On Feb. 23, 2017, Kentucky senior Makayla Epps secured an offensive rebound that turned into a tip-shot, putting the No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats ahead of No. 2 Mississippi State and securing the win inside a pre-Historic Memorial Coliseum.

Seven years and 11 months later, Kentucky women’s basketball will aim to secure its first win against a top-five team at home since the historic win over the Bulldogs, facing off against the Texas Longhorns. 

However, the Wildcats will now enter the matchup with a new sense of urgency after suffering a disappointing 66-57 loss to Ole Miss, a game in which Kentucky struggled offensively, particularly in the second half.

The teams last met in 2007, when No. 21 Texas secured a 72-60 victory over Kentucky in the second round of the Jack in the Box Wahine Classic.

No. 8 Kentucky (19-3, 8-2 SEC) will be hosting No. 3 Texas (24-2, 10-1 SEC)  this Thursday, which will mark only the third time in history the two programs have met, and the first time in all of his 22 seasons coaching that Kenny Brooks’ will be facing the Longhorns.

In addition to competing for a top-five ranking, the Wildcats will also seek their first-ever win against the Longhorns in their first meeting in Lexington.

Texas is coming off its most significant victory of the season, defeating No. 2 South Carolina 66-62, snapping the Gamecocks’ 57-game SEC regular-season win streak. 

Meanwhile, Kentucky is coming off an extremely tough loss against Ole Miss. Its offensive struggles are a concern heading into Thursday night’s game.

The Wildcats shot only 28.6% (4-14) from the 3-point line and scored only 10 points in the second half, which is unusual for a typically dominant 3-point shooting team. 

Turnovers were another issue. Kentucky committed 13 turnovers, which led to 12 fast-break points for Ole Miss. 

Luckily for the Wildcats, Texas’ historic victory, eight-game win streak and heading into Lexington as heavy favorites all become a recipe for a trap game — one that the Wildcats will need to capitalize on to prove themselves as elite competitors in the SEC.

The Longhorns’ only two losses on the season have come against top-10 teams, both of which were against double-digit point deficits. More importantly, they are currently 1-2 against top-10 teams on the road. 

Texas first fell in the pre-conference seeason against No. 10 Notre Dame in the SEC/ACC Matchup, losing in overtime 80- 70. Despite multiple double-digit scorers, the inability to execute in overtime and turnover struggles cost UT a game it had a chance to win.

Texas’ 23 turnovers led to 21 fast-break points for Notre Dame, which proved costly. Texas eventually lost due to a late-game collapse. In overtime, it shot only two points (1-11 from the field), while Notre Dame scored 12 and, more importantly, made all six free throws.

Its second was against No. 2 South Carolina in its first of two games against the Gamecocks during conference play.

Similar to its loss against the Fighting Irish, Texas once again lost due to offensive inefficiency and turnover struggles. The Longhorns shot 27.8% from the field and 1-5 from three. 

Even with 20 offensive rebounds, the Longhorns could only convert them into 10 second-chance points. They had 12 turnovers, which South Carolina’s dominant defense capitalized on. 

The Longhorns’ only top 10 road win of the season came against  No. 9 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, but only by seven points, similar to Kentucky, who only beat the Sooners in Norman by nine. 

In both losses, Texas started to show a weakness it would be struggling with all season long: inconsistent shooting and turnovers. To secure a statement win, Kentucky must exploit those weaknesses.

One of Kentucky’s greatest strengths is forcing turnovers and converting them into points. Although it failed to capitalize on this against Ole Miss, it is also one of the Longhorns’ greatest weaknesses. However, the Longhorns’ most prominent issue is from beyond the arc. Texas ranks 349th in the NCAA in 3-point attempts per game, shooting 31.5% from the three (89-282), while Kentucky is tied for 15th in attempts and shoots 33.5% (188-560) from the three. 

Even in their recent win against South Carolina, the Longhorns shot zero-percent (0-4) from beyond the arc. 

Success from the three is essential to an upset victory against Texas, and it will be even harder to achieve after UK’s underwhelming performance at Ole Miss. 

However, a high-scoring performance will be necessary, as Kentucky is 13-0 overall when scoring more than 76.9 points. 

Slowing down Madison Booker, Texas’ offensive machine, will be Kentucky’s most challenging task. Clara Strack and Teonni Key must control the paint to limit Booker, a Cheryl Miller Award finalist, which honors the top small forward in women’s NCAA Division-I college basketball. Booker is coming off a massive game against USC, in which she scored a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

The Cats will also have to handle Kyla Oldacre, Texas’ center, who led heavily to the win with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals. The key to success is controlling the board and dominating the paint, which Kentucky has succeeded in before, due mainly to Strack and Key. 

Using its bigs will give Kentucky the defensive dominance it’ll need to win, especially since Texas lost both games when opponents’ defense held it under 70 points.

Kentucky’s biggest struggle will be due to Texas’ consistently strong fourth-quarter performance, which was highlighted in its recent victory.

This could pose an issue for Kentucky, mainly because the team has struggled with players fouling out all season. Against Oklahoma, three key players for UK — Key, Strack and Clara Silva — fouled out. If it loses key players late in the game against Texas, its chances of an upset will decrease drastically.

Losing three of its bigs, all above 6-foot-4, allowed Oklahoma to reduce its deficit in the fourth quarter significantly. Luckily, Amoore’s legacy performance bailed the Cats out, but they will need more than luck for this game against a strong fourth-quarter Texas team. The two teams may play until the very last second, and having key players fouled out could mean the difference between winning and losing.

Due to their struggles with fouling in the fourth quarter, the Cats need to get points up on the board quickly to give them as much of a safety net as possible if they struggle in the final minutes.

This game is crucial regarding seeding for the SEC Tournament, as both teams seek a double-bye. More importantly, it will give the winning team momentum as conference play wraps up, and March Madness is just over the horizon. 

Kentucky will play Texas inside Historic Memorial Coliseum this Thursday, Feb. 13. The Wildcats will look to go 2-0 against their new SEC foes. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be aired live on ESPN2.