Alexis Jennings rises up against her old team as South Carolina tops Kentucky
When she faced them for the first time last year, Alexis Jennings had little to say about her former team at Kentucky. She was at South Carolina, not interested in talking much about her transfer between rivals.
This year, she said even less but dominated in her final trip to Lexington, leading the Gamecocks to a 74-70 win Thursday with her 15th career double-double off 18 points and 12 rebounds.
“It didn’t feel any different at all. It was just another game on the road we had to win,” Jennings said.
No. 16 USC (15-5, 7-1 SEC) came out looking a little lethargic in a crucial matchup with the No. 19 Wildcats for SEC standing. UK got a pair of 3-pointers early and frustrated coach Dawn Staley’s defense with plenty of ball screens. Inside, Kentucky scrambled for an early 11-6 edge in rebounding despite being somewhat undersized at the forward position.
“It looked like we were trying to run uphill, up an incline (in the first quarter),” Staley said. “And once we adjusted to the pace of it, I think we just tried to take Kentucky’s first punch.”
However, Carolina’s first basket of the night came from senior forward Jennings on a strong post move, and that set the tone for the game — the Wildcats’ frontcourt had no answer for Jennings’ size and finesse in the low post.
“If you allow her to catch it deep, like we did too many times tonight, with two feet in the paint, she’s got an array of post skills and really played a nice game,” Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell said of Jennings. “Very good player.”
“She’s got two feet in the paint, she’s a hard guard for anybody her size, let alone someone that’s a little smaller, a little shorter, probably not as strong,” Staley said of Jennings. “She’s a fifth-year senior. She’s been around the SEC a long time so she knows how to do some things.”
Several timely 3-pointers also proved crucial — one from junior guard Tyasha Harris in the final seconds of the first quarter capped a 7-0 run and closed the score to 20-17 in favor of Kentucky, while another from Bianca Cuevas-Moore midway through the second quarter put USC within one point of the Wildcats.
Meanwhile, after starting the game with 9-for-16 shooting from the field, Kentucky’s touch cooled considerably as USC’s defense adjusted and cut down on the ball-screen action. Another 7-0 run to close the half gave South Carolina a 31-28 lead.
“The biggest adjustment was just locking in and everybody playing their role and just to keep their players in front of us, honestly,” Jennings said of the defensive improvement. “And once we did that, we kinda had our way with them.”
After halftime, USC continued to attack the interior and were rewarded with an 8-2 run to start the third quarter led by four points from Jennings. Kentucky called a timeout after 2:40 of play, but the stoppage failed to slow down the Gamecocks, who ripped off a quick 6-2 run with four points from Cuevas-Moore to force Kentucky into calling another timeout.
“Those were some incredible mental breakdowns that happened,” Mitchell said. “ ... We were trying to get into the press, and they just threw it over the top and shot layups. It was very difficult night for us in transition defense.”
From there, the Gamecocks alternated attacks with Jennings and junior guard Te’a Cooper, who tallied 17 points almost exclusively on drives to the paint and free throws. At one point, the USC lead swelled to 17 points, before a late Kentucky surge put the Wildcats within single digits. It wasn’t enough, however, to stop Staley’s team from taking its ninth consecutive win in the series.
“We took a step back in trying to play not to lose instead of to win at the end,” Staley said. “We subbed, and sometimes when we sub we have difficulty having the same chemistry we have with our starting lineup. We had people in positions we probably shouldn’t have. But we also felt we built a big enough lead that we’d be able to execute at the end of the game. Obviously that didn’t happen and it provided them some momentum.”
Star of the game: Jennings was the anchor for the Gamecocks in several cold stretches, including late when she produced a couple of crucial layups to keep the lead at a comfortable margin.
Stat of the game: Points in the paint were a robust 44-28 in favor of South Carolina.
Play of the game: Victaria Saxton’s entrance into the game late in the first half was just what South Carolina needed to re-energize itself, and while the freshman made a few mistakes, she also came up big with a rebound and jumper to give Carolina a lead it would never relinquish.
NEXT
The Gamecocks stay on the road for their next SEC matchup, traveling to Arkansas to face the surprising Razorbacks, who were picked to finish 11th in the preseason media and coaches polls but are currently 16-5 and tied for third in the conference. That game is at 5 p.m. Sunday on SEC Network.
BOX SCORE
SOUTH CAROLINA (15-5)
Herbert Harrigan 4-15 3-4 11, Jennings 8-15 2-2 18, Cooper 7-15 3-6 17, Cuevas-Moore 3-7 5-8 13, Harris 3-8 1-2 8, Grissett 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 1-1 0-0 2, Saxton 1-1 0-2 2, Cliney 1-1 1-1 3, Totals 28-63 15-25 74.
KENTUCKY (17-5)
McKinney 3-5 0-0 6, Wyatt 3-6 1-1 8, Howard 7-18 0-0 16, Morris 9-18 0-0 21, Murray 4-13 4-5 12, Anyagaligbo 1-2 0-2 2, Green 0-3 0-0 0, Paschal 0-1 0-0 0, Roper 1-6 2-2 5, Totals 28-72 7-10 70.
South Carolina 17 14 24 19 — 74
Kentucky 20 8 16 26 — 70
3-Point Goals: South Carolina 3-7 (Herbert Harrigan 0-1, Cooper 0-2, Cuevas-Moore 2-2, Harris 1-2), Kentucky 7-27 (McKinney 0-1, Wyatt 1-3, Howard 2-8, Morris 3-8, Murray 0-3, Green 0-1, Paschal 0-1, Roper 1-2). Assists: South Carolina 13 (Harris 5), Kentucky 13 (Morris 5). Fouled Out: None. Rebounds: South Carolina 43 (Jennings 12), Kentucky 42 (McKinney 10). Total Fouls: South Carolina 15, Kentucky 20. Technical Fouls: None. Attendance: 4,247.
This story was originally published January 31, 2019 at 8:23 PM.
