KENTUCKY WBB POSTGAME NOTES
Kentucky at Florida
Exactech Arena – Gainesville, Fla.
Jan. 11, 2018
 
FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 56, Florida 53
 
Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 9-9 overall, 1-3 in Southeastern Conference play this season, while Florida is 8-9, 0-4 SEC.
  • The win snapped an eight game losing streak for UK.
• Matthew Mitchell is in his 11th season as head coach at Kentucky.
  • Tonight’s game marked his 250th win at UK.
  • He is the winningest head coach in program history at 250-109.
  • The only other Kentucky basketball head coaches with 250 wins at UK are Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Tubby Smith and John Calipari.
• Kentucky leads the all-time series in games played against Florida, 30-25.
  • Tonight’s win was UK’s first in Gainesville since Jan. 1, 2012 when UK earned a 59-56 victory.
• The Wildcats will return to play Monday, Jan. 15, traveling to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be shown live on SEC Network and broadcast on the UK Sports Radio Network with Darren Headrick calling the action.

 
Team Notes

• Kentucky used the starting combination of senior Alyssa Rice, senior Makenzie Cann, junior Taylor Murray, junior Maci Morris and freshman Tatyana Wyatt.

  • UK is 1-2 with that starting-five combination.
  • Wyatt’s previous two starts came against FGCU and Miami (Fla.).
• The Wildcats started the game on a 7-0 run, holding Florida scoreless for the first 3:50 of the game.
  • Florida ended the first quarter on an 8-0, and extended that to a 10-0 run in the second.
  • Kentucky led by as many as nine points in the first period.
• UK headed to halftime with a 20-18 lead over the Gators, as both teams scored in single digits in the second quarter.
  • The Wildcats are now 8-2 this season when leading at the half.
  • It was Kentucky’s first halftime lead in SEC play this season.
• The Gators got hot from beyond the arc in the third quarter, going 7-of-12 from 3 to take a 39-36 lead at the end of the stanza.
• Kentucky regained the lead with 7:51 to go in the fourth quarter as Taylor Murray got an and-one opportunity to put the Cats ahead 42-40.
• With 54 seconds remaining in the game, Murray made a 3-pointer to put the Cats up five, their largest lead of the second half.
• Florida responded with back-to-back layups to come within one with just six seconds left, but would come no further.
• The Wildcats shot an impressive 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from the floor in the final quarter, while holding UF to 35.3 percent (6-of-17).
• UK’s bench outscored Florida’s 23-4.

 
Player Notes

• Taylor Murray led the Wildcats in scoring with 19 points, going 8-of-12 from the floor.

  • Her eight made field goals matched her season high.
  • It was her first double-digit scoring performance since posting 19 points vs. FGCU on Dec. 8.
  • It’s the fourth time she’s led UK in scoring this season.
  • Murray recorded a game-high three steals.
  • She also matched team highs with six rebounds and two assists.
• Amanda Paschal scored a career-high 12 points, playing a career-high 21 minutes.
  • It was just the second double-digit scoring game of her Kentucky career.
• Maci Morris scored five points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds in 20 minutes.
  • The junior played limited minutes, still dealing with a knee bone bruise.
• Tatyana Wyatt recorded six points and six boards for UK.
  • Her six defensive rebounds were a career high.
  • The freshman played a career-high 33 minutes.