KENTUCKY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
No. 25 Kentucky vs. No. 4 South Carolina
Memorial Coliseum – Lexington, Ky.
Feb. 2, 2017
FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 63, South Carolina 75
Team Records and Series Notes
– Matthew Mitchell is in his 10th season with Kentucky. Mitchell falls to 264-126 overall as a head coach, and 234-97 during his tenure at Kentucky.
– UK drops to 33-26 in the overall series against the Gamecocks.
o The Wildcats have lost the last four contests against USC.
– Kentucky re-entered The Associated Press Top 25 this week at No. 25 after going on a five-game win streak.
– The Wildcats will return to action on Sunday as they face Vanderbilt inside Memorial Coliseum. The game will tip off at noon ET on SEC Network. The game also will be broadcast live on the UK Sports Network with Neil Price.
Team Notes
– Kentucky used the starting five of Makayla Epps, Evelyn Akhator, Maci Morris, Alyssa Rice and Taylor Murray.
o UK is now 12-6 this season with that starting-five combination.
– With today’s loss, UK falls to 15-8 overall this season.
o UK is now 6-4 in Southeastern Conference games.
– Tonight’s game marked the first time the Wildcats have lost to a ranked opponent inside Memorial Coliseum this season, having defeated No. 14 Miami and No. 12 Oklahoma earlier this season.
o UK is 2-4 overall vs. ranked opponents this season.
– The Wildcats trailed by just five points at the end of the first quarter (20-15), but South Carolina used an 18-2 run to end the second quarter with a 42-23 lead.
– Kentucky fought back, out-scoring USC 17-15 in the third quarter, including a 10-0 run to end the quarter with a 57-40 deficit.
– UK also out-scored the Gamecocks 23-18 in the fourth period, but it wasn’t enough to push them past USC.
– The Wildcats were outrebounded 40-29 including 30-17 off the defensive glass.
– Kentucky struggled from the floor throughout the game, going just 21-of-62 (33.9 percent) from the floor.
o In the second quarter, UK went just 2-of-15 from the floor, its lowest percentage in a quarter this season.
o The 33.9 mark from the floor was UK’s lowest in an SEC game this season and the second lowest all season.
– The game marked UK’s largest margin of defeat (12) in SEC play this season.
Individual Notes
– Makayla Epps posted a game-high 23 points to go along with nine rebounds and one assist.
o The performance marked her third consecutive game with 20 or more points.
o The senior has now had nine 20+ point games this season.
o Epps’ 1,597 career points puts her at No. 7 on Kentucky’s all-time scoring list, and just one point away from tying Pam Browning for sixth place.
o Her nine rebounds represents her second-highest production this season in the category.
– Maci Morris added 14 points, one rebound and two assists.
o Morris went 2-of-7 from beyond the arc in the game, marking her sixth consecutive game with at least one three pointer.
o It was her 15th double-digit scoring performance of the season and the 30th of her young career.
– Alyssa Rice scored a career-high tying 10 points in the game and grabbed two offensive boards.
