrate the seniors’ season and record-breaking year. It was one final push of momentum from the home crowd before the Cats embark on what will likely be their first NCAA Tournament appearance in four years.
Afterwards, a choked up Mitchell thanked the fans for their support and dedicated the victory to his seniors.
“Our players understand that it’s important to play well at home,” Mitchell said. “We’re trying to create a very tough home-court advantage. The more games you win, that helps you accomplish that. For 17 times they were able to find a way to get motivated to win. To me, it’s a tremendous sign of progress in our program. We beat some really good teams on that floor this year.”
A lot of really good teams that were supposed to be better than UK.
That Cats were picked to finish 11th in the conference at the beginning of the season but sit in sole possession of second place with two games to go, thanks in large part to the undefeated home schedule.
It’s why, even when the season isn’t over yet, it was OK to step back on Sunday and celebrate the accomplishment. After achieving perfection for just the second time in school history, they deserved it.
“We started out a team that was not expected to do very well by people outside this building,” Mitchell said. “We had a lot of confidence in our players. It’s a credit to them for understanding how hard we have to work. We were not going to blow people’s door off on talent alone. It just shows you what a group of people who can get committed to each other and play for each other can accomplish.”
