–    Kentucky fell to No. 2/2 South Carolina on the road, 78-68.

–    The meeting was the 57th meeting between the two programs, with Kentucky falling to 33-24 in the all-time series.  South Carolina also won the previous matchup on Jan. 14, 73-62.

–    With the loss, UK moves to 15-6 on the season, including 4-6 within Southeastern Conference action.

–    Matthew Mitchell is in his ninth season with Kentucky and the setback moves him to 239-116 overall, including a 209-87 record while at Kentucky.

 

–    Kentucky shot 40.6% from the field on 28-of-69 shooting, while USC shot 52.0% on 26-of-50 from the field, marking consecutive games in which an SEC opponent has shot above a .500 clip after Florida broke a streak of 33 consecutive SEC games of UK keeping conference opponents under the mark on Jan. 31.

–    South Carolina was sent to the line 35 times, a season high free throws conceded by the Wildcats.  South Carolina also held the previous season high, at 25 attempts during the last meeting on Jan. 14.

–    South Carolina outrebounded the Wildcats 39-32, and held a 44-38 advantage in points scored in the paint.  Kentucky held the edge in bench points, 22-15.

–    UK committed 11 turnovers compared to South Carolina’s 17, converting those into 13 points.  The 11 turnovers are the second-fewest the Wildcats have given up this season.

–    The Wildcats trailed at the end of the first period, 15-11, shooting 29.4% while the Gamecocks connected on 50% of their shots.  

–    UK used a 5-0 run to take a lead, 21-20, with 5:53 remaining in the second period.  However, South Carolina would post a 9-0 run, with six points from free throws, keeping UK in a scoring drought for nearly two and a half minutes.

–    South Carolina led at the half, 35-30. The Wildcats were 12-of-31 from the field for 38.7%, while the Gamecocks were 11-of-26 for 42.3%.  

–    USC was sent to the line 16 times during the second period, converting the opportunities into 10 points.

–    UK was outscored in the paint 22-12, and was outrebounded 20-15 in the first half.  USC also held the advantage in points off turnovers, 11-5, and second chance points, 12-2.

–    Kentucky fought back in the third period to get within one point of the Gamecocks, led by 13 points from Makayla Epps. 

 

–    Makayla Epps led the team with 17 points, all of them coming in the second half.

o   With her fourth scored point, Epps became the 31st member of Kentucky’s 1,000 point club. She is the third-fastest UK player in the Matthew Mitchell era to reach 1,000 points. 

o Epps has scored at least 15 points in the second half in four straight games.

o Epps is the first UK Hoops player under Matthew Mitchell to score at least 17 points in five consecutive SEC games.

–    Batouly Camara scored a career-high 14 points and was just shy of her first career double-double, leading the team with nine rebounds.

–    Alexis Jennings added 12 points.  

o   With four free throws on as many attempts, Jennings continues her streak of consecutive free throws within conference play, going 24-of-24 from the charity stripe since entering SEC action.

–    Maci Morris scored 10 points, going to the line a career-high five times.