FINAL: Kentucky WBB falls to No. 3 Colorado 96-53 in 2nd game of Paradise Jam

Following Kentucky women’s basketball’s 84-55 loss to No. 10 NC State in the Paradise Jam opener on Thanksgiving Day, Friday’s matchup against No. 3 Colorado was an improvement on both ends of the court — at least through the first half of play.

Despite the fact that the Wildcats technically shot better on Friday (17-41; 41.4 percent) than they did on Thursday (16-51; 27.7 percent), they still couldn’t manage to stop the Buffaloes and pull out a win. In the end, Colorado (6-0) came out with the 96-53 victory over Kentucky (2-4) down in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

But, instead of this game being decided by the first quarter (much like UK’s last two games), this one was decided in the second half. Kentucky was basically neck and neck with Colorado for a majority of the first. The ‘Cats even started the game leading 9-2 midway through the first quarter. It wasn’t until the very end of the second quarter that Colorado started to pull away with a three to finish the half that gave them a double-digit lead at the break.

Cats fall to No. 3 Buffs. pic.twitter.com/IGl2YaMegB

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) November 24, 2023

Senior guard Maddie Scherr, who sat out two games from an ankle injury against USC Upstate, made her first appearance post-injury on Thursday but only played 21 minutes. Against Colorado, Scherr showed exactly why Kentucky needs her to be a competitive team. The Bluegrass native had 13 points, three assists, a rebound, and a block in 29 minutes.

However, Kentucky still struggled on the perimeter, something that has become apparent over the past few games. The Wildcats shot 1-10 from three. The Buffaloes on the other hand? 5-12. Kentucky managed to find more shots under the basket thanks to seniors Eniya Russell and Ajae Petty.

Russell, who finished with 14 points shooting 5-8 from the field, had a solid game. The guard was a hustler, played aggressively, and scored multiple times in transition. Meanwhile, Petty finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, which was a major improvement from Thursday’s nine points and two rebounds. The senior forward is being double-teamed in almost every matchup of the season. Petty is going to have to make adjustments accordingly and learn how to make a bigger, more consistent impact.

But it wasn’t even Colorado’s three-point shooting that won them the game. It was outrebounding the ‘Cats 31-23, scoring in transition (UK turned the ball over 27 times), and forcing Kentucky into hard shots. The Buffs shot a season-high 59.7 percent (37 of 62) from the field in the win.

Kentucky is back in action on Saturday against Cincinnati (2-2) at 3:15 p.m. EST in the final game of the Paradise Jam before returning to Lexington. On Thursday, the Bearcats also fell to Colorado, 77-60.