By Kevin Erpenbeck

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If someone goes through a downward spiral in their life, sometimes it takes an intervention to bring them back to stability.

That’s exactly where UK Hoops was a week ago. The Cats had just lost their third-straight game and looked devoid of any fighting spirit, with head coach Matthew Mitchell saying they weren’t playing “Kentucky basketball.”

Then, the 2015 seniors visited Mitchell at his house, sat him down on his couch and had a deep conversation about the state of the team. That’s when everything changed, and UK’s 67-56 stunning upset of No. 2 South Carolina, on Senior Day no less, is a direct result of that change.

“I’m just so proud of our team and especially proud of our seniors,” Mitchell said. “It probably would not have been possible without their input and how much they care about the program.”

Jennifer O’Neill, Bria Goss, Azia Bishop and Jelleah Sidney, UK’s four seniors, combined for 33 points and carried the Cats to the win, in what Mitchell described as one of the more special Senior Days he’s ever been a part of.

“I was real happy before the game started because of what the seniors had done,” Mitchell said. “I wasn’t real worried about the outcome, but it sure is icing on the cake to get the victory. Their memory of Senior Day is going to be something special and they deserve to feel good today.”

Amongst the biggest seniors of the day were O’Neill and Bishop. O’Neill had a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds while Bishop finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.

But it was UK’s frenetic defense that made the difference. The Cats forced the Gamecocks into an uncharacteristic 20 turnovers and held them to 32 percent from the floor. Points were hard to come by for both teams in the first half, with the score 7-3 eight minutes in and 27-22 at halftime.

Then, UK came alive, suffocating South Carolina defensively and stretching its lead out to 21 with under 12 minutes to play. The Gamecocks attempted a comeback late in the game, but were never able to cut their deficit to less than seven.

Bishop said some of the talk that took place at Mitchell’s house was about getting back to a tough-defense mentality; playing “Kentucky basketball” that had been void of the team.

“It wasn’t just about focusing on it in this game. Every game from here on out, we need to play tough,” Bishop said.

The 2015 seniors have made many memories during their time at UK, from O’Neill breaking the program’s single-game point record with 43 against Baylor, to Goss tying the school’s consecutive free-throw streak of 27.

But it was that conversation on his couch that Mitchell will remember the most about this year’s seniors.

“I was so happy they called the meeting, and I was happy to listen,” Mitchell said. “As a coach, you try to evolve, maybe give the players a little more responsibility. You’re hoping that you can transfer that responsibility to them. I’ll never forget that. It was powerful. Wasn’t real complicated, but sometimes, simple isn’t easy.”