Maddie Scherr overcomes slow start in season opener

For Kentucky women’s basketball senior Maddie Scherr, Tuesday night’s 74-66 win against ETSU started off slow. If you watched Scherr during the first half, you wouldn’t think that she’d be one of the night’s stand-out players, but she definitely proved herself on the court.

Scherr came out in the first quarter with four points, shooting 1-3 and adding on a pair of free throws. She also added a rebound, two assists, and recorded her only turnover of the night. Scherr was quickly subbed out in the first quarter before making her way back into the game with 52 seconds to go.

She played the majority of the second quarter, but went scoreless and assist-less. The only things she had to show for her playing time were a couple of rebounds and a foul.

“Sometimes, shots don’t fall,” Scherr said in a postgame press conference. “But I think at halftime, it was important for us to come together and just go ‘OK well, we’re not gonna get down from this. We’re gonna come back out.'”

Whatever Coach Elzy said to the team in the locker room at halftime must’ve struck a chord with Scherr. The guard began to turn it around from her slow first half. In the third quarter, Scherr went for six points, a rebound, and an assist. She played aggressive defense, which did lead to some fouls.

Fourth quarter, Scherr scored another four points, capping off her total for the night at 14. Teammate Amiya Jenkins tied the game 50-50 at the end of the third with a free throw. Then, Eniya Russell drained a jumper to officially take the lead from the Bucs. Scherr sealed the deal with a pull-up jumper off of an ETSU turnover. She also grabbed her first steal of the game, a crucial moment that turned into a made free throw by Saniah Tyler to extend Kentucky’s lead.

The Florence, KY native’s 14 points tonight topped last season’s 11.6 average per game. She also collected five rebounds, three assists, and one steal, despite fouling out with 48 seconds to go in the fourth. Overall with Scherr in the game, the ‘Cats outscored the Bucs by eight.

“Every possession matters,” Scherr said. “Especially in a game like that. It’s super encouraging to be on this side of a dogfight, and that’s not the last one we’re going to be in.”

The Lady ‘Cats are back in action on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 6:00 p.m. EST as they take on USC Upstate at Rupp Arena.