SUNDAY, JANUARY 12
O’CONNELL CENTER – GAINESVILLE, FLA.
No. 14 Kentucky 65, Florida 45 – FINAL
Team Records and Series Notes
- Kentucky is 14-2 (3-1 SEC), while Florida is 11-6 (2-2 SEC).
- Kentucky is 837-542 all-time, including 236-271 in road games.
- UK is 81-65 all-time on the road under Matthew Mitchell, including 5-1 this season.
- This was the 57th all-time meeting between Kentucky and Florida in women’s basketball.
- The Wildcats lead the all-time series in games played 32-25, including a 13-10 mark in games played in Gainesville. This was the second straight win in Florida for Kentucky.
- UK has won five straight games in the series.
- Matthew Mitchell is 14-4 against the Gators as the UK head coach.
- Matthew Mitchell is in his 13th season as the head coach of the Wildcats.
- Mitchell is 325-156 overall in his career and 295-127 during his tenure at Kentucky.
- Kentucky is ranked 14 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 and No. 14 in the latest USA Today/Coaches Top 25.
Team Notes
- Kentucky used the starting combination of sophomore guard Rhyne Howard, senior guards Sabrina Haines and Jaida Roper, junior forward Tatyana Wyatt and sophomore guard Blair Green.
- This was the second time this season that UK has used this starting combination, sitting 2-0.
- UK lost the tip for the seventh time this season.
- Jaida Roper scored first for Kentucky, marking the first time she has been the first to score this season.
- Junior forward KeKe McKinney is still listed day-to-day with a severe migraine-like headache.
- Both teams started slow offensively with a combined 25 points in the first quarter.
- UK went just 4-of-17 from the field in the first quarter for 24 percent. In six road games this season, UK is shooting 23-of-94 this season on the road in the first quarter for 24 percent.
- Kentucky was trailing 21-18 with 2:26 to go in the first half before ending the quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 28-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
- The run was thanks in part to back-to-back 3s from Patterson, who had 13 points in the first half. The run started with a layup by Haines as the shot clock expired and ended with two free throws from Amanda Paschal with 0.5 remaining.
- UK was just 9-of-34 from the field in the first half for 26 percent.
- The Wildcats’ 28 first-half points tied the fewest first-half point total this season for Kentucky in an SEC game. UK also had 28 in the first half at South Carolina.
- Sunday’s game marked the second time in league play that UK has had a lead at halftime. UK led by 11 at Alabama on Thursday.
- Sixteen of Florida’s 23 first-half points came in the paint.
- The Wildcats took its lead to 11 with six minutes to go in the third period but Florida answered with a 6-0 run to cut UK’s lead to 37-32 with 3:17 to go in the stanza. The Wildcats ended the period on a 5-2 run – giving up a layup at the buzzer – to go into the fourth up 42-34.
- Kentucky outscored Florida 37-22 in the second half, including 23-11 in the fourth quarter.
- UK limited Florida to 45 points, which was a season low for the Gators.
- The Gators scored 12 or fewest points in all four quarter which is the fourth time this season UK has accomplished that and the first time on the road. The other times UK’s defense has done that was vs. Mount St. Mary’s, vs. Grambling State and vs. Winthrop.
- This is the first time UK has held an SEC opponent to 45 points or less since Missouri scored 41 last season in Lexington.
- This was the first time UK has won an SEC game by 20 or more since it defeated Vanderbilt 77-55 last season to start league play.
- Two Wildcats scored 20+ points in the game marking the first time UK has accomplished that since Maci Morris and Rhyne Howard each had 20+ at Texas A&M on Jan. 27, 2019.
- UK scored 31 points off Florida turnovers, marking the 13th time this season UK has scored 20 or more points off opponent turnovers. UK has forced Florida into 25 turnovers, marking the 12th time UK has forced 20 or more turnovers.
- The Wildcats had only six turnovers in the game. This was the second straight game and the sixth time this season UK has committed 10 or less turnovers.
Player Notes
- Sophomore guard Rhyne Howard scored a game-high 22 points, going 8-of-14 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
- Howard did not hit a 3 in the game, snapping a streak of 17 straight games with a 3.
- Howard has scored 20 or more points in six straight game, the longest streak since Maci Morris scored 20+ in seven straight in 2017-18. This snapped a school-record streak of five 25+ scoring games for Howard.
- Howard has scored in double figures in every game but one this season, including 20 or more points in 11 games.
- Howard has 906 career points needing just 94 more to join the 1,000 point club. She is on pace to be the second fastest to 1,000 in program history.
- In 48, career game Howard has recorded some impressive numbers:
- Hit at least one 3 in 42 career games
- Made three or more 3s in 20 games
- Made five or more 3s in 9 games
- Scored 10+ points in 41 games
- Scored 15+ points in 33 games
- Scored 20+ points in 21 games
- Scored 25+ points in 13 games
- Scored 30+ points in 3 games
- Led UK in scoring in 29 games
- Led UK in rebounding in 26 games
- Senior guard Sabrina Haines scored 12 points with four rebounds.
- Haines has scored 10 or more points in 10 games this season.
- Haines went 2-of-3 from long range in the game and has a 3 in every game but two.
- Junior guard Chasity Patterson scored a career high 20 points, going 7-of-14 from the field and 3-of-7 from 3.
- Patterson led UK with four steals in the game and has led UK in steals in three of her five games played this season.
- Patterson has hit at least one 3 in every game she has played, including two or more in two games.