PREVIEW: Kentucky WBB hosts Minnesota Golden Gophers in Rupp Arena

The Kentucky Women’s Basketball team (4-5) has now won two games in a row, beating Boston College and Tennessee Tech last week. But now comes a real test for the ‘Cats.

On Wednesday, Kentucky will take on a good Minnesota (7-1) team, and will most likely do it without Maddie Scherr (concussion protocol), Amiya Jenkins (shoulder), Zennia Thomas (suspended indefinitely), and Cassidy Rowe (precautionary). However, it should be no problem for the Wildcats after Sunday’s game against Tennessee Tech also featured a depleted lineup. Kentucky played arguably their best game all season with only a seven-woman rotation. Only seven players expect to be available tonight. It seems that the team’s focus on conditioning is coming in handy.

The most recent 73-67 victory against Tennessee Tech on Sunday was fueled by Ajae Petty, who had a career-best game. Not only did the forward score a career-high 33 points, but she also had a career-high 15 rebounds and three blocks. Petty was named SEC Player of the Week and has built up some momentum going into Wednesday’s game. Also with a career-best game was Emma King. The fifth-year guard had a career-high 14 points, going 8-8 from the free-throw line. King also had career-highs with seven rebounds and three blocks while adding two assists. Eniya Russell and Saniah Tyler were among others who made an impact on Sunday’s game, both players scoring in double digits, 12 and 13, respectively.

For the Wildcats to come out on top, all they need to do is play the same they did on Sunday. Although the ‘Cats need to clean up their 17 turnovers, they played hard for all 40 minutes. Kentucky moved the ball well, totaling 18 assists. Six of those came from Rowe, but after getting hit in the face on Sunday, she’s likely to sit out tonight.

Scouting Report: Minnesota Golden Gophers

Coming into Wednesday’s game at Rupp Arena, Minnesota sits at 7-1 with its only loss coming to No. 17 UConn by a score of 62-44. And no, this isn’t the UConn of old that won 111 straight games and four consecutive national titles, but this UConn team is still very, very good. Minnesota has been impressive through the first month of the season, and they’ll look to move to 8-1 and stay on track as serious competitors in the Big Ten.

The Golden Gophers are led by 2023-24 Coaches’ Preseason All-Big Ten Team selection Mara Braun. Braun is a sophomore guard who has only improved from her stellar freshman season — she is averaging 18.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 2.3 SPG. When Braun gets the ball, she’s going to want to shoot first, but the attention she draws allows her to sometimes find her teammates for scoring opportunities. She’s also a great perimeter defender. It feels disrespectful to call her a “3-and-D” player because she can do so much more, but that description probably fits her best.

The rest of the starting five is loaded. Guard Grace Grocholski, guard Amaya Battle, forward Mallory Heyer, and center Sophie Hart all average 10+ points per game. Each brings something to the table that Kentucky will have a hard time dealing with. For example, Grochowski is the second-leading scorer for the Golden Gophers (11 PPG), but she can also crash the boards and get after it defensively.

Hart’s 6’5 frame will be something that Ajae Petty may struggle to compete with down low, but she also has to worry about Heyer, who grabs 8.5 rebounds per outing and then shoots 42.4% from three. Then, Battle will be someone who will do it all on the floor. Minnesota has a very well-rounded starting lineup. They have four players on the bench who can all come in and do good stuff as well.

The Lady ‘Cats will look to extend their winning streak to three games and get back to .500, but it will be a tall task against a talented Minnesota team. The game will tip off at 7:00 EST and it will be streamed on SEC Network+. A familiar face in Matthew Mitchell will be on the call alongside Jeff Piecoro.