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PREVIEW: Kentucky WBB closes grueling week in Arkansas

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby:Grant Grubbs•02/20/22•

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Photo by Eddie Justice | UK Athletics

Kentucky Women’s Basketball is about to face the greatest threat to its win streak yet.

On Sunday, the Wildcats (12-11) will face the Arkansas Razorbacks (16-9) at 2 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas is Kentucky’s fourth opponent in just seven days. Despite the grueling stretch, Kentucky is excelling.

The ‘Cats are on a three-game win streak, defeating Alabama, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. The team’s recent success is the first time fans have seen this team’s true potential this season. After dealing with several suspensions and injuries, Kentucky is finally hitting its stride.

The ‘Cats have had all nine healthy scholarship players in its past five contests. Although the ‘Cats found wins lately, they would not be included in the NCAA Tournament if it began today. Thus, all three of UK’s final contests are must-have wins, and none more so than Sunday’s battle against the Razorbacks.

What’s up with Arkansas?

There’s no way around it, the Razorbacks are tough. The team is 6-6 in conference play, including double-digit wins over Mississippi State, Alabama and No. 11 LSU. Sunday’s contest will be Arkansas’ first meeting with Kentucky this season.

Led by head coach Mike Neighbors, Arkansas averages 76.2 points per game while allowing 64.2 points per contest. While the team has collected impressive wins throughout the season, they’re entering Sunday coming off a 76-67 loss to No. 12 Florida.

Redshirt senior Amber Ramirez certainly isn’t to blame for the loss. Ramirez leads the Razorbacks with 15.6 points and 4.7 rebounds a game. The 5-foot-9 guard is a sharpshooter, connecting on 41.6% of her attempts from beyond the arc.

Ramirez isn’t the only guard Kentucky has to worry about. Freshman Samara Spencer puts up 10.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per contest. The 5-foot-7 guard is rarely out of control, averaging 2.9 assists per game while only committing 2.4 turnovers a night.

Sophomore Sasha Goforth isn’t as dangerous from range as some of her teammates. The 6-foot-1 guard is shooting 26.6% from 3-point land this season. Nonetheless, Goforth is a major contributor, adding 9.7 points and five boards per outing.

Arkansas’ loss against Florida isn’t their only misforutne as of late. The team has been without star Makayla Daniels since Jan. 31 when she suffered a knee injury against Tennessee. Daniels is reportedly back in full-contact practice. In other words, Daniels will likely play on Sunday.

With Daniels back, the Razorbacks will be at full strength. Unfortunately for them, so are the ‘Cats.

Keys for Kentucky WBB

The Wildcats’ defense has been instrumental in their recent string of victories. Over Kentucky’s past three games, they have forced 52 miscues out of their opponents. With a full roster, UK has been able to press teams without worrying about fatigue.

Turning the Razorbacks over won’t be easy. Arkansas averages just 11.2 miscues per game, the fourth-least in the nation. Nevertheless, the ‘Cats are more confident in their pesky defense than ever. After Kentucky’s win over Mississippi State, Rhyne Howard discussed the team’s attitude on defense.

“It was just too easy for us, they could not handle it. Their turnovers on our side of the floor we’re big, we just had to get it and score,” Howard said during the postgame press conference.

Kentucky’s offense has seen equally significant changes recently. Over Kentucky’s past two outings, the team has had 20 or more assists. For reference, before these contests, the last time Kentucky had 20+ assists was on Dec. 5 against Merrimack.

Fittingly, nobody is more excited about the development than head coach Kyra Elzy. Specifically, Elzy is thrilled to see her veteran point guard Jazmine Massengill finding her groove.

“[Massengill] has been giving more as you saw tonight. She pushed the ball in transition,” Elzy said after Kentucky defeated Vanderbilt on Thursday. “Nine assists, one turnover with 10 points. We’ve asked her to step up and score, be involved in our offense and that makes the defense have to play us honest.”

UK has improved their mental game as much as their on-court skills. While the adversity Kentucky has faced has been frustrating, it’s been educational. Now on a three-game winning streak, UK has discovered how important a mindset is to winning games.

“We just say when we step on the floor, we have to lay it out there. We have to give everything that we have. Play with energy and intensity. We feed off each other’s emotion,” Elzy said Thursday night.

Kentucky must stay focused as they finish an exhausting week of games on Sunday. The ‘Cats will take on the Arkansas Razorbacks at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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2025-04-24