Ajae Petty showed that she is the gift that keeps on giving for Kentucky WBB against Miss. State

When KSR first got a look at this Kentucky women’s basketball team during an open practice, our biggest and immediate takeaway was that Ajae Petty had completely reinvented herself physically. However, she didn’t undergo that physical transformation for show. Instead, she had intentions on becoming one of the most dominant post players in the SEC, and she has been just that this year for Kentucky.

In Kentucky’s win over Mississippi State, Petty was phenomenal, yet again. The senior forward scored 20 points on 7-14 shooting while also grabbing 12 rebounds. This marked her 15th double-double of the season and her third straight such effort. Additionally, Petty has now scored 20+ points in seven games this season. Kyra Elzy was very pleased with her effort Thursday night.

Petty was the anchor that kept Kentucky in the game

“You know, I thought she was just solid,” Elzy explained in the postgame press conference. “She stayed steady. I thought she took great shots. She also adjusted to the double team when they started bringing the house. She started making the right pass. But I liked that she was aggressive. She just took her time, matched up, bowed up… Then, the rebounds. I thought she went and got some big rebounds.”

It was just an all-around great effort for Petty against Mississippi State. There is no doubt that she was undersized against the Bulldogs’ bigs, but she still found ways to get the job done down low.

Now you see her, now you don't. 🌪️@AjaePetty15 pic.twitter.com/0HR5SNUHjw

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) February 23, 2024

Kentucky has a tall task coming up on Sunday as the No. 1 ranked 26-0 South Carolina Gamecocks come into town. Petty, along with everyone else on the team, got simply dominated by South Carolina when they played the first time. However, if Petty can keep this type of effort up, maybe the ‘Cats can do the impossible on Sunday.