Feb. 8, 2015
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery
Team Records and Series Notes
- Kentucky improves to 18-5 overall, 7-3 in the SEC, while Vanderbilt falls to 13-10, 4-7 SEC.
- Kentucky moves to 730-491 (66.3) all-time in 41 seasons of varsity women’s basketball and 167-143 (61.1) in the month of February.
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Matthew Mitchell, UK’s all-time winningest coach, improves to 218-105 overall, 189-76 at UK.
- Mitchell is now 78-40 in SEC play and 9-3 vs. Vanderbilt.
- This was the 48th meeting between the programs since UK began women’s basketball as a varsity sport in 1974-75.
- Vanderbilt still leads the all-time series 27-21, and 14-7 in Nashville.
- UK has won the last eight meetings between the two sides, and three straight in Nashville.
- This is the longest winning streak in the series for Kentucky.
- Marked the third-largest margin of victory over the Commodores in Nashville (14 points) (won by 22 points on 2/10/2013 and won by 21 points on 1/23/1983).
- Today’s attendance was 4,235.
- Next up: UK will play host No. 17/19 Mississippi State in Memorial Coliseum Thursday night. The game will tip at 7 p.m. ET and be shown live on the SEC Network.
First Half Notes
- UK started with the lineup of Linnae Harper, Makayla Epps, Bria Goss, Alyssa Rice and Jelléah Sidney for the second time this season.
- This lineup is now 3-0.
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Makayla Epps led UK in scoring with 13 points in the first half.
- Was 6-of-10 from the floor and 1-of-1 from the free-throw line.
- The Wildcats shot 48.4 percent from the floor (15-of-31).
- Kentucky went on a 6-0 run to begin the game, forcing a VU timeout less than a minute into the game.
- UK is now 10-2 when leading at halftime this season, including 5-2 in SEC play.
Second Half Notes
- UK began the second half with four of its original starting five with Makayla Epps, Bria Goss, Alyssa Rice, Linnae Harper and Jelleah Sidney.
- UK outscored Vanderbilt 50-37 in the second half.
- Kentucky hit 14-of-35 for 40 percent, while Vanderbilt was 12-of-30 for 40.0 percent.
- UK went 19-of-20 from the free-throw line in the second half for 95.0 percent.
- Linnae Harper scored 16 of her 22 points in the second half.
Team/Game Notes
- UK improves to 320-21 (.945) overall and 74-3 (.961) under Matthew Mitchell when scoring 80 or more points. UK is 8-0 this season with netting 80 or more.
- Second straight game UK has scored 80 points.
- UK won the rebounding battle for the third straight game, 39-33. UK is now 9-3 overall and 3-2 in the SEC when outrebounding the opponent.
- UK hit a season-high 91.3 percent (21-of-23) from the charity stripe.
- Marked the best free-throw percentage in an SEC road game (min. 20 attempts) in the Matthew Mitchell Era (91.3%).
- Kentucky forced Vanderbilt into 25 turnovers, scoring 29 points off those turnovers, a season high for the Wildcats.
- UK is now 17-4 this season when forcing double-digit turnovers.
- UK has forced 20 or more turnovers in 20 of 23 games, including four of the last five.
- UK has forced 25 turnovers in its last two games.
- Kentucky shot 43.9 percent from the floor.
- Marked UK highest FG% since shooting 45.5 percent vs. Alabama in the SEC opener.
- Fourth SEC game this season shooting over 40 percent from the floor.
Individual Notes
- Sophomore Linnae Harper led Kentucky with 22 points.
- Tied her career and season high set on Nov. 28 vs. Oklahoma in the Paradise Jam.
- Now has 15 games in double figures this season and five of the last six games.
- Second career game scoring 20-plus points.
- Scored 16 of her 22 points in the second half.
- Also added six rebounds and three assists.
- Sophomore Makayla Epps scored 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor.
- 19th time this season she has scored in double figures, and sixth in a row.
- Added to her team-leading 66 assists with two more.
- Senior Bria Goss was UK’s third-leading scorer with 13 points.
- Went a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw stripe, setting a season high.
- Had five rebounds and a steal in 31 minutes on the floor.
- Senior Jennifer O’Neill scored 12 points off the bench, including a clutch and-one 3-pointer in the second half.
- Fifth straight game scoring in double figures and 19th of the season.
- Has 10-plus points in 10 of the last 11 games this season.
- Now has at least one 3-pointer in 13 straight games.
- Scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half, including the 3-point FG plus a foul.
- Dished out a game-high and season-high tying five assists.
- Freshman Alyssa Rice charted a career-high nine points and three blocks in 17 minutes of action.
- Her previous high in points was seven points vs. Georgia on Feb. 1.
- Junior Jelleah Sidney grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, just two shy of her career high.
- Her five defensive rebounds were a season high.