Eniya Russell channels "just win" mentality to come in clutch against Missouri

Boy oh boy, did Eniya Russell have a special performance on Sunday.

After putting up a goose egg in the scoring column against Vanderbilt and only scoring six points against South Carolina (her former team), Russell responded with arguably her best performance of the season. In Kentucky’s 76-71 win over Missouri, Russell scored 20 points and grabbed seven boards to help the ‘Cats end a three-game skid.

Nine of Russell’s 20 points came in the fourth quarter alone. Down the stretch, a switch flipped in her head, and the only thing that mattered to her was UK winning the game. That’s when Russell would do her best Rhyne Howard impression, absolutely taking over the game and willing Kentucky to victory. Russell would seal the win with a go-ahead jumper from the right elbow with 51.6 seconds left in regulation.

🧅🧅🧅🧅🧅ONIONS 🧅🧅🧅🧅🧅@eniyar1#WeAreUK pic.twitter.com/2B67v93Qrc

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) January 21, 2024

Kyra Elzy was confident in Russell prior to the game

Despite things trending in the wrong direction for Russell as of late, Kyra Elzy was still confident that the senior guard would have a big day against the Tigers.

“I was like, ‘Eniya Russell is going to have a great day today.’ I thought she practiced well,“ Elzy said. “She was steady all week, she was focused, she had great defensive intensity, she was playing under control offensively, so I felt it all day today.”

Elzy added, “When she came in, she was bouncing around defensively. I thought she took good, on-balance shots. But I love that she went to the offensive boards. We did run a couple of isos for her, but that’s the Eniya Russell that we need and hope to see consistently.”

It started with practice this week. Kentucky had six days off following the South Carolina game, and Elzy saw that Russell wanted to prove herself against the Tigers. Then, she walked the walk and balled out.

Hopefully, this is something that carries over into the next game against Arkansas and for the rest of the season.