By Kindsey Bernhard
NKyTribune intern
A 13-0 run in the final minutes of the fourth quarter propelled the 19-ranked Kentucky to an 82-66 upset of No. 14 Miami Hurricanes in the Cats’ season opener on Friday.
Senior Makayla Epps gave her team its largest lead of the game in the final 50 seconds of the fourth quarter with an “and-one” and a three-pointer in the final minutes of the game. Epps had help as sophomore Taylor Murray hit a three-pointer and Evelyn Akhator contributed a layup.
Epps finished with 29 points, 18 of them in the fourth quarter.
“I owe all of it to my teammates,” Epps said of her fourth quarter performance. “They kept feeding me the ball. I couldn’t buy a free throw, but they kept feeding me the ball.”
“Just having the love from my teammates really kept me upbeat,” Epps said.
Epps praised sophomore teammate Maci Morris for pulling her to the side telling her to “keep shooting the ball.”
“I love it,” Morris said of Epps’s fourth quarter shooting.
“Epps is a great player,” Morris said. “She’s a great leader and we got to have her this year.”
Kentucky’s defense was the real key to Kentucky’s win. Head coach Matthew Mitchell had his team playing both the two-three zone and man-to-man defense throughout the entire game.
“I just was very concerned that they were going to go by us all night long,” Mitchell said. “Our help rotation isn’t great right now. And I just didn’t want them making layups all night.”
“We just sort of tried to see if we could force them to hit outside shots,” Mitchell said.
Kentucky did force Miami to take outside shots, but shots that Miami made. Miami hit 10-of-30 three-pointers and shot 41 percent from the field.
Despite Miami’s planning for the zone defense, head coach Katie Meier said her team didn’t get enough touches in the paint. Emese Hof, Miami’s talented forward/center, played three minutes due to injury, which played a role in Miami’s offensive struggle with the zone defense.
“There is no way Matthew’s not going to play some zone,” Meier said. “He has to.”
The Cats tip off in less than 24 hours against the University of Albany at 7 p.m., the quickest turn around all season until SEC Tournament play in March.
“Right now it’s a mental preparation,” Mitchell said. “You have to clear your mind mentally and know you’re prepared to do that. You can get it done. They’ll take care of their bodies tonight.”