Kennedy Cambridge fitting in nicely after mysterious start to Kentucky WBB career

Over the last two games, freshman Kennedy Cambridge has become a dependable rotation player for Kentucky women’s basketball. The only question is why wasn’t she playing before?

In Kentucky’s Wednesday night road win over Minnesota, Cambridge recorded five points, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 12 minutes played while making both of her shots from the field. Moreover, Cambridge posted a +/- of +5.

yes, i’d love to remind the world .. that i AM 3 OF 3 🤩🤩 https://t.co/xVc7U1QPLF

— kennedy cambridge (@kencambridge_) December 7, 2022

After the game, head coach Kyra Elzy discussed Cambridge’s talent.

“Kennedy brings us a different edge,” Elzy said following the Wildcats’ 80-74 win. “She has that dog mentality that I’m looking for; has a great feel for the game.”

Even more impressive, Wednesday evening was only Cambridge’s second time touching the court this season. Cambridge’s first college appearance was just a few days ago on Dec. 4 in Kentucky’s win over UNC Greensboro, where she had an even better performance.

Cambridge dropped nine points and four rebounds against the Spartans on Sunday. As she was on Wednesday night, the 5-foot-8 rookie guard was efficient, shooting 3-4 from the field. It only took 13 minutes for the Nashville native to tally up the second-most freshmen points on UK’s roster, trailing Amiya Jenkins.

. @KentuckyWBB Freshman @kencambridge_ made her career debut in the win over UNC-Greensgoro. Scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting & added 4 rebounds, an assist & a block pic.twitter.com/7oiRcBPk1t

— Walter Cornett (@wildcat_world) December 5, 2022

So, what made Elzy finally give Cambridge those 13 minutes? In all honesty, we’re not sure. Cambridge did not appear on the bench in Kentucky’s first two games of the season. The news came through a vague message from the program.

Kennedy Cambridge will be unavailable for the next two games. She will return to the bench Sunday when Kentucky hosts Coastal Carolina.

No reason. No further description. When KSR asked Elzy about Cambridge’s situation, her answer wasn’t much more detailed.

“She is out for personal reasons right now. It’ll be day-to-day,” Elzy said after Kentucky’s season opener against Radford.

Although Cambridge returned to the bench, the mystery continued as Kentucky blew out opponents and put in the freshmen to run down the clock; all the freshmen except Cambridge. She never took off her warm-ups, much less, actually leave the bench.

Whether the Cambridge conundrum was a shadow suspension or a hidden injury, one thing is important: she’s playing now. More specifically, she’s playing well. With opponents such as Louisville looming ahead of UK, they’ll need Cambridge to keep up the good work. Elzy believes she will.

“She understands the assignment when she steps on the floor. She knows how to win.”