A’ja Wilson roars back from injury to lead South Carolina past Kentucky

Senior star A’ja Wilson made a triumphant return for South Carolina on Sunday after missing two games due to an ankle sprain, leading the No. 10 Gamecocks (16-3, 5-2 SEC) to a comfortable 81-64 win of SEC rival Kentucky.

Despite coming off the bench, Wilson wasted no time in making an impact after being cleared this weekend to play — by the end of the first half, she had 10 points and six rebounds, leading all players, despite only getting 11 minutes of playing time.

She got even fewer minutes in the second half, with just 10, but continued to dominate, finishing the game with 26 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and three steals.

And besides her statistical impact, Wilson’s return also boosted South Carolina’s spirit after a challenging stretch in which the Gamecocks went 2-2.

“It just helped our overall morale. … She gives us a great deal of comfort,” head coach Dawn Staley said of Wilson, according to Jen Smith of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Wilson was complemented in the post by redshirt junior Alexis Jennings, who transferred to South Carolina from Kentucky nearly two years ago and gave the Wildcats a harsh reminder of what they are missing without her, powering the Gamecocks during a tough early stretch. She ended the contest with 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Before the game, Jennings insisted she was treating her return to Lexington as she would any other game, but Staley said afterward that she modified her substitution patterns to ensure the emotions didn’t get to Jennings, according to Smith.

For her part, Jennings said she didn’t feel strange playing her former team, Smith reported.

The early going for both teams was choppy and slow, marred by frequent turnovers and three different occasions on which the shot clock malfunctioned. Through the first 10 minutes, the Gamecocks shot 25 percent from the field, and Kentucky turned the ball over 14 times in the first half.

For the final three quarters, however, it was a track meet, with South Carolina shooting 75.7 percent, buoyed by particularly efficient performances from Jennings and Wilson, who combined to shoot 17-for-22.

Most of the chipiness that has characterized the teams’ previous clashes was absent Sunday, as the teams were only whistled for 32 combined personal fouls, both around their season averages. At one point, Kentucky coach Matthew Morris was slapped with a technical foul for arguing a call, but the crowd of 6,521 at Rupp Arena had little response to the return of Jennings.

USC sophomore guard Tyasha Harris, who sprained her ankle in the second half of USC’s win against Vanderbilt on Thursday, recovered to start Sunday’s game and collected her sixth double double of the season with 12 points and a career-high 13 assists. With 6.9 assists per game. Harris leads the SEC and is a full two assists per contest ahead of the next closest player.

USC and Staley have now won seven consecutive games against Kentucky, the second longest stretch in the long series between the two programs. UK hasn’t had a losing season in 14 years, but it has struggled mightily this season, and Sunday’s defeat dropped the Wildcats to 1-10 in their last 11 games.

South Carolina returns home to face Arkansas this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

This story was originally published January 21, 2018 at 2:00 PM with the headline "A’ja Wilson roars back from injury to lead South Carolina past Kentucky."