LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky’s No. 10 women’s basketball team completes its most difficult stage in the program’s history by hosting the 5th South Carolina team on Sunday at 5 pm ET inside the Memorial Coliseum.
The game against South Carolina will be broadcast on ESPN with Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck on the conference call. The action can also be checked by WatchESPN on computers, smartphones or tablets. Darren Headrick will call the UK Sports Network at 630AM WLAP in Lexington. Live statistics and free live audio will be available online at UKathletics.com.
With an audience limited to 15% of the arena’s normal capacity, most tickets were sold as packages for the full women’s basketball season. Sunday’s game is sold out. The concession stands will be reopened at the Memorial Coliseum. The doors will open 1 hour before tipping.
Sunday’s game completes four games where Kentucky (9-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) faced an opponent in the top 15 in four consecutive games. It is the first time in the program’s history that Wildcats face four teams in the top 15. Kentucky is one of two SEC teams that are scheduled to face four consecutive top 15 opponents, with LSU being the other. The stretch started at home against No. 10 Arkansas, followed by a road game at No. 12 Mississippi State. The UK started this week with a game in eighth place, Texas A&M.
Junior guard Rhyne Howard has been Kentucky’s star so far in the league game, averaging 26.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game against conference opponents. Howard also has 9 of 18 long distance during that period, with the team’s top 15 assists. Senior Advanced KeKe McKinney has an average of 11.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in the league, ranging from 6 out of 11 on the 3 point line with four steals.
Overall, Howard has averaged 19.1 points per game this season, with 7.1 rebounds per game, and ahead of Kentucky with 24 out of 3 points. She is tied at the head of the team with 34 assists, while she is second in the team with 16 steals. Senior Guard Chasity Patterson has an average of 13.3 points per game and leads the country with 48 steals, while the second-year striker Dre’una Edwards has an average of 12.5 points per game with the best team 8.0 rebounds per game.
South Carolina enters Sunday’s game with a 7-1 record, including a 2-0 SEC record. Gamecocks did not play on Thursday, as they paused all team activities due to a positive COVID-19 test, contact tracking and subsequent quarantine. The USC defeated two ranked opponents this season in the then-No. 21 Gonzaga and then-No. 23 Iowa State, while his only loss was to then … No. 8 NC State at home. In the league game, the Gamecocks defeated Florida at home 75-59 last Thursday, before defeating Alabama on the road on Monday, 77-60.
Zia Cooke leads the team with 18.8 points per game and reached the team’s best mark at 18 points from 3 points, while Aliyah Boston has an average of 12.8 points per game with 10.5 rebounds per game. Destanni Henderson averages 12.1 points per game and has the team’s best 44 assists, while Victaria Saxton has an average of 10.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. As a team, Gamecocks average 82.9 points per game and limit opponents to 57.5 points per game. USC has a recovery margin of +18.9 and +1.4 turnovers per game.
Sunday will be the 68th all-time meeting between Kentucky and South Carolina in women’s basketball. Gamecocks have won 11 of the last 12 games in the series. Kentucky leads the all-time series in games played in Lexington, 20-10, but has not beaten South Carolina in Lexington since March 1, 2015, when he won a 67-56 victory. The UK lost both games last season to the Gamecocks and the Wildcats against SC. It was a 65-57 victory in Columbia on February 21, 2019. This is the fourth game of all time with both teams ranked between the top 10 of the AP vote. Gamecocks have won each of the previous three meetings.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB at Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.