KENTUCKY
2017-2018
WOMEN ’ S
BASKETBALL
PREVIEW
KENTUCKY HOOPS SAYS GOOD-BYE TO EPPS AND AKHATOR , HELLO TO A YOUNGER BUNCH
BY STEVE KAUFMAN
Matthew Mitchell will start from scratch this year , without star power but with a lot of depth
John Calipari loses – and replaces – key players every year on his Kentucky men ’ s basketball team . But for Matthew Mitchell , coach of the UK women ’ s team , losing key players can be extremely disruptive .
And that is the case for this year ’ s squad . Gone by graduation from last year ’ s nationally ranked team that won 22 games and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament are Makayla Epps , the dynamic floor leader and shotmaker , and Evelyn Akhator , the imposing inside presence .
Epps scored 17.7 points a game and shot 35.5 percent from three-point range . Akhator added 16 points and nearly 11 rebounds a game . She was the third pick overall in the WNBA draft , by the Dallas Wings . The fiery Epps was drafted in the third round by the Chicago Sky .
So , in other words , much to replace .
The burden falls on two double-figure scorers from last year , juniors Taylor Murray and Maci Morris . Both are sweet-shooting backcourt players , and Murray , in particular , is as fast a player as anyone in the country . She also was a McDonald ’ s All-American ( a reference all of Big Blue Nation is familiar with ) while in high school in Odenton , Md .
Of all returning players from last year ’ s team , Murray carries over the most points per game ( 12.2 ), rebounds ( 4.9 a game ), assists ( 3.9 a game ) and steals ( 2.0 a game ). Morris averaged 11.8 a game and led the team with 53 made threes .
Whether either one has the dynamic , aggressive floor leadership abilities that Epps brought to the court will have to remain to be seen . But the early season has produced a 3-0 record and a national ranking . And the two veterans combined for 34 points in the third win of the season , 71-54 over
the University of Montana . Murray added 12 rebounds in that game .
Another returner , senior Jessica Hardin ( a transfer from Bellarmine ), was leading the team in three-point average a year ago before suffering a concussion that ended her junior season . Mitchell regards her value as more than just shooting . She ’ s an energetic hustler , as well .
As is Jaida Roper , a 5-6 sophomore whose slim statistics last year probably weren ’ t an indication of how much Mitchell hopes she ’ ll bring to the court this year .
And then there ’ s replacing Akhator . In early season play , 6-3 freshman Dorie Harrison has been asserting herself . She had nine rebounds in 20 minutes in the season opener , a 101-point effort over Sacramento State ; and another eight rebounds against Montana .
But the team suffered a severe loss , even before the season began , with a knee injury to Ogechi Anyagaligbo , a 6-1 junior who transferred to UK from SUNY Stony Brook , where she was the America East Conference freshman of the year , averaging 10 points and nine rebounds .
Other bright spots in the season-opening win over Sacramento State were Makenzie Cann , a 6-1 senior guard who scored 17 points , making six of nine shots , four of six from three ; and Tatyana Wyatt , a 6-2 freshman forward , who scored 13 points in 15 minutes off the bench .
Cann had another double-figure game against Gardner-Webb , scoring 10 points ( with four-ofseven shooting ) and with seven rebounds in the team ’ s 72-34 route . Last year , Cann played inside a lot , because of her height . The feeling is , the deeper talent on this year ’ s squad will enable her to roam the floor , where her height will make her a tough matchup for most teams .
And Roper , making the most of her off-the-bench opportunities , came in against Sacramento State and threw up six shots in 21 minutes , scoring nine points . She scored another 10 against Gardner- Webb , and 14 against Montana .
But the season ’ s early non-conference games in November are just that . Early games in November .
Coach Mitchell will remind you it ’ s a long season , especially in the SEC , arguably the strongest women ’ s basketball league in the country . South Carolina is the reigning national champion , last year ending the Connecticut Huskies ’ four-year reign . The Gamecocks beat another SEC school , Mississippi State ( who knocked off the Huskies in the semifinals ), in the national championship game .
Last year , Texas A & M , LSU , Missouri , Auburn and Tennessee also made the tournament ( as well , of course , as Kentucky and the two championship finalists ). And Tennessee , when coached by the late , legendary Pat Summitt , was probably the country ’ s most elite program , with eight national championships and five other losses in the championship game . Summitt ’ s gone , but Tennessee still brings the weird-colored magic .
But Kentucky is not looking in from the outside . Mitchell can do much more than dance like Elvis . His Kentucky teams have won 71 percent of their games . He has led them to eight straight NCAA tournament appearances , developing the games of such UK superstars as Victoria Dunlap and A ’ dia Mathies . His teams have reached three Elite Eights . He ’ d probably laugh at the notion , though , that this might be his toughest rebuilding year . He ’ d probably say that every year is tough and challenging .
Calipari ’ s teams are always loaded with promising freshmen . Mitchell is not without the same on his team this year . Keke McKinney , a 6-1 frosh from Knoxville , Tenn ., is learning a new role . She played the 1 or 2 in high school , but Mitchell wants her out on the court , probably in the 3 position . Even as a freshman , though , on a team dominated by upperclassmen , she has shown the vocal , aggressive personality that made Epps such a compelling presence during her UK tour .
Ten players played double-figure minutes against Sacramento State , eight more against Gardner-Webb , and seven against Montana . That ’ s a preview of the depth Mitchell expects to get from his team this year . Of course , minutes on the floor tend to condense as players ’ strengths and
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38 EXTOL SPORTS / DECEMBER 2017