South Carolina women’s basketball lost its leading scorer early on Thursday against Kentucky, but it didn’t sink the Gamecocks.
In the end, turnovers and poor shooting did, as USC dropped a home contest to the Wildcats, 65-57.
Carolina (19-7, 11-2 SEC) shot just 34.6 percent from the field at Colonial Life Arena, its worst mark in the SEC this season, and turned the ball over 21 times, also an SEC high.
Kentucky (22-5, 9-4 SEC), meanwhile, got strong performances from its guard trio of star freshman Rhyne Howard, who scored 17 points, mostly in bunches, senior Maci Morris, who came up big late with 3-point plays, and senior Taylor Murray
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The Gamecocks’ took an early 7-4 lead, but their momentum was blunted with 6:15 left in the first quarter, when junior guard Cooper went down in the paint, clutching her left ankle.