No. 9 Kentucky Falls to Second-Ranked South Carolina

Makayla Epps and Janee Thompson each scored 16 points, but it was not enough as No. 2 South Carolina topped ninth-ranked Kentucky 73-62 on Thursday night at Memorial Coliseum.

Kentucky raced out to a 16-8 lead in the first quarter, led by Epps, who scored seven points in the first stanza. South Carolina was able to cut into the lead in the second quarter, but the Wildcats still led 32-28 at the break.

South Carolina (16-0, 4-0 SEC) took its first lead of the game late in the third quarter behind the play of A’ja Wilson, who finished the game with 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocked shots for the Gamecocks.

Kentucky took its final lead of the game on a jumper by Evelyn Akhator with 9:37 remaining. From there, South Carolina was able to grow its lead to as many as 15 before settling for an 11-point victory.

The Wildcats got seven points and 10 rebounds from freshman Batouly Camara, as well as eight points and six rebounds from Alexis Jennings.

Kentucky returns to action on Sunday, hosting Auburn at Memorial Coliseum. The game is scheduled to tip at 1 p.m. ET and can be seen on the SEC Network.