UK Hoops Suffers Second Loss

UK Hoops suffered their second loss of the season, this time to Duke. Kentucky will likely fall in the polls tomorrow due to the 89-68 loss to #13 Duke. Duke moves to 8-3, Kentucky is 10-2.

Jen O’Neill and Alexis Jennings led the Cats in scoring with 17 each, Azia Bishop added 15. O’Neill also added 4 blocks, 3 assists and one rebound. For Duke, Kentucky-native Rebecca Greenwell added 13 points, among 6 Duke players in double figures. She also added 5 rebounds, an assist, a block and 2 steals.

UK Post-Game Press Release:

UK Hoops 2014-15 Postgame Notes
No. 13/13 Duke 89, No. 8/8 Kentucky 68

Cameron Indoor Stadium – Durham, N.C.

Dec. 21, 2014

Team Records and Series Notes

Kentucky falls to 10-2, while Duke moves to 8-3.
Kentucky is now 722-488 (61.9) in 41 seasons of varsity women’s basketball.
UK is now 189-90 (80.9) in the month of December.
UK has won 18 of its last 20 games in the month of December.
Matthew Mitchell, UK’s all-time winningest coach, moves to 210-102 overall and 180-73 in eight seasons at Kentucky.
The loss snapped UK’s six-game winning streak.
Duke now leads the all-time series 5-1 overall, including 2-0 in Durham.
· Kentucky is now 2-1 this season against top-15 teams.

UK is now 16-19 all-time against teams in the current alignment of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Today’s attendance was 6,043.
Next up: UK will face Tennessee State on Dec. 28 in Memorial Coliseum. The game will be shown on the SEC Network+ at 2 p.m. ET
First Half Notes

UK started with the lineup of Jennifer O’Neill, Janee Thompson, Kyvin Goodin-Rogers, Linnae Harper and Alyssa Rice for the first time this season.
Marked sophomore Linnae Harper’s first career start.
Senior Azia Bishop led all scorers with nine points in the half.
Went 2-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.
UK forced Duke into 11 turnovers.
Sophomore Linnae Harper led the Wildcats with five rebounds, including three offensive.
Duke went 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and shot 60 percent from the floor (17-of-28).
Kentucky went 9-of-39 from the floor (23.1%), a season low for a half.
With UK trailing by seven, Duke outscored the Wildcats 23-9 to take a 49-26 lead at the half.
UK is now 4-2 when trailing at the half.
Second Half Notes

UK began the second half with Makayla Epps replacing Linnae Harper and Azia Bishop replacing Kyvin Goodin-Rogers from the original starting five.
Freshman Alexis Jennings scored 16 of her career-high 17 points in the second half.
UK went 16-for-41 (39.0) from the floor and outscored Duke 42-40 in the second half.
Kentucky hit 9-of-14 (64.3) from the free throw line.
Team/Game Notes

The 21-point loss marks UK’s largest margin since suffering an 81-58 (-23) loss at South Carolina on Feb. 20, 2014.
Today marks just the second time this season UK has been held under 70 points (61 vs. USF, 11/29/14).
UK shot a season-low 31.3 percent from the floor (25-of-80), including a season-low 8.3 percent (2-of-24) from beyond the arc.
Kentucky forced Duke into 25 turnovers and has now forced 20 or more in 11 of 12 games this season, including five straight.
UK scored 21 points off Duke’s turnovers.
· The Wildcats’ bench outscored Duke’s bench, 40-26.

· Senior Bria Goss missed the first game in her career with a broken left thumb. She had played in 117 straight games with 17 straight starting assignments.

Individual Notes

Freshman Alexis Jennings came off the bench for a career-high 17 points.
Scored 16 of 17 points in the second half
Marked her third straight game with double digits and fourth of the season.
Also recorded three rebounds and a block in 24 minutes of action.
Senior Jennifer O’Neill scored 17 points in 36 minutes.
Hit 5-of-21 from the floor, and made UK’s only two 3-pointers.
Swiped a season-high tying four steals.
Her 21 field goals attempted tied a season high (at CMU, 11/22).
Moved into sole possession of No. 21 on UK’s all-time scoring list with 1,157 career points.
Senior Azia Bishop recorded a season-high tying 15 points in 27 minutes.
Hit a season-high tying seven field goals on a season-high 13 attempts.
Marked her second straight double-figure scoring game and fifth of the season.
Also had five rebounds, two steals and a block.