Kentucky WBB falls to Ole Miss, 75-45, in last home game of season

It’s been a wild season for Kentucky Women’s Basketball. Not only did the ‘Cats get to play every home game away from “home” at Rupp Arena, Kentucky also finished with a home record of 10-7.

Given that the Wildcats only won 59% of their home matchups, it wasn’t really a surprise when they were unable to pull off their home finale against Ole Miss. The ‘Cats ultimately fell 75-45 on Thursday night.

Kentucky made two shots in the first quarter. That’s right, TWO, and a singular free throw. Ole Miss, on the other hand, got off to an early hot streak, going 10-20 (50%) from the field in the first quarter alone. Compared to Kentucky’s 2-14 (14.3%) first-quarter performance, I’d say that’s pretty good. The ‘Cats were struggling on every single front. Kentucky was outrebounded 13-7, Ole Miss had eight assists while Kentucky had one, and had seven turnovers compared to the Rebels’ four.

It was just not a good start for the ‘Cats.

The second quarter, however, was a different story. Despite the fact that Ole Miss had a pretty consistent 15-plus point lead over Kentucky, the ‘Cats started to heat up. Saniah Tyler, after having not shot the ball for the entirety of the first quarter, drained her first two buckets in the second. The sophomore finished with 10 points, a rebound, and an assist. Eniya Russell also grabbed a few points in the second despite not making a shot in the first.

At the break.#WeAreUK pic.twitter.com/0OhA9eTZCO

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) March 1, 2024

It looked like Kentucky was finally starting to get into a groove. That was… until a four-minute scoring drought, ended by none other than Ajae Petty. The senior finished with eight points and three rebounds. Petty struggled from the free throw line, which has been a pretty consistent theme all season. She finished 0-4 from the line and is now 85-170 (50%) on the season.

Amiya Jenkins had an efficient game after struggling to produce in the past few weeks. The sophomore finished the night with 10 points on 3-9 (33%) from the field and added two rebounds. Conversely, Maddie Scherr had an inefficient game after five double-digit showings in a row. The senior finished with only two points on 0-8 from the field. Scherr’s only two points came from a pair of free throws. She also added four rebounds.

Janae Walker played double-digit minutes for the ninth time this season, ending with 16 on the night. However, she couldn’t get any point production going in the paint. The freshman ended with two points, four rebounds, and two blocks. Cassidy Rowe did Cassidy Rowe things. Took a couple of charges, drained a bucket, and hustled, as usual. The sophomore finished with two points and an assist. Emma King, who played her last minutes as a Wildcat at Rupp Arena, finished with four rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal.

For a Rupp Arena finale, tonight’s game was honestly underwhelming. The ‘Cats are back in action for their final game of the regular season in Baton Rouge against No. 9 LSU on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and can be streamed on the SEC Network.