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PREVIEW: Kentucky WBB aims to get back on track vs. USC Upstate

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby:Grant Grubbs•12/19/21•

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Photo by Dr. Michael Huang | Kentucky Sports Radio

After losing two straight games, Kentucky Women’s Basketball is in desperate need of a win. Sunday’s contest will provide the No. 19 Wildcats with an excellent opportunity to quench their thirst for victory.

On Sunday afternoon, Kentucky Women’s Basketball (6-3) will take on the USC Upstate Spartans (7-2) in Memorial Coliseum. This contest will be UK’s first outing since their road loss to Louisville on Dec. 12. The Wildcats were supposed to face Morgan State on Friday, but the game was cancelled due to COVID issues with the Morgan State program.

Unfortunately for the Spartans, they’ll be Kentucky’s main target to let out a week of anger. Nonetheless, the Upstate doesn’t plan on rolling over. Let’s discuss how the Spartans plan to make their stand on Sunday.

What’s up with USC Upstate?

USC Upstate is entering Lexington on a six-game win streak. Led by first-year head coach Becky Burke, the Spartans are averaging 69.4 points per game. More impressively, the team is holding their opponents to 50.8 points on average.

The Spartans’ strong defense is propelled forward by their knack for forcing opponent mistakes. USC Upstate’s foes are recording 23.3 turnovers per game this season against the Spartans. For comparison, the UK’s opponents are only forcing 20 opponent turnovers per game this year.

Unfortunately for the Spartans, their strength is the same as their weakness. The Spartans are averaging 17 turnovers per game. The team choked the ball away a season-high 23 times against their only other SEC opponent this season: the Florida Gators.

While USC Upstate has their fair share of issues, they have a trifecta of problematic players. Chellia Watson leads the Spartans, averaging 13.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Following Watson’s lead, Molly Coleman contributes 12.1 points and 3.9 rebounds a game. The 6-foot-2 forward hasn’t shot from beyond the arc yet this season.

Rachael Rose is the third and final player averaging double-digit scoring totals for the Spartans. The 5-foot-7 freshman racks up 12.1 points per contest and leads USC Upstate in assists.

Though the Spartans have skill, they lack height. The team only has three players taller than 6-foot on the team. Their lack of height proved fatal against the Gators, who snagged seven more rebounds than the Spartans and more than doubled their second-chance points.

If Kentucky plays their cards right, they should be the second SEC team this season to send the Spartans home on their shields.

Keys for Kentucky WBB

Kentucky must expose this height advantage and any others they can find to secure a win. After losing to an in-state rival, it’s easy for emotions to spiral out of control. With conference play less than two weeks away, the ‘Cats can’t afford such mistakes.

Fortunately for fans, Elzy doesn’t think BBN has anything to be worried about. Here’s what the head coach had to say about the future of the season after losing to Louisville.

”There’s no moral victories; not the outcome we wanted,” Elzy said in the postgame news conference. “When you look at our Indiana game to this game, we’ve taken big steps forward and this team is going to be OK.”

As much as Elzy may believe in her squad, they have a lot to prove on Sunday. Against DePaul and Louisville, the ‘Cats turned the ball over a combined 35 times, their season-high over a two-game span. With another defensive-oriented team sitting on the horizon, UK will have to fix this issue.

Specifically, Elzy believes her team needs to respond better to pressure. While Louisville brought Kentucky’s problem to the light, they helped the ‘Cats put it to rest.

“Louisville was really aggressive defensively; made us play faster than we wanted to play,” Elzy said. “This is a game that we learned from.”

While the Spartans present Kentucky with a challenge, the ‘Cats undoubtedly overshadow the Spartans in most categories. Perhaps most notably, Kentucky should be able to dominate on the boards against USC Upstate.

This season, the ‘Cats boast a 36% offensive rebounding rating. With any luck, this number should only rise after this weekend.

Looking toward the matchup

Although USC Upstate has some skills, they’re vastly outmatched by the ‘Cats on paper. Hopefully for BBN, Kentucky’s dominance on the court will reflect the numbers.

If anything, the contest will serve as an excellent chance for fans to predict Kentucky’s conference success. The Florida Gators were six spots below the Wildcats in the SEC Women’s Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll. Sunday will be Kentucky’s chance to prove the voters right.

Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET in Memorial Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

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