Kentucky Women’s Basketball Postgame Notes
No. 17/17 Kentucky vs. Alabama
Coleman Coliseum – Tuscaloosa, Ala. 
 
No. 17/17 Kentucky 68, Alabama 53 – FINAL
 
Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky moves to 20-5 on the year and 7-4 in the league while Alabama is now 11-13, 3-8 in the SEC.
  • The Wildcats will return to action Sunday vs. Arkansas at 2 p.m. ET inside Memorial Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ while Darren Headrick will have the call on radio on the UK Sports Network.
• Kentucky leads the all-time series against Alabama, 31-17, including an 12-10 mark in games played in Tuscaloosa.
  • The Wildcats have won seven straight games against the Crimson Tide, including five straight in Tuscaloosa.

• UK is now 818-537 all-time in its 45 years as a program.
  • Matthew Mitchell is in his 12th year with the Wildcats and holds a 276-122 record. Mitchell is 306-151 overall in 14 years as a head coach.
• Kentucky has won 20 games for the 19th time in program history with nine of those 20-win seasons coming under head coach Matthew Mitchell.
  • This is UK’s ninth 20-win season in the last 10 years.
• Kentucky is ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 17 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25.

 
Team Notes

• Kentucky used the starting combination of senior guard Taylor Murray, senior guard Maci Morris, freshman guard Rhyne Howard, sophomore forward KeKe McKinney and sophomore forward Tatyana Wyatt.
  • The Wildcats are 18-4 with those starting five this season.
• UK ended the first quarter with a running bucket by Maci Morris and started the second quarter with seven straight points to grab a 22-13 lead with 8:41 left in the second quarter and force an Alabama timeout.
  • Kentucky would get the first-half lead to 11 at 29-18 with 5:59 left in the half but Alabama would respond by outscoring UK the rest of the half, 11-4.
• Kentucky outscored Alabama 19-6 in the third quarter. Six points ties the fewest that Alabama has scored in a quarter this season.
  • UK went 7-of-14 from the field and 2-of-2 from long range in the third quarter.
• Alabama answered by doubling that output with 12 points in the first 3:30 of the fourth quarter.
• Five of Kentucky’s seven wins in conference play have come by double digits this season.
  • UK has won three straight league games, which is its longest winning streak in league play this season.
• UK shot 46.4 percent from the field and are now 14-0 this season when they shoot a higher percentage than its opponent.
• The Wildcats held Alabama to 53 points and have now held two of its last three opponents to 53 points or less.
• UK had 15 steals in the game, which tied the most steals in an SEC game for UK this season.
  • UK also had 15 steals against Vanderbilt.

 
Player Notes

• Senior guard Maci Morris scored 17 points with three rebounds and hit two 3s.  

  • Morris now has 1,597 career points, which ranks eighth most in program history. She needs 1 more point to tie Pam Browning for 7th all-time in school history in points scored.
  • Morris has 239 career 3-pointers made which ranks second in program history. She needs 32 more 3s to tie Sara Potts for most all-time.
  • Morris has hit at least one 3-pointer in 102 of 121 career games played.
• Senior guard Taylor Murray scored six points with three assists and three steals.
  • Murray now has 1,259 career points and ranks 20th all-time in points scored. She needs 59 more points to tie Bria Goss for 19th with 1,318. 
  • Murray has 417 career assists which ranks seventh most in program history. She needs 8 more to tie Amber Smith for sixth all-time in program history.
  • Murray has 265 career steals which ranks sixth most in program history. She needs 7 more steals to move into the top five in program history.

• Freshman guard Rhyne Howard scored a game-high 23 points, hitting four 3s with three steals and three rebounds.  

  • Howard has hit four of more 3s in seven games this season.
  • Howard has scored 403 points this season which ranks fourth most by a freshman in a season in program history. She needs 10 more point to tie Maria Donhoof for third. She needs 238 more points to tie Valerie Still for the program record.
  • Howard has hit 60 3-pointers this season, which is the most ever by a true freshman in a single season in program history.
  • She has 53 steals, which ranks sixth most by a freshman in program history.
• Freshman guard Blair Green scored six points hitting two clutch 3s in the second half. 
  • Green has hit at least one 3 in three straight games and four of the last five games.
• Sophomore forward Tatyana Wyatt scored 10 points in the game with two rebounds.
  • Wyatt’s 10 points were the second most in a league game this season.