Following Janee Thompson's gruesome ankle injury against South Carolina last week, the entire UK Hoops team is sporting
"Our B3st" shirts to support the point guard. Her injury, a left dislocated ankle and broken fibula, will surely have her out for a big chunk, if not the remainder of the season. Our KSR family is praying for you Janee!!! I learned from talking to KGR in a preseason interview that injuries give you the opportunity to see things you may not have been able to seen before.
Take advantage of this, work hard, and we know you'll be back soon.
Hello Hoops fans! Welcome to the Kentucky v. Florida live diary, featuring two new additions to UK Hoops coverage, J.C. Ausmus and Austin Monnett.
J.C. and Austin will be taking over for Hoops coverage starting with the Tennessee game. So this will be my last UK Hoops game. How fitting that my last game as a KSR writer is the Florida game, when my first game as a KSR writer was also against the Gators and head coach Amanda Butler. Tears may be shed, and a farewell letter will be coming, but for now, just enjoy the witty remarks and playful writing styles of the interns.
Florida is coming to Lexington with a record of
9-8 overall, and is just 1-3 in the SEC. They will start tonight on a two game losing streak with losses to Missouri and Ole Miss ( GO MATT!!). Florida defeated UK last year in Memorial Coliseum 83-73. Make sure to keep an eye on Ronni Williams. The sophomore forward is averaging 10.2 points a game. Also make sure to keep your eyes peeled and ears open for Coach Amanda Butler, who captivated us all with her ability to stomp her feet quickly and loudly despite her wearing of 4+ inch heels.
The Hoops team has been
challenged this season with injury after injury, and just when we seem to nurse one back to health, another is hurt. We are going to be on hard core Janee Thompson watch this evening, as it was leaked to us over a pregame meal of potatoes and prime rib that she is trying to make an appearance here tonight. Bria Goss is rumored to be playing tonight as well, and has participated in all team warm ups.
She is sporting a very thick thumb brace for her injury. I expect she will come off the bench and get a small amount of playing time, just to ease her back into game play.
#10/11 Kentucky Wildcats v. Florida Gators
FINAL 62-56: J.C.: It sure was a nail-biter in Memorial Coliseum tonight. After back-and-forth lead changes all half, it looked like Makayla Epps put the game away for the Cats after making both her foul shots with 32.7 seconds left in the game, but Florida’s Kayla Lewis scored two to cut Kentucky’s five point lead back down to three. Once again,
Epps was fouled and extended the lead to claim the victory for the Cats by making both of her free throws. Thanks for joining us tonight guys. It was a great experience for mine and Austin’s first game on press row. We can’t wait to share the rest of this season with you. Austin will be by here in a little bit to wrap up the game and be sure to
look for Hayley’s goodbye post here shortly.
2:57 Second Half: Austin: Up 50-47, it looked like UK was going to be able to pull away once again, as the crowd began to get into it due to some controversial calls. But a 4-0 run by Florida silenced them only for a moment, as O’Neill hits a three to put the Cats back up by two. Linnae Harper has been the star tonight, as she still leads the team in points and rebounds, also with her career high 6 steals. She and Epps have over half of the teams’ points, as they have a combined 28 of the 55. Cats lead 55-51.
7:08 Second Half: J.C.: I have a feeling this game is going to go down to the wire. Everyone says that Kentucky is a second half team and they are proving that tonight, as the Cats are shooting a spectacular 60% from the field as opposed to 37.5% in the first. At around the 11 minute mark,
Jaycee Coe finally hit UK’s first three pointer of the game to chomp the Gators’ lead and give Kentucky control of the game, 43-41. Since then, the lead has been going back and forth, but as of right now, the
Cats lead by one, 48-47.
15:29 Second Half: Austin: The Cats look much stronger to start the second half, as they come out of the locker room pushing the ball. Butler takes a timeout for the Gators to stop the bleeding after UK takes the 33-31 lead, but to no avail as an Epps layup gives them the largest lead of the game at 35-31. Florida’s foul situation keeps getting worse, as
two of their eight active players have three or more fouls. Cats lead 35-33.
Half Time: J.C.: This game is a battle. Right under the one minute mark Makayla Epps cut the lead to one with a beautiful floater and to put the cherry on top, Linnae Harper stole the ball and made a break-away layup to give the Cats the lead at the twelve second mark.
Harper still leads in scoring and rebounds with 10 and 7 respectively. Cats lead by one, 29-28.
2:40 First Half: Austin: The Cats hit 4 straight field goals to cut the lead to one, but the Gators were able to hold off the charge after tightening up their defense following a timeout. Kayla Lewis, Florida’s third-leading scorer goes to the bench with her third personal foul, a problem considering the injuries the team has. UK has four players with two fouls each, something else to keep an eye on down the stretch.
