How Kentucky WBB missed Dre’Una Edwards against DePaul

There were countless reasons Kentucky Women’s Basketball lost to DePaul, and Dre’Una Edwards’ absence undoubtedly was one of them.

The No. 14 ‘Cats were without their star forward in their 94-85 loss against DePaul on Thursday night. The program announced Edwards would not play only an hour before the game. Edwards was suspended for not “upholding the academic standards of the program.” Although the suspension was for only one game, it was an important one.

DePaul was one of Kentucky’s toughest opponents of the season yet. Further, UK was honoring Matthew Mitchell during Thursday night’s game. To top it off, the ‘Cats were playing in Rupp Arena.

As easy as it is to be upset at Edwards, it’s even easier to beg her to never miss another game. If one thing is clear after Kentucky’s painful loss to the Blue Demons, they need Edwards. Here’s how the redshirt junior’s absence hurt the ‘Cats.

DePaul dominates the glass

Edwards contributes more than just points to the UK. In fact, the 6-foot-2 forward is the team’s leading rebounder, averaging 7.9 boards per game. Edwards is the clear anchor of Kentucky’s paint. This point became even clearer against DePaul.

On Thursday evening, the Blue Demons out-rebounded the ‘Cats 46-30. Despite only having one player standing above 6-foot that plays serious minutes, DePaul bullied the ‘Cats.

DePaul’s lopsided rebounding effort didn’t come from missed Kentucky shots, but from grabbing their own failed attempts. The Blue Demons racked up 19 offensive rebounds compared to Kentucky’s mere 10. Consequently, DePaul nearly doubled the ‘Cats’ second-chance points.

The Blue Demons weren’t the only ones noticing the lack of Edwards, ‘Cats Robyn Benton and Jada Walker spoke on missing their teammate after the game.

“We definitely missed Dre (Dre’una Edwards) tonight. We just missed her presence and her energy, on defense and the offensive end,” Robyn Benton said.

“Yeah, I feel like we were missing a lot of rebounds without Dre (Dre’una Edwards),” freshman Jada Walker added. ”We could have made up for that with a better effort to rebound, especially us as guards.

Kentucky WBB could’ve used Edwards’ shooting

Perhaps the most painful statistic from the Wildcats’ loss was their 3-point shooting percentage. On the night, the ‘Cats went 0-14 from beyond the arc. The slump came as a shock to the ‘Cats who had shot a combined 17-36 over their previous two contests.

While Edwards isn’t regarded as a sniper from deep, she’s certainly respectable. The ‘Cats second-leading scorer is making 47% of her attempts from three this season. For reference, Rhyne Howard is shooting 38% from beyond the arc.

Even if Edwards wasn’t making her 3-pointers, her threatening shot would’ve impacted the game. With non-threats from deep Olivia Owens and Nyah Leveretter clogging the paint, DePaul could fully extend their defense without worrying about the ‘Cats driving by.

In spite of the complexities of offense, Robyn Benton kept the team’s shooting struggles simple in the postgame press conference.

“Our shots weren’t falling tonight,” Benton said. “There’s no other better way to explain it.”

Head coach Kyra Elzy echoed Benton’s thoughts.

“The shot didn’t go and that’s part of the game. Sometimes they will, sometimes they won’t,” Elzy said. “For the most part, we had great looks at it.”

Missing Dre’Una Edwards’ defense

No matter how many advanced analytics you look at, the most important numbers from Thursday night’s game are on the final scoreboard. The Wildcats gave up a whopping 94 points, the most to any opponent this season.

DePaul leads the nation in points per game, but even for them, this was a high-scoring affair. Once again, a chunk of these points would’ve never been scored if Edwards played.

Specifically, Kentucky’s paint protector would’ve stopped the Blue Demons’ lane dominance. DePaul scored 62 points in the paint against the ‘Cats, the most by any foe this season.

While this figure is jaw-dropping, it makes sense. Edwards is Kentucky’s leader in blocks per game, recording six blocks in the West Virginia game. Kentucky’s anchor in the paint wasn’t there, thus Kentucky’s defense was caught in DePaul’s offensive current.

Although these are a few obvious ways the ‘Cats missed Edwards, there are plenty of more subtle differences. In the way some paintings are priceless, so is Edwards’ effect on Kentucky Women’s Basketball. For Kentucky to win their next contest against the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals, Edwards will have to paint a masterpiece.

The ‘Cats will take on Louisville at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.