KSR's 3 biggest takeaways from Kentucky WBB's loss to Louisville

If losses are opportunities to learn, Sunday was a masterclass for Kentucky.

Kentucky women’s basketball fell 86-72 to the Louisville Cardinals in Rupp Arena earlier today. After being tied for the first 17 seconds, Kentucky trailed the Cardinals for the remainder of the game. The loss was a heartbreaker for Kentucky, which entered the game with a 7-1 record compared to Louisville’s 6-4 tally. Here are our biggest takeaways from the painful loss.

Jada Walker was non-existent

Jada Walker was a shell of her typical self on Sunday. In 28 minutes on the hardwood, Walker scored just three points while shooting 1-8 from the field and committing three turnovers. The sophomore’s three points are the least she’s scored since Kentucky’s second game of the season.

Battle ready 🔵🔵🔵🔵#GameOn pic.twitter.com/DeqByEYvE5

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) December 11, 2022

Louisville’s height was obviously an issue for the 5-foot-7 guard. Despite successfully driving past her opponents, she struggled to get a shot to the rim without being tipped. Louisville head coach Jeff Walz game planned for the speedy point guard.

“I’ve got the utmost respect for her. She really played well in our place last year,” Walz said during the postgame press conference. “She is a dynamic scorer that can score the basketball. We were trying to use length on her, which I thought was really effective.”

While this was Walker’s first taste of legitimate length this season, and it won’t be her last. As Kentucky progresses into conference play, Walker must adapt to the challenge.

Free throws win games

When we’ve all heard a phrase — like the one above — a million times, it’s easy to roll your eyes at it. However, there’s probably a reason we’ve heard it a million times. Sunday’s loss was a reminder of why old adages hold true.

Kentucky was either extremely competitive or won every single statistical category on Sunday except one: free-throw shooting. In the contest, Louisville shot an insane 33-39 from the charity stripe. In contrast, Kentucky went 10-21 from the line.

Those 11 points left out on the court are nightmare fuel in a 14-point loss. Kentucky head coach Kyra Elzy knows this reality all too well.

“We have toughness and fight but at the end of the day you have to have discipline,” Elzy said after the loss. “We put them on the free throw line too many times. So, 39 free throws, they make 33, ball game. That’s it just being more disciplined defensively.”

Maddie Scherr can straight-up score

When a team faces elite defenders, fans see who can really score. Maddie Scherr is one of those players. The Oregon transfer dropped 18 points while shooting 6-10 from the field and 2-4 from 3-point land. In a game where consistent buckets were a luxury, Scherr was wealthy.

Oddly enough, today’s performance isn’t indicative of the rest of the season. Scherr is only averaging 7.6 points per game; fewer than fellow starters Robyn Benton, Blair Green and Walker. The reason for this discrepancy becomes clear when you examine Scherr’s shooting attempts.

3️⃣ for @madd1escherr 🔥🎯#GameOn pic.twitter.com/WBPggzkN80

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) December 11, 2022

The 5-foot-11 combo guard only has 63 field-goal attempts this season, nearly half of Benton’s total and 30 fewer than both Green and Walker. Scherr must shoot more, even the enemy knows it.

“I’ll tip my hat to Maddie. She was the one that I was gonna back off and make her score the basketball,” Walz said. “She’s a pass-first point guard and I was going to try to make her score the ball, and she did.”

Scherr could do it far more often, and may have to soon. On Friday, Kentucky takes on Murray State at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. In the following weeks, the ‘Cats will begin their SEC schedule.