KSR's Takeaways from Kentucky WBB's 95-86 win over Ohio

The Kentucky women’s basketball team will enter conference play with newfound momentum.

On Wednesday, UK took down the Ohio Bobcats in a 95-86 affair. The win is Kentucky’s first since Dec. 7. In those miserable 14 days, UK lost to Louisville, Murray State and Florida Gulf Coast. There was plenty to gain from Kentucky’s long-awaited win — these were our biggest takeaways.

A matter of pride

As an Oldham County native, head coach Kyra Elzy believes in the power of Kentucky Blue. More specifically, she believes it’s a privilege to wear it. Elzy discussed this topic earlier this week.

“The message to the group today is earn your blue. We did not represent Kentucky in a way it should have been represented,” Elzy said before Sunday’s game. “It is a privilege and honor to play here.”

Although the message didn’t seem to resonate on Sunday, it certainly sank in by Wednesday. The ‘Cats showed maximum effort, diving on the floor and hustling back on defense. Kentucky’s surge in intensity may be a product of Elzy’s practice strategy.

These two. 😻

Let's get it going.#GameOn pic.twitter.com/6jodXSha5P

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) December 21, 2022

Leading up to UK’s contest against Ohio, Elzy did not allow her team to wear their typical blue jerseys in practice. Instead, they had to earn them. Evidently, the strategy worked.

“Coaches have been saying, ‘Get your blue back,'” Robyn Benton said Wednesday. “We were losing to teams you shouldn’t lose to and we weren’t representing the program well.”

Kentucky hits the glass

Kentucky’s improved efforts led to the team’s best rebounding performance of the year. The ‘Cats grabbed 36 rebounds on Wednesday. More impressively, UK snagged 20 offensive boards compared to the Bobcats’ mere three. In turn, Kentucky scored a staggering 23 second-chance points.

Jada Walker was proud of her team’s performance.

“Going for rebounds is about toughness and who really wants the ball,” the 5-foot-7 guard said. “It’s not about who’s the tallest or 6’6 girls. You can tip it out of their hand and go get it and find other ways to hustle.”

Of course, individual performances created those impressive team statistics. The ‘Cats had four players grab five or more rebounds. Ajae Petty led the pack with eight boards, her fourth game this season with eight or more rebounds. Rebounding has been a point of emphasis for UK in their recent practices.

“They’re probably sick of me saying, ‘Rebound the basketball and defend,'” Elzy said. We’ve been talking about in film we need four to the boards, especially how we’ve been shooting the ball. Excited to see that we crashed the boards.”

The ‘Cats can’t find their touch

We say this after every game, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Kentucky must discover some consistency from beyond the arc. The ‘Cats are still shooting just 24.5% from 3-point land through 12 games. On Wednesday, UK connected on 7-25 (28%) of their 3-point attempts.

Benton nailing four of her five attempts from deep in the third quarter didn’t hurt. Her teammates certainly appreciated the boost.

Four 3s and counting… 😼@IAmRobynnnn#GameOn pic.twitter.com/DZ2u9XVNTN

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) December 21, 2022

“It does a lot because when you’re lacking in one area, another person can pick it up in other areas,” Walker said.

Kentucky has had several players “lacking in one area.” Blair Green and Emma King, who are supposed to be the team’s reliable pieces from deep, are a combined 10-44 (22.7%) from range this season. Benton believes the issue comes down to confidence.

“At the end of the day, you just got to play basketball and you got to be confident. I feel like some people lost their confidence in that [three-game losing] stretch but hopefully this game boosts them back up,” Benton said.

The ‘Cats will need all the boosts they can get as they head into SEC play. On Dec. 29, Kentucky kicks off the conference gauntlet with a 9:00 p.m. matchup against Missouri. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.