Kentucky WBB defeats Mississippi State 78-68 in first road win of season

After a motivating win celebrating Kentucky WBB alumni in Lexington on Sunday, the ‘Cats traveled down to Starkville on Thursday to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The ‘Cats and the Bulldogs met once before at Rupp Arena on Feb. 1 and lost in overtime 77-74, but this time, it was an entirely different story.

Kentucky hadn’t won a road game all season long. That’s right, UK was 0-8 on the road since the beginning of the season. But, they say basketball is a game of runs, and that was definitely the case in Starkville. The ‘Cats walked away with a 78-68 victory.

Almost straight out of the gate, it seemed like Mississippi State might run away with this one. In fact, the Bulldogs had an 18-11 lead over the ‘Cats before the first quarter was even over. Eventually, Kentucky got into a groove offensively. Saniah Tyler went 4-4 from the three-point line in the first quarter alone. Kentucky had a five-point lead going into the second quarter, but only a 35-34 lead at halftime.

To start the second half, Mississippi State went on a 7-0 run. After ending the first half with an 8-0 run, the Bulldogs had outscored the ‘Cats 15-0 in a matter of minutes. Kentucky didn’t even score its first points of the half until three minutes into the third quarter. After the Bulldogs secured a nine-point lead over the ‘Cats, it seemed like there was no coming back.

That was… until the fourth quarter. With less than five minutes to go in the game, Kentucky went on an 11-0 run to take the lead away from Mississippi State. Besides that iffy third quarter, everything seemed to go right for the ‘Cats. They finished the game on a 19-0 run to secure a victory over the Bulldogs, marking their second in a row.

There were four Wildcats in double-digits and as a team, Kentucky shot 26-64 from the field. Even free throws, which usually don’t go in UK’s favor, were very consistent — 18-22 (81.8%). Rebounds between the two teams were about as even as it could get, 40-38, ‘Cats on top. Kentucky had only 12 turnovers, while Mississippi State had 17, with nine of those coming in the fourth quarter.

Leading Kentucky in scoring was Saniah Tyler, who tied her career-high of 22 points. This time, Tyler went 6-8 from the three-point line. Her previous career high was four made triples against Georgia on Feb. 4. Tyler tied that record in the first quarter alone. The sophomore added a rebound and a steal. And she did all of that in only 21 minutes of play.

Ajae Petty made sure to grab a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. The senior added an assist and a steal. Safe to say it was Petty’s night. The other two ‘Cats in double-digits were Eniya Russell and Maddie Scherr with 14 and 11 points, respectively. The two seniors only went a combined 8-25 (32%) from the field but made up for the lack of efficiency by going 8-10 (80%) from the free-throw line.

Overall, this was a great win for Kentucky. Quite possibly the best of the season. With only three games left in the regular season, can the ‘Cats carry this two-game win streak momentum into Lexington on Sunday?

There, Kentucky (11-16; 4-9 SEC) takes on South Carolina (26-0; 13-0 SEC) at Rupp Arena for Senior Day. Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m. EST and can be streamed on the SEC Network.

OR, you can come watch the ‘Cats (possibly) take down the number one team in the country in person, celebrate the seniors, and see a pretty cool halftime performance by Umbrella Lina.