Epps and Vivians have an epic shootout in UK’s win

UK guard Mikayla Epps puts up a layup under pressure from Mississippi State forward Victoria Vivians at the University of Kentucky vs. Mississippi State women’s basketball game in Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky., on Thursday, February 12, 2015. Kentucky defeated Mississippi 92-90. Photo by Cameron Sadler

By Joshua Huff

[email protected]

Where would Mississippi State be without freshman Victoria Vivians?

Certainly heading back to Starkville, Miss. suffering from a far greater loss than the 92-90 one the Bulldogs endured on Thursday in double overtime against a Makayla Epps-led UK team.

The 6-foot-1 Carthage, Miss., native scored 39 points for a Bulldogs team that was devoid of any offense other than senior center Martha Alwal and herself. Granted, Mississippi St. ran into a UK team riding a swell of success ever since Epps switched over to the point guard position.

By the way, Epps had a career-best 42 points.

“We hardly had an answer for her, obviously,” Mississippi St. head coach Vic Shaefer pointed out. “She really dominated the game offensively.”

Yet one would think that after Mississippi St’s. 63-61 overtime win against then-No. 15 Texas A&M on Sunday, the Bulldogs would enter Memorial Coliseum with confidence. But the only player who seemed confident was Vivians.

“I’d glad she came when the bus was leaving,” Shaefer said of her. “Because if she wasn’t here in the first half, this is probably a 20-25 point game. She put us on her back in the first half.”

Her confidence grew as the game went on and UK entered its usual late-game cold spell. Down 10 points with just under five minutes left in the game, Vivians led a charge that brought the Bulldogs to within one point.

It was her layup with two minutes remaining that gave Mississippi St. its first lead of the game, which came as no surprise, as UK has a penchant for allowing teams to rally late in games.

It was inevitable that the Bulldogs would make a late run.

Down three points with less than two minutes to go, Vivians drained a clutch three that tied the game at 72, which was reminiscent of her decisive three against Texas A&M with 55 seconds left in overtime. That shot, along with a time-expiring layup by freshman guard Morgan William, sent the game into overtime.

That’s when Vivian shined.

Down two with less than 30 seconds left in overtime, Vivian stepped back beyond the arc and fired a three that dropped like melted butter through the net, a three that gave the Bulldogs its second lead of the game.

However, Epps wasn’t to be outdone. With 11 seconds left, she dropped a teardrop into the net to tie the game and send it to yet another overtime.

But two overtimes was enough for Epps, whose desperation layup with a second left on the clock sent the Cats to a crowd-erupting victory that will go down as a win for the ages. And in a night that saw two talented players shine, it was fitting that the player who had to step in and replace Janee Thompson would be her best friend, Epps. The new point guard would go on and shine the brightest.

UK head coach Matthew Mitchell summed up the performance best.

“I’m glad she scored 42 not 39,” he said. “We needed those extra three points that she gave us.”