5:20 First Half: J.C.: Refs are calling a tight game, especially since the SEC head of officiating is in the building tonight. Already there has been 17 fouls called in the game, 8 on Florida and 9 on Kentucky. As of right now, Kentucky is shooting 36% from the field, and has made no three pointers yet in the game (0-6). After Sunday’s big game, Jen O’Neill has been pretty quiet; no points and two rebounds.
On the other hand, Linnae Harper leads all scorers with 8, going 4-8 from the field. Florida leads 24-23.
14:04 First Half: Austin: The sluggish start continues for both teams, and at the second TV timeout, Florida leads 13-12. The teams have a combined 14 turnovers already (UF has 9). Bria Goss scores her first points from returning from missing 6 games on a layup around the 12-minute mark.
15:44 First Half: J.C.: Janee Thompson has made her appearance! The Kentucky guard walked in on crutches with Coach Mitchell and is sitting on the bench with the team. Florida won the tip, and the game is already back-and-forth. Every time Kentucky scores, Florida takes it right back down the court and answers. Memorial Coliseum is probably about 3/4 of the way full, but is pretty loud for a Thursday night. At the first time out, the
Cats and the Gators are tied, 6-6.
10 til' Tipoff: Austin: Florida will also have a shorter bench tonight, as
two key players for Florida, Antonionette Bannister (knee) and Carlie Needles (concussion) are also unavailable. The two players combine for 16 points in a combined 49 minutes per game. Although the head coaches would downplay it, they both will have some extra motivation: Matthew Mitchell was an assistant at Florida from 2000-2003, and a win tonight would grab Amanda Butler her 150
th win with the Gators. Florida looks to bounce back from an ugly performance on the road against Missouri where they scored a season low in points and shot a season low 23 percent from the floor (14-61!!!). UPDATE: Bria Goss will be in the starting lineup.
30 til' Tipoff: Hayley: Can you smell the sentiment in the air? This game will probably have me in tears, but not because of the actual game. In my last game for KSR, I will be mostly taking a back seat and letting JC and Austin take over. Everyone, be nice to them.
It's their first game. I'm still looking for Janee Thompson to make an appearance, and also hoping that she doesn't do so if she isn't ready. Now, who will be taking her starting position? Makayla Epps is listed as a probable start in the media guide, but
Coach Mitchell seems to be shaking things up a bit. Jennings, Bishop, O'Neill, and Harper are also listed. It will be interesting to see who gets playing time tonight, and who plays a position outside of their own. For now, we play the waiting game....
Following Janee Thompson's gruesome ankle injury against South Carolina last week, the entire UK Hoops team is sporting "Our B3st" shirts to support the point guard. Her injury, a left dislocated ankle and broken fibula, will surely have her out for a big chunk, if not the remainder of the season. Our KSR family is praying for you Janee!!! I learned from talking to KGR in a preseason interview that injuries give you the opportunity to see things you may not have been able to seen before. Take advantage of this, work hard, and we know you'll be back soon.
Hello Hoops fans! Welcome to the Kentucky v. Florida live diary, featuring two new additions to UK Hoops coverage, J.C. Ausmus and Austin Monnett. J.C. and Austin will be taking over for Hoops coverage starting with the Tennessee game. So this will be my last UK Hoops game. How fitting that my last game as a KSR writer is the Florida game, when my first game as a KSR writer was also against the Gators and head coach Amanda Butler. Tears may be shed, and a farewell letter will be coming, but for now, just enjoy the witty remarks and playful writing styles of the interns.
Florida is coming to Lexington with a record of 9-8 overall, and is just 1-3 in the SEC. They will start tonight on a two game losing streak with losses to Missouri and Ole Miss ( GO MATT!!). Florida defeated UK last year in Memorial Coliseum 83-73. Make sure to keep an eye on Ronni Williams. The sophomore forward is averaging 10.2 points a game. Also make sure to keep your eyes peeled and ears open for Coach Amanda Butler, who captivated us all with her ability to stomp her feet quickly and loudly despite her wearing of 4+ inch heels.
The Hoops team has been challenged this season with injury after injury, and just when we seem to nurse one back to health, another is hurt. We are going to be on hard core Janee Thompson watch this evening, as it was leaked to us over a pregame meal of potatoes and prime rib that she is trying to make an appearance here tonight. Bria Goss is rumored to be playing tonight as well, and has participated in all team warm ups. She is sporting a very thick thumb brace for her injury. I expect she will come off the bench and get a small amount of playing time, just to ease her back into game play.
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