Unfortunately, I did not travel with the team as Matthew Mitchell and the Kentucky Wildcats followed an upset of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers with a gritty 66-58 win over No. 24 South Carolina on Sunday. The comeback victory moved UK Hoops into sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference heading into yet another tough game looming at No. 19 Georgia on Thursday.Before thinking too much about that upcoming matchup, here are a couple links to help you enjoy UK Hoops’ unprecedented start to the SEC season:UK women escape South Carolina, reach top of SEC (Jennifer Smith, Lexington Herald-Leader)

Kentucky, which moved to 5-0 in the SEC for the first time in program history, had to overcome a nine-point deficit midway through the second half. It was the Cats’ largest deficit in a conference game this season.They had to overcome star player A’dia Mathies being hounded by double teams and benched by foul trouble.They had to overcome their second-leading scorer going without a basket the entire game.But they got over the hurdles to earn their fifth straight win and their second on the road in the SEC, with a game at No. 19 Georgia looming Thursday.“We’re taking these one precious moment at a time,” Mitchell said. “Every win we can generate is tough to get, and it’s precious.”

Kentucky on top of the SEC (Mechelle Voepel, ESPN.com)

While Kentucky’s win over Tennessee drew bigger headlines for obvious reasons, the victory over the Gamecocks was quite significant, too. Kentucky had lost on its last two visits to South Carolina.It was a big contrast in styles Sunday afternoon: Kentucky, which came in averaging 81.1 points per game versus coach Dawn Staley’s South Carolina squad, which was at 61.8. Mitchell, in his fifth year running the show in Lexington, was concerned heading into the contest.“Every time that we’ve gone to Columbia, it’s been a difficult game for us,” he said. “Because Dawn always has the team prepared, they play with great energy, and their defense is always tough.”