No. 20 Kentucky WBB Ends Challenging Road Swing at Miami (Fla.)

Looking to get back to its winning ways following a tough loss Friday at Florida Gulf Coast, the No. 20 University of Kentucky women’s basketball team completes its two-game road stretch Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Miami (Fla.) inside the Watsco Center.
The game will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra with Joe Zagacki and Megan Perry on the call. The action can also be seen through WatchESPN on computers, smartphones or tablets. Darren Headrick, in his first year with the program, will be calling the game on the UK Sports Radio Network. Fans in Lexington can hear Headrick’s call on 630AM WLAP. Live stats and free audio will be available online at ukathletics.com.
Kentucky (8-2) is coming off a 70-64 loss Friday at Florida Gulf Coast, who has received votes in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 a majority of the season and entered the weekend with a top-30 RPI. The Wildcats trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half before turning up the intensity on both ends to tie the game 57-57 with just over five minutes to go. FGCU answered with a 9-0 run to take back momentum in the game and seal the victory.
Junior guard Taylor Murray paced UK in the game with 19 points, adding seven rebounds and two steals. Freshman forward Tatyana Wyatt scored 11 points with eight rebounds, while senior post Alyssa Rice also had 11 points with eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Jaida Roper had 11 points with four rebounds and two assists. UK shot just 39.4 percent from the field and went 2-for-9 from long range after entering the game averaging 7.8 3-pointers per game.
The game against the Eagles continued a stretch of five games in 11 days for the Wildcats, who will complete the challenging part of the schedule Sunday. Three of the five games have been on the road and all three road opponents have been ranked or receiving votes in the national listings at some point this season.
Junior guard Maci Morris leads Kentucky in scoring this season with 15.6 points per game and has hit a team-best 28 3-pointers, including 10 of her last 11 from long range. Murray is averaging 12.7 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game with a team-best 38 assists and 18 steals. Wyatt is averaging 11.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, while senior guard Makenzie Cann is scoring 9.7 points with 5.1 rebounds per game. Rice leads Kentucky in rebounding with 7.4 per game, adding 9.2 points per game.
Miami (Fla.) enters Sunday’s game with a 5-3 record with wins over FIU, Vermont, New Orleans, Maine and Michigan State. The Hurricanes’ losses have come at Colorado, vs. Maryland and vs. St. John’s. Miami is 5-2 at home and 0-1 away from the Watsco Center.
Freshman guard Mykea Gray leads the Hurricanes in scoring this season by averaging 14.6 points per game, hitting a team-best 15 3-pointers with 20 assists. Senior forward/center Erykah Davenport is averaging a double-double this season with 10.9 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game. Davenport is hitting 43.3 percent from the field and has 49 more rebounds than any other Miami player. Freshman guard Endia Banks is averaging 8.1 points per game and has 20 assists with 4.1 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Kelsey Marshall is averaging 7.1 points per game.
Kentucky owns a 6-1 all-time record against Miami (Fla.). The series is tied 1-1 in games played in Coral Gables, Fla. The Wildcats won the last meeting, 82-66, on Nov. 11, 2016 in Lexington getting 47 of their 82 points from seniors Evelyn Akhator and Makayla Epps. The Wildcats won the first four games in the series from 1985 to 1990 before the Hurricanes earned their first win in the series on Dec. 19, 2000 in Coral Gables, 74-59. Only two of the seven all-time meetings have been decided by single digits.
Kentucky holds a 52-38 all-time record against teams from the current alignment of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Miami (Fla.) is the first of two consecutive ACC opponents UK will play. The Wildcats will also play No. 4/5 Louisville on Sunday, Dec. 17 at 3 p.m. ET inside Memorial Coliseum.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, or Kentucky Women’s Basketball on Facebook.
‑ GO CATS –
For more information contact:
Evan Crane