Kyra Elzy breaks down 1-1 SEC opening for Kentucky WBB

Kentucky Women’s Basketball is now 1-1 in the SEC, with a win over Arkansas and a loss to Tennessee on Sunday.

On Thursday, Kyra Elzy’s ‘Cats return to Rupp Arena to take on their next SEC opponent, 15-1 (2-0 SEC) Vanderbilt. The Commodores’ lone loss of the season came from No. 6 NC State, 70-62, on Nov. 29. The ‘Cats faced off against NC State as a part of the 2023 Paradise Jam event in the Virgin Islands, where they went 0-3. The NC State game was definitely not pretty for Kentucky, so it’s oddly comforting that Vanderbilt has lost to them too.

Breaking down the Kyra Elzy Show

Despite the nerve-racking matchup later this week, on Monday, Kentucky WBB head coach Kyra Elzy made an appearance on the self-titled, “Kyra Elzy Show,” hosted by Darren Headrick on the UK Sports Network. Elzy seemed like her usual, cheery self, almost as if she wasn’t concerned about Sunday’s loss.

“In order to be the best, you have to play the best,” Elzy said regarding the loss to Tennessee. “This is a young team and we will take any win that we can get. Wins are hard to come by in the SEC.”

I wouldn’t necessarily call the team “young.” I mean, the starting five is three seniors, a junior, and a sophomore. Yes, there are five underclassmen on the team. Six if you count Zennia Thomas, who was “indefinitely suspended” earlier in the season. But, there are also five upperclassmen. Again, six, if you want to count Nyah Leveretter, who has been out for the season due to a knee injury. So no, the team definitely isn’t old, but they definitely aren’t young. Every player, sophomore and above, has had some kind of on-court experience.

Maddie Scherr, Ajae Petty, Eniya Russell, Brooklynn Miles, and Emma King are all experienced veterans for the ‘Cats. Junior Miles is the only one in the group who hasn’t played a season at Kentucky prior to this year. But, she played for Tennessee as a freshman and sophomore, 56 games to be exact.

Sophomore Saniah Tyler played in nine Kentucky games as a freshman, including three SEC matchups. Cassidy Rowe played in 13 games as a UK freshman. Amiya Jenkins played in 26. So maybe they’re technically young, but they’re still experienced players. I don’t think “young” can be used as an excuse anymore.

Stressing defensive intensity

We hear the word “intensity,” like a broken record. Over, and over, and over again. I’ll give it to them, Kentucky’s defense is intense. As a team, the ‘Cats hold their opponents to only 424-945 (44.9%) from the field. That number being impressive or not is widely subjective, especially when you take into account that their opponents average 70.2 points per game. Fortunately, if you actually watch the ‘Cats, it’s easy to tell that their defense is on point. After holding Arkansas to only 14 points at halftime last week, it’s apparent that Kentucky is a defensive force to be reckoned with.

“When we extend our defense and deny the ball outside the NBA line, now we’re rotating and they’re in the paint, or we’re not playing proper post position,” Elzy said regarding defensive issues the ‘Cats need to work on.

During the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Lady Vols, even Elzy herself admitted that the team came out flat. Defense included. Kentucky even had a 17-point lead during the second quarter, but still got beat by 18. After holding Tennessee to 16-32 (50%), and 2-8 (25%) from three in the first half, the Vols came out and outscored the ‘Cats 48-20 in the second. 28 of Tennessee’s points came from inside the paint, compared to Kentucky’s 10.

Diversifying the shots taken

The ‘Cats are used to scoring 40-50 of their points in the paint thanks to Ajae Petty, but that was not the case on Sunday. With only 34 points in the paint against Tennessee, Coach Elzy knows that the ‘Cats can’t rely on Petty forever.

“Not just pounding the ball in to Petty. If we can score, score, or you’re kicking out to open threes,” Elzy said.

The only problem with that is, Kentucky can’t seem to make open threes. After going 5-8 (62.5%) from three in the first half on Sunday, it looked like something finally clicked for the ‘Cats around the perimeter. Unfortunately, that all came crashing down in the second, with the lone three-pointer being made by Maddie Scherr.

This isn’t unusual for Kentucky by any means. Like I said, the ‘Cats are used to getting the points from inside the paint. Since that didn’t seem to work against Tennessee, maybe it’s time to reevaluate who is taking the shots. This late into the season, however, there’s no way Kentucky can magically get good at three-point shooting, but they can try.

Up next, Kentucky takes on Vanderbilt for their third SEC matchup of the season on Thursday, Jan. 11. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. EST and will be streamed on the SEC Network+.