Kentucky Women’s Basketball Postgame Notes
FINAL: Washington 85, #12/13 Kentucky 72
Rupp Arena – Lexington, Ky.
March 25, 2016
Team Records and Series Notes
? Kentucky bowed out of the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16, with an 85-72 loss to No. 7-seeded Washington in the Lexington Regional.
? UK now trails the all-time series against the Huskies, 0-2.
? The Wildcats end the season at 25-8 (10-6 SEC), while the Huskies advance to the Elite Eight with a 25-10 record.
? With the loss, Matthew Mitchell is now 249-118 overall and 219-89 in his nine-year tenure at Kentucky. Mitchell is 14-7 in the NCAA Tournament and 34-19 in the months of March and April.
? This was Kentucky’s 13th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including a school-record seventh straight. The Wildcats are 19-13 all-time in the event, including 2-1 this season.
? The Wildcats were the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Lexington Regional and hold a 4-3 all-time record as the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
? Kentucky was one of nine schools from the Southeastern Conference to be awarded a bid into the NCAA Tournament, tying an NCAA Tournament record for most teams from the same conference in the event.
Game Notes
? Kentucky started with Batouly Camara, Janee Thompson, Maci Morris, Evelyn Akhator and Makayla Epps for the 13th straight game. UK is 10-3 with this lineup.
? Kentucky had not lost to an unranked team while ranked at home since a 71-69 setback to Vanderbilt on Jan. 28.
? Washington hit 11 3-pointers, tying a UK opponent NCAA Tournament record.
? The Huskies shot 49.3% (33-of-67) from the field, including a .594 clip in the second half. The Wildcats shot at a .400 clip on 32-of-80 shooting.
? UK outrebounded UW, 44-42, but the Huskies had a 37-31 edge in defensive boards.
? The Wildcats had a slight advantage in paint points, 38-34.
? Kentucky shot a season-low 33% from the free throw line, going 3-of-9 from the charity stripe.
? Kentucky trailed at the end of the first quarter, 16-11, with Washington’s lead fueled by a 4-of-8 effort from 3-point range.
? UK shot 21.7% (5-of-23) in the opening stanza.
? Washington took a 33-20 lead courtesy of a 9-0 run in the second quarter.
? UK retaliated with an 8-0 run to get within five points with two minutes to play in the half, trailing 33-28.
? Kentucky kept within five points by the close of the half, trailing 35-30. The Wildcats shot 32.5 (13-40) in the opening half, while UW shot 40.0% (14-of-35).
? Evelyn Akhator had already notched 10 rebounds to lead the Cats in outrebounding the Huskies, 26-20.
? The Huskies outscored the Wildcats 28-19 in the third quarter to take a 63-49 lead going into the final 10 minutes.
? UK outscored UW 23-22 in the final quarter, but Washington ended the game on an 11-6 run in the final minute and a half to seal the game.
Kentucky NCAA Tournament Records
? Makayla Epps had the fifth 30-point performance in UK NCAA Tournament history, and broke the UK tournament record for field goals attempted, with 26.
? Evelyn Akhator tied the UK NCAA Tournament record for rebounds, with 14.
? Washington had a UK opponent tournament-low seven turnovers.
? Washington tied the UK opponent tournament record for 3-pointers made, with 11, and broke the 3-pointers attempted record with 28.
? UW’s Talia Walton broke the UK opponent tournament record for field goals attempted, with 25, and tied the record for 3-pointers attempted, with nine.
? Washington’s Chantel Osahor tied the UK opponent tournament record for 3-pointers made, with 4.
Individual Notes
? Makayla Epps led the team with 30 points, becoming the fifth Wildcat to score 30+ points in an NCAA Tournament game and is the first since A’dia Mathies dropped 34 against Dayton on March 26, 2013.
o The 30 points were a season high for the junior guard, who also added five rebounds and four assists.
o Epps dropped 17 points in the second half, marking the first time a UK player had accomplished the feat since Epps scored 17 at South Carolina on Feb. 4.
o She ends the season with 546 points, which are the ninth-most scored by a Wildcat in a single season
? Evelyn Akhator recorded the 13th double-double of her career with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
o Her effort on the boards tied a UK NCAA Tournament record, matching Samarie Walker’s effort vs. Wright State on March 22, 2014.
o She ended the season with 316 rebounds, which rank seventh on UK’s single-season list.
o Her 13 double-doubles are tied for the 12th-most in a career.
? Janee Thompson netted 11 points and five assists.
o The lone senior ends her career with 1,0124 points, tying the 30th-most points scored in a career on Kentucky’s all-time list.
o She also tallied 347 assists, which rank 10th in program laurels.
? Alexis Jennings had her seventh career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, adding Kentucky’s lone block.
? Maci Morris ends the season with 49 made 3-pointers, which are the second-most by a freshman in school history.
? Batouly Camara ends her rookie season with 142 rebounds, tying the ninth-most by a UK freshman.
? Taylor Murray recorded 56 steals on the season, good for fourth all-time by a Kentucky rookie.
