No. 16 Kentucky women’s basketball (21-8, 8-7 SEC) is set to host No. 3 South Carolina (28-2, 14-1 SEC), celebrating its seniors while it closes out the regular season. 

What to watch – 

The Cats enter the game off of a 63-56 win against Auburn, where Kentucky established itself early against the Tigers, yet fought streaky scoring throughout a lot of the game on its path to the win. 

Even amongst the scoring droughts, the win was never in question for the Cats. 

Leading the scoring for the Wildcats was Amelia Hassett, who had 15 points from shooting 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. 

Kentucky is currently averaging 44.6% from the field and 32.6% from the arc. In recent games, the Wildcats have done well to establish themselves early, however struggle to maintain either the lead, or control of the game, in the fourth quarter. 

South Carolina also comes to Lexington off of a win, convincingly defeating Missouri 112-71. 

The Gamecocks have been a powerhouse in women’s basketball since Head Coach Dawn Staley began her tenure. 

Across the board, South Carolina is dominant on the court – it leads Kentucky in every margin and ranks No. 2 in the country with 47.3 paint points per game and is No. 1 in the SEC for its field goal percentage. 

Both teams are known for their strong defensive units, where the Gamecocks are second in the SEC and the Cats sit at No. 3.

In the last face off between the two, Kentucky fell to 78-66 in a game that showed center Clara Strack reaching a team-high 23 points, four assists, eight rebounds and a team-high tying two blocks and one steal. 

This margin led her to become the first player to hit these stats against South Carolina since UConn’s Gabby Williams in 2017. 

Moreover, she also became the only player to do this in Columbia since at least 2002-03 and the first NCAA DI women’s player to hit these stats in a regular-season true road game against an AP Top 10 opponent since Caitlin Clark did so at No. 2 Ohio State in 2023. 

South Carolina leads the all-time series 42-35, however, Kentucky leads the Gamecocks in Lexington 20-14. 

The last time the Cats defeated South Carolina was on March 6, 2022 in the SEC Tournament Championship Game. 

The seniors-

Kentucky is graduating five of its team this season – three of which are current starters and one that was a regular starter throughout most of the season. 

Jordan Obi-

Obi, a 6-foot-1 guard, has been a consistent part of Kentucky’s game this season. 

Joining the Cats from Penn two years ago, the guard was forced out of the 2024-25 season due to a lower leg injury. 

Joining the lineup this season, Obi was placed on the 2025-26 Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Preseason Top 20 Watch List. The graduate student is averaging 9.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.1 APG and is showing 50.9% from the field. 

One of Obi’s greatest attributes is her physicality – something that has been huge in conference play against aggressive SEC teams. 

She’s a well-rounded player, with strong offensive and defensive capabilities, and will help carry Kentucky through the postseason. 

Tonie Morgan-

Morgan has been a driving force of the Kentucky offense this season, averaging 14.2 PPG, 3.1 PG and 8.3 APG. 

The guard transferred to Lexington from Georgia Tech, and since then has made waves in Kentucky’s program. 

She has broken the single-season school record in assists with 214 through 25 games this season, and with nine more assists, she will become the second player in league history with at least 400 points and 250 assists in a single season. 

Morgan is not only directing the offense, but is averaging the second-most points per game for the Wildcats, and has eclipsed 1,500 career points and 600 career assists this season.

Teonni Key-

This is Key’s second year with Kentucky, where she transferred in from North Carolina averaging 2.5 PPG and 2.5 RPG.

At Kentucky, however, the forward has flourished, averaging 11.2 PPG and 7.1 RPG, and joining the starting lineup. 

If Key’s importance to the team wasn’t apparent prior to this season, her absence due to an elbow injury proved just that. 

The senior dominates the paint, and the field, where she is shooting the best percentage (53.2%) out of the Wildcat team. 

Key especially shows up against tough opponents, which will be important for the Cats going into the postseason. 

She had season-high points (27) , field goals made (11) and attempted (15) and free throws made (5) against Vanderbilt, and posted a season-high rebounds against LSU with 16.

Amelia Hassett-

Hassett is also in her second year with Kentucky, where she has played and started in all games since she arrived in the Bluegrass. 

The 6-foot-4 senior has been particularly huge for the Wildcats as the season has been winding down, where she has moved to double-digit scoring averages and led the scoring in Kentucky’s most recent game against Auburn. 

Hassett is averaging 10.4 PPG and 5.5. RPG, and when she’s on point from the arc, she is a huge asset; she has made five 3s in back-to-back games, and needs seven more 3s to break Rhyne Howard’s single season school record (84).

Josie Gilvin-

Gilvin transferred to the Wildcats this year from WKU and at Western, was on the 2024-25 All-CUSA Second Team and All-CUSA Defensive Team. 

The Louisville native hit a career-high 31 points against Liberty before coming to Kentucky, and is known for her very gritty style of play. 

In the 18 games that she has seen action for the Wildcats, she has had a season-high seven points against Wright State. 

Kentucky women’s basketball will close out the regular season against No. 3 South Carolina. The Gamecocks will come to Lexington on Sunday, March 1, with tipoff set for 2 p.m. ET, and game action can be streamed on the SEC Network.