It takes a lot for Makayla Epps to cry even when they’re tears of joy.
It was hard for Epps not to express her feelings after hurting her right shoulder after taking a hard fall to the floor while driving into the lane for a layup in the third quarter of Kentucky’s 79-58 win over Oklahoma Monday night in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I was in pain and it had me crying,” Epps said. “That’s when I know I’m really hurt when I start crying. I hate doing that in front of my teammates, but I knew I would get back (into the game). I knew I had to get back out there.”
Although in obvious discomfort, Epps played the remaining 14 minutes against the Sooners and helped lead the Wildcats to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth time in four years. Kentucky will take on Washington in the Lexington Regional semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Rupp Arena.
“We play really hard and there is a lot of fight in this team,” Epps said. “We’re at home with a chance to play almost (two more) games at home. We’ve got the one guarantee to play at home. Rupp is home to us. We’ve played some of our best basketball at Rupp, so we wanted to get to Rupp.”
For a time, Epps wasn’t certain if she would return, but after receiving treatment from trainers, including a shot that numbed her injured shoulder, she was back on the floor playing through pain. Epps even popped a key 3-pointer, the first of two straight to end the third quarter that turned a four-point lead to double digits in less than a minute.
“I couldn’t let my teammates down,” Epps said. “We’re already short-handed as it is. I felt like I had no choice but to get back out there. It’s the NCAA Tournament, we were up two with a lifetime to play and I just couldn’t leave them hanging.”
Even Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell had his doubts whether or not Epps could finish the contest and praised her determination to finish the contest.
“It looked like she was playing with one arm,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t think it looked safe. It didn’t look good to me. She really gutted it out.”
In times of desperation, Epps got some help from senior Janee Thompson, who led the Wildcats with 16 points. With Epps aching, the senior guard picked up the slack and provided the floor leadership Kentucky needed down the stretch to hold off the Sooners.
“She tried to pull a Clark Kent and tried to be Superman,” Epps said. “I’m real proud to be on a team that when one of us go out, we have people that can pick up the slack.”
Overall, Epps struggled from the floor but was 10-of-14 from the free-throw line. She also grabbed seven rebounds and recorded four assists.
“I knew it was going to be tough for me when I started out 0-3 (from the floor) but I never got discouraged,” she said. “Coach kept telling me to just get to the (free-throw) line. Those are points and I will take them any way I can get them. I will do whatever I have to do to help Kentucky win.”
Epps also praised her teammates and wasn’t surprised the way her supporting cast responded during times of adversity.
“It’s the little things like that that make us a really good ball club,” she said. “When one of us go down, I know there are eight to pick us back up.”
As added motivation, Epps also wanted to make sure Kentucky didn’t face the same fate as last season when the Wildcats were ousted from the tournament following a shocking second-round loss to Dayton at Memorial Coliseum.
“We didn’t want to re-live that or replay that at all,” Epps said. “We did what we had to do to get to Rupp.”
Keith Taylor is a columnist and senior sports writer who covers University of Kentucky athletics for KyForward.com