KENTUCKY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
No. 15 Kentucky vs. Middle Tennessee
Memorial Coliseum – Lexington, Ky.
Dec. 9, 2016
FINAL SCORE: No. 15 Kentucky 61, Middle Tennessee 48
Team Records and Series Notes
– Matthew Mitchell is in his 10th season with Kentucky. Mitchell is 256-120 overall as a head coach and 226-91 during his tenure at Kentucky.
– Currently, UK is No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 18 in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25. Kentucky has been ranked in both the USA Today/Coaches’ Top 25 and The Associated Press Top 25 since week 13 of the 2009-10 season, which is a program-record streak of 137 weeks.
– Kentucky leads the all-time series 15-4 against the Blue Raiders, including a 9-1 edge in games played in Lexington.
o UK has now won the last five meetings between the two programs.
o Last season, the Wildcats earned a 68-52 victory in Murfreesboro.
– Kentucky will return to action Sunday, Dec. 11 at 1 p.m. ET, when the Wildcats host Arizona State inside Rupp Arena. The game will be broadcast live on SEC Network and on the UK Sports Radio Network in Lexington on 630AM WLAP.
Team Notes
– Kentucky used the starting five of Makayla Epps, Evelyn Akhator, Maci Morris, Makenzie Cann and Taylor Murray.
o UK is 1-1 this season with that starting-five combination.
– Tonight’s win brings UK’s record to 7-2 overall.
– With tonight’s victory, Kentucky is 58-31 against Conference USA opponents.
– After Middle Tennessee had stretched its lead to 23-16 early in the second quarter, Kentucky went on a 11-0 run to regain a 27-23 lead and would not relinquish the lead again.
o Kentucky has recorded eleven 10-0 or more runs this season.
– Kentucky dominated the boards, outrebounding the Blue Raiders 44-22.
o The +22 rebounding margin was Kentucky’s largest of the season.
– UK controlled the paint, posting 34 points in the paint to Middle Tennessee’s 20.
– The Wildcats held Middle Tennessee to only 17 points in the second half, which is the lowest second-half scoring performance from a UK opponent this season.
o UK also held the Blue Raiders to 10 or less points in both the third (10) and fourth (7) quarter, which is the first time Kentucky has held an opponent to 10 or less in consecutive quarters this season.
o The last time UK held an opponent to 10 or less points in consecutive quarters was March 19, 2016, when Kentucky held UNC Ashville to only five points in both the second and fourth quarter and only 10 points in the third.
o Middle Tennessee scored 18 points in the first quarter but only 17 points in the second half.
– The game marked the first in which the Wildcats did not make a 3-pointer since Nov. 27, 2014, when UK went 0-of-6 from long range against Illinois.
o UK was 0-of-9 from beyond the arc in tonight’s contest.
– UK’s 61 points represent its lowest scoring total of the season as its lowest prior to tonight’s game came Dec. 4 against Louisville when Kentucky had 67 points.
Individual Notes
– Taylor Murray led the Wildcats in scoring with 16 points.
o Murray also had seven rebounds and three assists.
o Murray has now scored in double-figures in five of the last six contests and has averaged 15.5 points in those games.
– Evelyn Akhator earned her sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 boards.
o Akhator’s double-double marked the 19th of her UK career which are the sixth-most in school history.
o Led UK in rebounding for the seventh time this season.
– Makayla Epps scored 13 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists in the game.
o With today’s performance, her career-points total climbs to 1,375.
o Epps needs 112 points (1,445 total) to enter Kentucky’s top-10 scorers in school history.
o Epps has now scored in double-figures in eight of UK’s nine games.
– Jaida Roper added seven points, three rebounds and three assists.
o Roper’s seven points and three rebounds both marked career highs for the freshman.
– Makenzie Cann had six points and three assists in her second career start for UK.
– Alyssa Rice posted four points and six boards in the outing.
