Sports

Actions

No. 16 Kentucky Travels to Face No. 13 South Carolina Thursday

Posted at 7:39 PM, Feb 20, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-20 19:39:07-05
(AP Photo/James Crisp)

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 16 University of Kentucky women’s basketball team will put its four-game winning streak on the line Thursday night when it travels to face No. 13 South Carolina at 7 p.m. ET inside Colonial Life Arena.

The game will be broadcast on SEC Network with Pam Ward, Carolyn Peck and Steffi Sorensen on the call. The action can also be seen through WatchESPN on computers, smartphones or tablets. Darren Headrick will have the call on the UK Sports Network on 630 WLAP in Lexington. Live stats and free live audio will be available online at UKathletics.com.

Kentucky (21-5, 8-4 SEC) enters the week on a four-game winning streak sitting a perfect 4-0 in league play in the month of February. The streak started with a win against Florida at home before back-to-back road wins at Auburn and Alabama. UK’s fourth win came Sunday at home against Arkansas.

Rhyne Howard led Kentucky in the game scoring 18 points with 14 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. The rookie hit the game-winning shot with 1.3 left in the game and then had a steal on the ensuing Arkansas possession to clinch the win. The performance led Howard to be named SEC Freshman of the Week for the seventh time this season, which is a new league record.

Howard leads Kentucky in scoring this season with 16.8 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game, hitting 63 3s with 65 assists and 56 steals. Maci Morris is second on the team with 16.0 points per game, hitting 63 3-pointers this season for 44.7 percent from long range. Taylor Murray is averaging 12.6 points per game and leads the team with 92 assists and 82 steals.

South Carolina enters the game with a 19-6 record, including an 11-1 mark in the league sitting tied atop the conference standings. The Gamecocks are 11-2 at home this season and are undefeated at home in conference play. The lone loss in conference play for USC came at top-10 ranked Mississippi State. The Gamecocks have won seven of their last eight games with the only loss coming out of conference at top-five ranked UCONN in early February.

The Gamecocks are averaging 76.3 points per game, hitting 43.8 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from long range. Junior guard Te’a Cooper leads the team with 12.6 points per game adding 61 assists and 31 steals. Senior forward Alexis Jennings is averaging 10.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, while junior guard Tyasha Harris is averaging 10.2 points per game and leads the team with 120 assists.

Kentucky leads the all-time series in games played against South Carolina 33-31 with the Gamecocks holding a 18-10 edge in games in Columbia. The Gamecocks have won nine straight games against the Wildcats, including six straight in Columbia. UK’s last win against South Carolina came March 1, 2015 in Lexington (67-56) and its last win in Columbia was Feb. 23, 2012 (53-50). The two teams met twice last season with South Carolina winning both games and the Gamecocks claimed a win earlier this season in Lexington, 74-70. Counting both games this season, the two teams will have met 10 times in the last four seasons.

For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.comor follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, or Kentucky Women’s Basketball on Facebook.