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UK U of L Postgame Notes

Posted at 10:38 PM, Dec 09, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-09 22:38:46-05

No. 19/19 Kentucky 75, No. 5/4 Louisville 80 – FINAL

 

Team Records and Series Notes

  • Kentucky moves to 9-1 on the season while Louisville is now 10-0.
    • The Wildcats will return to action next Saturday at 1 p.m. ET vs. Middle Tennessee inside Memorial Coliseum. The game will be streamed on the SEC Network+ while Darren Headrick will have the call on radio on the UK Sports Network.
  • Kentucky leads the all-time series in games played against Louisville, 34-21.
    • The Cardinals lead the series in games played in Louisville, 15-11.
    • Louisville has won three straight matchups in the series.
  • UK is now 807-533 all-time in program history.
    • Matthew Mitchell is in his 12th year with the Wildcats and holds a 265-118 record. Mitchell is 295-147 overall in 14 years as a head coach.
  • Kentucky is ranked No. 19 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today/Coaches Top 25. The Wildcats entered the rankings this week for the first time since December of 2017.
  • Louisville is the second ranked opponent that Kentucky has faced this season with the Wildcats holding a 1-1 record.
    • UK’s first win this season against a ranked foe came on Nov. 22 vs. No. 17 South Florida in the Paradise Jam.
    • UK will face its next ranked foe when it travels to No. 6/6 Mississippi State on Jan. 6.
  • UK is now 2-1 against ACC teams this season with wins against Virginia and North Carolina.

 

Team Notes

  • Kentucky used the starting combination of senior guard Taylor Murray, senior guard Maci Morris, freshman guard Rhyne Howard, sophomore forward KeKe McKinney and sophomore forward Tatyana Wyatt.
    • Kentucky is now 7-1 this season with this starting combination.
  • Both teams started the game on fire as Kentucky hit five of its first eight shots while Louisville hit seven of its first eight from the field.
    • UofL’s Asia Durr had nine of UofL’s first 16 points while UK’s Rhyne Howard had eight of the Cats’ first 14 points.
    • Durr finished the first quarter with 15 points, while Howard had 10.
    • Louisville ended the first quarter with a 24-19 lead after UK went scoreless for the final 2:53 of the quarter.
  • Kentucky and UofL cooled offensively in the second quarter with the Cardinals outscoring the Cats 12-10. UK was just 4-of-15 from the field in the second quarter while UofL was 5-of-12.
    • UK had seven turnovers in the first half while forcing UofL into only 3. Each team had six points off turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
  • Louisville started the second half on a 11-4 run going 4-of-5 from the field with two 3s to open up its biggest lead of the game at 47-33 with 7:19 left in the third quarter.
  • The Cardinals scored 31 points in the third quarter, which is the most points scored in a quarter by an opponent against Kentucky this season. The previous high was 25 in the first quarter by UNC  in the Paradise Jam.
    • UK scored 23 in the quarter but allowed the Cardinals to shot 11-of-16 from the field.
  • Kentucky scored 23 points in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Cardinals by 10.
  • The Wildcats went 16-of-19 from the free throw line for 84.2 percent, while UofL shot 15-for-28 from the line for 53.6 percent.
  • UofL shot 56.4 percent from the field in the game, which was the highest field-goal percentage that UK has allowed this season.

Player Notes

  • Senior guard Maci Morris scored 11 points in the game, hitting one 3 and adding four rebounds.
    • Morris now has 1,377 career points, which ranks 16th most in program history. She needs 56 more to tie Jodie Whitaker for 15th all-time in school history in points scored.
    • Morris has 205 career 3-pointers made which ranks second in program history. She needs 66 more 3s to tie Sara Potts for most all-time.
    • Morris has hit at least one 3-pointer in 23 straight games.
  • Senior guard Taylor Murray scored 18 points, adding three rebounds, one assist and two steals.
    • Murray now has 1,112 career points and ranks 27th all-time in points scored. She needs 33 more points to tie Karen Mosley for 26th all-time.
    • Murray has 367 career assists which ties for ninth most in program history with Tracye Davis.
  • Freshman guard Rhyne Howard scored a team-best 25 points with 10 rebounds and six assists.
    • Howard has scored in double figures in every game this season.
    • Howard nearly had a double-double in the first half with 12 points and seven rebounds.
    • She officially earned her third double-double of the season late in the game.
    • Howard has scored 20 or more points in four games this season.
    • Howard has hit at least one 3-pointer in every game this season.
    • Howard led the team with six assists, which is the first time this season she has led UK in assists. It was a career-high in assists for Howard.
    • Howard led UK in scoring for the fifth time this season.
  • Sophomore forward KeKe McKinney had eight rebounds with five rebounds, hitting one 3-pointer.
    • McKinney has seven or more rebounds in five games this season.
  • Sophomore forward Tatyana Wyatt scored a season-best seven points in the game, hitting a 3.