COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kentucky knew it had a team that could win sprints.

Kentucky knew it had the bodies to win marathons if need be.

But what the ninth-ranked Cats didn't know until Sunday is that they're pretty good at hurdles, too.

Kentucky had to overcome more than its share of them en route to a 66-58 win versus No. 24 South Carolina at Colonial Life Arena.

"They showed tremendous toughness," Coach Matthew Mitchell said of his team, which took over sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference with the win. "Our players gave incredible effort. They continued to give incredible effort even when the ball wasn't bouncing our way."

Those hurdles were many.

Kentucky, which moved to 5-0 in the SEC for the first time in program history, had to overcome a nine-point deficit midway through the second half. It was the Cats' largest deficit in a conference game this season.

They had to overcome star player A'dia Mathies being hounded by double teams and benched by foul trouble.

They had to overcome their second-leading scorer going without a basket the entire game.

But they got over the hurdles to earn their fifth straight win and their second on the road in the SEC, with a game at No. 19 Georgia looming Thursday.

"We're taking these one precious moment at a time," Mitchell said. "Every win we can generate is tough to get, and it's precious."

Points were precious, too, in a game that saw 10 lead changes and four ties.

Kentucky was struggling in the halfcourt against South Carolina's aggressive defense. The Gamecocks came into the game holding opponents to an SEC-low 45.9 points a game.

With 10 minutes to go in the second half, UK had allowed a 14-4 Gamecocks run and found itself in a 45-36 hole.

The Cats had managed just two baskets in a six-minute span.

So, Mitchell called a time out and changed up his defense (moving to a little-used zone press) in an attempt to generate some offense.

"They were really clicking, really in rhythm," Mitchell said of the Gamecocks. "Fortunately, we got a few stops. ... It gave our players a little bit of hope that we could change the game."

Indeed it did.

Kentucky went on a 20-4 run that turned that big deficit into a 56-49 lead.

Keyla Snowden had seven points in that spree, including a key three-pointer (one of just two for UK Sunday) that gave the Cats some breathing room.

Getting some turnovers out of that press was key, said Snowden, who led all scorers with 15 points (she also had three steals). It was the senior guard's third straight game in double figures.

"The last couple years, we've lost here because of lack of energy, and I felt like, this time, everyone was super enthused," she said. "We just fell back on our fundamentals, and our energy helped us get through that slump."

Snowden wasn't alone in scoring during that run. Five players joined her, and five players scored eight points or more in the victory.

Amber Smith had nine points and tied her season high with six assists. Brittany Henderson, Mathies and Samarie Walker each had eight points for UK, which shot 42.4 percent from the field, but just 15.4 (2-for-13) from three-point range.

Mathies, who was coming off a game where she scored a career-best 34 points on No. 6 Tennessee, had foul problems for much of the game and saw her share of double teams.

She still managed to add three steals, three blocks and three assists in the victory.

The Kentucky defense forced South Carolina into a season-high 29 turnovers, which the Cats converted into 32 points.

"It's constant," South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley said of UK's pressure. "It just keeps coming and coming.

"Turnovers killed us. Anytime our defense held up, we'd give them uncontested layups because of our turnovers."

The Gamecocks (14-4, 3-2) also struggled to convert easy points at the free-throw line, making just half of their 24 attempts.

Ieasia Walker led South Carolina with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, but she also had seven turnovers. La'Leisha Sutton added 12 points, but also ended up with eight turnovers against the smothering UK pressure.

Conwright dinged up

Maegan Conwright went down early in the second half after a collision and left the gym floor with a cut on her head, which required three stitches.

She came back in late in the game.

It is less than a month since the sophomore guard had a tooth knocked out in a physical practice.