Kentucky WBB looks to stop downward spiral in matchup vs. Georgia
On Thursday night, one team will pick up their first SEC win.
The Kentucky Wildcats (8-6) women’s basketball program will face the Georgia Bulldogs (11-5) at 7 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum. UK has lost five of their last six contests, most recently suffering an embarrassing loss to Arkansas at home by 21 points. The team’s recent performances are unacceptable to head coach Kyra Elzy, and she’ll do whatever it takes to improve.
“Myself and the coaching staff will go back and evaluate how we’re playing and the changes that we need to make. It’s still early but obviously what we’re doing isn’t working. The goal is to win and we’ve got to find a way to do that,” Elzy said after the team fell to the Razorbacks on Jan. 1.
Elzy and Co. aren’t the only ones hoping to see a revised vision of themselves on Thursday evening.
Breaking down the Bulldogs
Georgia has lost two straight contests by an average margin of 10 points. However, the latter defeat did most of the heavy lifting. On Monday, No. 1 South Carolina routed Georgia in a 68-51 point blowout. Before this defeat, Georgia narrowly fell to Alabama by three points.
Despite the team’s back-to-back losses, the Bulldogs’ individual talent continues to shine. Fifth-year senior Diamond Battles leads the squad with 13.3 points and three assists per game. Battles’ collegiate experience only goes so far, though. The 5-foot-8 guard is shooting a mediocre 40.9% from the field and 31.3% from the 3-point range this season.
The same can’t be said for Brittney Smith. The 6-foot-3 forward averages 11.3 points per outing while connecting on 51.7% of her shot attempts. Although Smith is a powerhouse down low, she doesn’t lead Georgia on the glass.
That honor belongs to 6-foot-2 Javyn Nicholson. The senior leader tops the Bulldogs with 6.6 rebounds a night while regularly adding 8.1 points to the team’s efforts. If it isn’t already clear, Georgia is tall and talented.
While it’s difficult to compare UGA and UK, they do have one mutual opponent. Both teams faced Coastal Carolina earlier this season. Both teams dominated the Chanticleers. In many ways, this game shows which team has improved more since the beginning of the season.
Keys for Kentucky WBB
The ‘Cats appeared to be anything but improved in their last outing. In Kentucky’s loss to Arkansas, the Wildcats shot 26% from the field and 14% from deep. At times, there’s been a lid on the rim for the ‘Cats this year. On Sunday, the rim was behind a state-of-the-art security system.
Hopefully for Kentucky, the team has worked on their vault-cracking skills. Elzy believes a lot of the team’s shooting issues come back to confidence.
“We are getting open shots now. It’s just the confidence to knock them down. I tell them, ‘You’ve played basketball your whole life and you have the ability to score or you wouldn’t be on a Division I scholarship,'” Elzy said during her radio show on Monday. “Now, it’s just the confidence of seeing the ball go through the net.”
It’s difficult for a team to see the ball even find the rim without their leading scorer. Robyn Benton, who is averaging 16.5 points per game, did not play against Arkansas on Sunday due to a dislocated finger. Although Benton is currently day-to-day, her teammates are missing her every minute.
“Robyn, really, she sets up and she brings out offensive just energy and the scoring. I mean, she’s been scoring 20 points. And she brings that defensive energy too,” Blair Green said following UK’s loss to the Razorbacks. “We just needed more people to step up.”
Green’s final words ring more true on Thursday than ever before. The ‘Cats cannot afford to drop another game, especially against another winless SEC squad. Kentucky will square off against Georgia at 7 p.m. on Thursday night. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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