In their first tight game since beating Duke in Cameron on 12/7, Dawn Staley's top-ranked Gamecocks answered tenth-ranked Kentucky's upset bid, winning 68-60. The 'Cats took a 38-35 lead to the locker room, and while Carolina quickly took the lead in the second half, UK never allowed the game to get out of hand until Carolina went on a run in the closing minutes to nearly win by double digits.
This wasn't a flawless performance for Carolina. The Gamecocks shot 33% from the field and turned the ball over 16 times. However, Carolina also got 22 (out of 68 FGA) offensive rebounds to UK's 13 (67 FGA) and did a much better job than Kentucky of getting to the free throw line, going 18-25 to UK's 12-14. Those two numbers say a lot about how Carolina won.
The win brings Carolina to 16-0 overall and 4-0 in the SEC. Kentucky will get its chance at revenge when Carolina visits Rupp to close out the regular season. For now, next up for Carolina is a trip to the other Columbia to take on Mizzou. The Tigers are 0-3 to start league play, but in their defense, they've played three of the league's tougher teams in Tennessee, Miss. St., and UGA.
