Kentucky WBB searching for the source of shooting troubles

If teams can’t make shots, they can’t win; a simple truth the Kentucky women’s basketball team is painfully learning.

In Kentucky’s 67-48 blowout loss against LSU on Sunday, the ‘Cats couldn’t hit the ocean standing from the beach. The ‘Cats shot a poor 19-55 (35%) from the field overall, worse than their 41.1% season average. The defeat is Kentucky’s seventh loss in eight games.

Maddie Scherr speaks on shooting concerns

Maddie Scherr was UK’s best player against LSU, dropping a season-high 22 points while shooting 8-15 from the field and 4-6 from deep. Scherr believes her team’s ugly in-game shooting isn’t what they’re capable of.

“We really do shoot lights out in practice and it’s super frustrating,” Scherr said during the postgame press conference. “We have to be able to put it all together. It could be the speed of the game or getting in your own head and being hesitant on the next shot. I know I’m guilty of that.”

LET'S GO 🔥🔥🔥@madd1escherr pic.twitter.com/KZZYBuSa2q

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) January 8, 2023

While Scherr isn’t certain what the problem is, she knows they must find the solution. With players such as Blair Green, Robyn Benton and Scherr filling the roster, many expected Kentucky’s identity to come from beyond the arc. Now, UK is searching for an identity at all.

Getting to the root of Kentucky’s problem

Head coach Kyra Elzy is confident the team’s issues are mental and not a result of external forces.

“When we miss one or two, you need to start thinking I’m going to hit the next one. Where I think it becomes a confidence issue like, I miss one or two, and then it starts playing in our minds. So, we have to play in fast forward instead of rewind,” Elzy said following the Sunday afternoon loss.

Even if Elzy is correct, it doesn’t mean the issue will be instantly fixed. Shooting has been a season-long problem. After Sunday, Kentucky has now scored below 50 points twice this season.

Before this season, the ‘Cats had not scored less than 50 points in a contest since January 3, 2019, when they scored 49 in a loss to Ole Miss without their leading scorer Maci Morris. Elzy acknowledges the issue and believes the team can solve it together.

“I have total confidence in them and how we can help them continue to work on game-speed shots out of our offense, and let them see the ball go in the basket. That’s what we have to do and on top of them getting extra shots to remain confident.”

Kentucky will need nearly every shot to fall to defeat their next opponent. On Thursday, the Wildcats will take on the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.