Kentucky WBB offense shines in first Rupp Arena win of 2023-24 season

In Saturday night’s 82-54 victory against USC Upstate, Kentucky’s offense was the strongest it’s been so far in the 2023-24 season, even though this was only UK’s second game. However, offense like this will be crucial for Kentucky to keep up with as they head into a challenging schedule in the coming weeks.

The star of tonight’s offense? Well, everyone. The ‘Cats showed that they have a versatile team, one that can defend aggressively and shoot consistently. Kentucky shot 32-66 (48.5 percent) as a team against the Spartans. Ajae Petty led the way with 19 points. The senior also grabbed nine rebounds but was in foul trouble early in the matchup. Coach Kyra Elzy said that Petty needs to be “more disciplined,” when defending, and not go for the reach.

58 of Kentucky’s points came from the paint. Petty and Eniya Russell were the stars down low. That doesn’t mean other players didn’t get a piece of the action though. 5-foot-5 point guard Brooklynn Miles scored eight of her 10 points in the paint, also adding three rebounds, four assists, and a steal. But, the 42 team rebounds definitely contributed to the victory.

For Russell, tonight was one of her best. The senior picked up 14 points on 6-10 shooting, which has become her three-time career best. She also grabbed nine rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Sophomore Zennia Thomas stepped up as well with a career-high 10 points along with two rebounds and an assist in 13 minutes of play time. “I just wanted to come into the game with the mindset of ‘personal growth,'” Thomas said. “As well as, getting my team what they need in order to succeed.”

On the perimeter, Kentucky shot 2-18, which is clearly a weak spot for the ‘Cats. “We’re better shooters than what’s been showing for the last two games from three-point line,” Elzy said in a postgame press conference. “I think we’ll go back to practice, do a lot of threes, but we need to put more pressure on it.

“With the defense running out at us, I think that would help us, so more game speed. They were open looks, so we gotta be able to knock those down.”

Midway through the fourth quarter, Maddie Scherr went down with a lower-leg injury after a jumper that turned into an and-one. The senior was replaced by Emma King and didn’t see the court for the remainder of the game. However, Scherr still finished tonight’s matchup with 12 points, six rebounds, six assists, three steals, and a block.

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