By Joshua Huff

Jhuff@kykernel.com

When South Carolina wins, it doesn’t just win, it wins big.

For 23 out of 29 games, the Gamecocks won by over 10 points, and seventeen of those wins have been by 20 points or more.

So for South Carolina to come into a sold-out Memorial Coliseum on Sunday and fall 67-56 to a struggling UK team comes as a stunner. Losses at the end of a conference schedule don’t come often to teams as good as South Carolina.

But for one evening during the changing of months came a changing of the guard.

If only for just a day.

In February, South Carolina faced UConn and suffered what Gamecock head coach Dawn Staley said was a humbling experience. On the first day of March, South Carolina faced UK and suffered what could best be described using an idiom.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

On January 11th UK faced South Carolina and lost not just the game but its starting point guard, Janee Thompson. Since that game, the Cats lost five of 12 games leading up to Sunday’s regular season finale. But the win against Arkansas on Thursday was a turning point for UK.

And it all started with a meeting called by its four seniors.

“We just all went in there and told him what we thought this program meant, “senior Azia Bishop said. “And that it needs to continue and be like that for the future. So it wasn’t only about us in that moment, it’s about everybody. And I think from there on out we understood that, came together and improved tonight.”

Despite shooting 32 percent from the field and 15 percent from three, UK somehow pulled off the upset, which could be due in large part to the mass of layups and free throws South Carolina missed, but for UK the victory was because of something much deeper – discipline.

“Our discipline,” fellow senior Bria Goss said. “The meeting that we had we talked about a lack of discipline … we lose focus to easy. And we need to come in there with the same mindset every day and try to get better, do things right and taking steps to where we want to be.”

That discipline allowed UK head coach Matthew Mitchell to alter his coaching methods. Not was it just about individuals anymore, it was about holding players accountable.

“You can submit to the changes or you can play somewhere else,” Mitchell said. “They don’t want to play anywhere else. They want to play here, they’re good kids. It’s as simple as that but it was powerful. It wasn’t real complicated, but sometimes simple is not easy.”

And defeating South Carolina was no simple task. The Gamecocks ran roughshod through the SEC and its nonconference schedule. With a single blemish on their record, they entered Memorial expected to win. But regardless of South Carolina’s depth, size and talent, UK rode the emotions of a packed arena and of Senior Night. And that had to start on defense.

“We had to have some ball pressure today,” Mitchell said. “Our kids are so undersized compared to South Carolina. They just have an unbelievably talented team. So we had to disrupt their ball handlers so they don’t have the time to throw the ball in because their post players are open a lot, but if you can’t see them you can’t throw it in there.”

The defense was helped with the emergence of senior Jennifer O’Neill. Playing in potentially her final game at Memorial, it comes as a shock that UK has now just realized that her presence on defense is vital.

But better late than never.

“I’ve always wanted her to value defense,” Mitchell said. “When we’ve been good this year she’s cranked it up on defense and she did today. She was the energy defensively that changed it … it was powerful. She was all over the place. She understood the game plan, she was terrific defensively. I think this is what the team needs her to do.”

With the win, UK secures a sixth seed in the SEC Tournament, which begins on Wednesday. The Cats won’t take to the court until Thursday when they face the winner of the Vanderbilt and Alabama game.

UK’s bracket consists ofTennessee and Mississippi State. The Cats have defeated all but Tennessee this season.

“In the SEC anything can happen,” O’Neill said. “Any team can win and any team can lose as a result. I just think we have to keep on focusing on what we’re doing right now that makes us such a great team. Consistently communicating with each other, showing up to practice and not taking any days off.”