FINAL: Kentucky WBB defeats Presbyterian 81-53 in season opener

Kentucky Women’s Basketball’s season-opener wasn’t always pretty, but it didn’t have to be. On Tuesday night, the ‘Cats pulled out an 81-53 victory over the Presbyterian Blue Hose.

The Wildcats were led by senior forward Dre’Una Edwards who dropped an impressive 20 points and six rebounds. The Blue Hose’ losing effort was respectively led by guard Trinity Johnson with 11 points. While the ‘Cats finished the game with a comfortable lead, the contest wasn’t always so leisurely. Here’s how Kentucky Women’s Basketball got their first tally in the win column.

Ugly first quarter for the ‘Cats

Similar to the team’s exhibition against Lee, the ‘Cats came out flat. Before Kentucky could blink, Presbyterian jumped out to a 6-0 lead. Their early-game run was immediately met with a timeout from Kyra Elzy.

While the second-year head coach’s speech stopped the bleeding, it didn’t heal the wound. The ‘Cats increased pressure caused four Presbyterian turnovers in just the first quarter. Nevertheless, when the Blue Hose were finding shots, they were falling. Presbyterian’s squad made an impressive 9/11 of their first-quarter shot attempts.

Things didn’t get any easier for the ‘Cats when center Olivia Owens picked up her second foul with two and a half minutes left in the period. Despite Rhyne Howard’s best efforts to lead her team, the ‘Cats headed into the second frame trailing 25-15.

Kentucky WBB claws back in the second

Despite Presbyterian’s wishes, their perfect performance couldn’t last forever; especially not with a bunch of angry ‘Cats clawing their way back into the contest. To open the quarter, Kentucky went on a 9-0 run before being met by a Blue Hose timeout.

Unfortunately for Kentucky, Presbyterian’s timeout proved effective. The Wildcats went on a two-minute scoring drought before Hunt was fouled in the post. Fueled by their second wind, the ‘Cats took their first lead of the game with 1:27 left in the half.

The two teams battled for the final 90 seconds of the period, but thanks to a near half-court bucket from Howard, Kentucky headed into halftime with a 38-37 lead.

What a 3 by @howard_rhyne to close out the half and give the Cats the lead! pic.twitter.com/594NduT6uK

— Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) November 10, 2021

While Howard showed off her star power at the end of the period, Hunt was the fuel behind Kentucky’s comeback. The forward led all scorers with 12 points in the first half. For reference, 12 points was Hunt’s career-high heading into the game.

Robyn Benton was doing her part, as well. The guard added eight first-half points to the UK total on only five shot attempts. Kentucky fought back to take the lead, but their goal wasn’t a narrow victory. To be proud of their performance, Kentucky was going to have to put together a much better second half.

The Cats lead Presbyterian at the half! 😼 pic.twitter.com/aUC5jXC6KY

— Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) November 10, 2021

Third period dominance for Kentucky WBB

The third period couldn’t have started better for the ‘Cats. Kentucky opened the half on a ridiculous 19-0 run to suddenly have a 57-37 victory. The ‘Cats incredible run was led by Dre’Una Edwards, who scored 10 points in the first six minutes of the second half.

Most of these points came on the fast break. More specifically, the fast break caused by Kentucky’s pressure cooker of a defense. In the third period alone, Kentucky scored 14 points off turnovers.

The Wildcats’ buckets in the third period also looked noticeably different. Of their 29 points scored in the third frame, 22 of them were baskets in the paint. Kentucky’s aggressive strategy paid off. The Wildcats outscored Presbyterian 29-6 in the third period to go ahead 67-43.

Finishing in the fourth

Kentucky’s fourth quarter wasn’t as commanding as the third, but it was enough. The ‘Cats continued to play strong defense throughout the final 10 minutes. In fact, the Blue Hose were scoreless for nearly three minutes of the period due to Kentucky’s dynamic defense.

Kentucky’s defense wasn’t the only thing that kept its momentum going from the previous quarter. Edwards dropped another six points in the final period to increase her total to 20 points on the game and lead the ‘Cats to an 81-53 victory.

1-0 😼 #CommitToIt pic.twitter.com/zbxRh793SH

— Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) November 10, 2021

Final thoughts on Kentucky WBB win

Although there’s still plenty to work on, the Kentucky Women’s Basketball season-opener undoubtedly was a success. Not only were the ‘Cats led by veteran Dre’Una Edwards, but also sophomore Treasure Hunt. The 6-foot-1 sophomore forward recorded a career-high 18 points and nine rebounds. Additionally, Benton and Howard dropped a combined 27 points.

Despite a slow start, the ‘Cats shot 52% from the floor and held the Blue Hose to an average 42% on their shot attempts. The ‘Cats won’t have much time to work on their mistakes, as the team is set to face the University of North Alabama at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The contest will be at Memorial Coliseum and broadcast on the SEC Network+.