Kentucky WBB hits the road in hopes for win at Ole Miss

Head coach Kyra Elzy said Kentucky has an eternity to turn this season around. With five games remaining in the regular season, the ‘Cats are standing at eternity’s gate.

On Monday, the Wildcats will face off against the Ole Miss Rebels at 7 p.m. on the road. Kentucky is coming off a disappointing 72-65 loss against Alabama on Thursday. The recent fall is one misstep in a dance of disappointing conference contests.

The ‘Cats have held at least a 10-point lead in over half of its SEC losses this season; hot starts crushed by cold spells time and time again. With just five games remaining, something has got to give.

“Obviously, not where we want to be. But we can control our own destiny in the remaining games and keep fighting, keep learning, keep growing and going to work, and obviously winning is the name of the game and find a way to get over the hump,” Elzy said following the loss to Alabama.

Kentucky can get over the hump. The Rebels don’t plan on being the ones to give it a boost.

📸🫶 pic.twitter.com/WcNznwkAgm

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) February 10, 2023

What’s up with Ole Miss?

The Rebels aren’t in the same treacherous boat as the ‘Cats. In fact, they’re not on the same water.

Ole Miss is entering Monday’s matchup after a convincing 68-42 win over Florida on Feb. 5. Moreover, the Rebels will take on Kentucky with eight days of rest behind them; not that they need it. After all, who needs a break when you have Angel Baker on your team?

The 5-foot-8 guard averages 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. Baker is a proven player. After transferring to Ole Miss last season from Wright State, Baker took home SEC Sixth Woman of the Year.

While Baker is talented, she can’t cook up a win all by herself. Luckily for her, Madison Scott is equally skilled. The 6-foot-1 forward regularly adds 12 points and a team-high 8.8 boards per outing. Baker has the hardware to compliment her stats. In 2021, Scott won SEC Freshman of the Year.

Veterans Marquesha Davis and Snudda Collins round out Ole Miss’ top threats. The pair averages a combined 19.9 points per contest. The two birds can’t be killed by one stone. Davis dominates down-low, shooting 47% from the field. Meanwhile, Collins controls the perimeter, launching a team-high 6.5 3-pointers a night.

Although Collins has the green light, Ole Miss’ 3-point percentage is a code red. The Rebels are connecting on just 28.8% of their attempts from downtown this season, 260th in the nation. Ole Miss has its weakness, but those weaknesses mean nothing unless Kentucky exposes them.

Keys for Kentucky WBB

The Wildcats’ mouths should be watering when they examine Ole Miss’ 3-point percentage. Alabama’s perimeter shooting single-handedly downed Kentucky in its most recent loss. Despite leading the Tide in points off turnovers, second-chance points, paint points and bench points, Kentucky fell due to Alabama’s incredible 13-28 (46%) 3-point shooting performance.

Kentucky shouldn’t have to worry about defending deep range against the Rebels. If they did, Elzy would ensure her team would be better prepared than last game.

“We just gave them way too many open threes. We did not close the gap. Make them put the ball on the floor,” Elzy recollected.

Before the Wildcats can worry about stopping the other team from shooting, they must make some shots of their own. None of Kentucky’s top four guards (Maddie Scherr, Jada Walker, Robyn Benton and Blair Green) shot over 50% from the field in the team’s loss against Alabama.

Green specifically struggled, a painful retraction after a recent scoring surge. The 6-foot-2 guard recorded a mere two points on 1-10 shooting in the defeat. Perhaps a former teammate can provide the ‘Cats with some much-need motivation.

When asked after the game what Rhyne Howard preached to the team during her visit to Lexington, Walker was blunt.

Thanks for the workout, Rhy. 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/LYzP5XWjco

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) February 11, 2023

“She talked to us after practice, and she was just telling us to win—to find a way to win. And to do everything possible to just win…that was really it.”

Let’s see if Howard’s words are as powerful as her play. Kentucky will square off against the Ole Miss Rebels at 7 p.m. on Thursday inside The Pavilion at Ole Miss. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.