UK has started a freshman in 121-of-153 games in the Matthew Mitchell era, including 88 straight.
Kentucky held South Carolina scoreless for the game’s opening 5:04.
Kentucky held South Carolina without a field goal for the game’s opening 6:36.
Sophomore forward Samarie Walker scored eight of UK’s final 10 points in the first half.
Kentucky trailed South Carolina 28-29 heading into the locker room.
The Wildcats are 3-2 this season when trailing at the half.
Second Half Notes
Trailing 36-45, their largest deficit faced in SEC play this season, the Wildcats went on an 11-0 run to take a 47-45 lead.
The Wildcats went on a 20-4 run spanning from the 9:55 mark to the 3:53 mark to turn a 36-45 deficit into a 56-49 lead.
Finally, Kentucky outscored South Carolina 30-13 in the final 9:55 of the game.
Kentucky outrebounded South Carolina 19-18 in the second half.
Team/Game Notes
Kentucky has beaten four top-25 ranked teams this season, including three top-10 teams, and is 4-1 vs. ranked teams.
Kentucky is 42-28 (.600) in games decided by 10 points or less in five seasons under Coach Mitchell.
Kentucky is 4-1 this season in such games, with a seven-point win over No. 6/5 Duke, a three-point win at Florida, a one-point win over No. 6/7 Tennessee and a nine-point loss to No. 3/3 Notre Dame.
Kentucky forced 29 turnovers in the game.
UK has forced double-digit miscues in 100 consecutive games. The Cats are 73-27 during that span.
Kentucky has forced an SEC-high 547 turnovers this season (30.4 per game).
Kentucky has forced at least 10 turnovers in 32 of 35 halves this season.
Kentucky outscored South Carolina 32-11 in points off turnovers.
Kentucky won the turnover battle 29-18 (+11).
UK was 14-18 (.778) from the foul line.
After being outrebounded 11-22 in the first half, UK outrebounded South Carolina 19-18 in the second half.
The Wildcat defense recorded 13 steals, and has charted double-digit steals in 15 of 18 games.
Kentucky’s eight blocks are a new season high.
With two made 3-pointers, UK extended its streak of consecutive games with a triple to 275.
Attendance was 4,655.
Individual Notes
Senior guard Keyla Snowden scored a team-high 15 points and had three steals. It was her third straight game in double-digit scoring.
Senior guard Amber Smith passed out a season-high tying six assists and has 398 for her career.
Smith is two assists shy of tying Rita Adams for sixth most assists in a UK career. Smith is also two assists shy of becoming just the seventh player in UK history to register 400 assists in a career.
Smith, similar to at Florida, was clutch at the free-throw line down the stretch, going 6-6 in the final 49 seconds of the game to seal the win.
Junior guard A’dia Mathies scored eight points, dished out three assists, blocked a career-high tying three shots and had three steals.
Mathies’ eight points give her 1,208 points for her career and she is seven points shy of tying Stacy McIntyre at No. 15 on the UK all-time scoring list.
Mathies had three steals, giving her 220 for her career. Mathies is now four shy of tying Sandy Harding at No. 8 on the all-time steals list.
Sophomore guard Kastine Evans scored five points and grabbed six rebounds, one shy of tying a season-high on the boards, and hit a big 3-pointer to tie the game at 45-45 at the 8:14 mark.
Junior forward Brittany Henderson had eight points and six rebounds, including a season-high four offensive rebounds, and was 4-5 from the floor.
Freshman forward/center Azia Bishop blocked three shots to give her 18 blocks for the season, the ninth most in UK freshman history.
