PREVIEW: Kentucky WBB looks to down Arkansas for 2nd time this season

Whew, finally some good news. The Kentucky Women’s Basketball team narrowly avoided a fourth straight loss on Sunday after a 76-71 win over Missouri. Now 9-10 (2-3 SEC), the ‘Cats are looking to earn their first road win of the season. Despite having played seven away games this season, Kentucky has yet to win a single one, and Thursday might be their best shot, given that they’ve beaten Arkansas once already.

On Sunday, Kentucky came away with a much-needed victory over Missouri after losing three straight. After what looked to be the turning point of the season, a pitiful second-half performance against Tennessee, it seemed like the Wildcats’ season was done for. Kentucky then fell to Vanderbilt, despite a 20-20 double-double from Ajae Petty. Most recently, the ‘Cats dropped a game to No. 1 South Carolina by a whopping 62 points. The team was trending in the wrong direction, but in classic Kyra Elzy fashion, the ‘Cats persevered and came out on top over the Tigers.

Leading in scoring for Kentucky was Eniya Russell, who had arguably one of her best performances of the season so far. The senior finished with 20 points, nine of which came at a crucial point in the fourth quarter. Russell hadn’t been seeing much playing time in the last few outings, despite the fact that the guard is a pretty consistent scorer, averaging 8.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Even after putting up 16 points against Tennessee, Russell only saw two minutes of playing time in her next game (Vanderbilt).

“Before the game… I was like Eniya Russell is going to have a great day today,” head coach Kyra Elzy said post-game. “I thought she practiced well; she was steady all week and focused.”

Whether or not Elzy is psychic is up for interpretation, but she was definitely right about Russell this time. The senior added seven rebounds and two steals, while also drawing four fouls and going 4-6 (66.7%) from the line. Maybe Russell will have another standout game at Bud Walton Arena on Thursday, maybe another player will step up, who knows? One thing is certain though, Kentucky needs this win going into Alabama on Jan. 28.

Tipoff for this repeat SEC showdown is set for Thursday, Jan. 25, at 8:00 p.m. ET and can be streamed on the SEC Network+.

Scouting Report: Arkansas Razorbacks

For the first time in this 2023-24 season, we have a repeat opponent. Back on January 4th, Kentucky defeated Arkansas 73-63 in what was a very weird game. Despite going 0-10 from three and Maddie Scherr not taking a single shot all game, the ‘Cats came away with a double-digit win in their SEC opener.

Game planning for an opponent you’ve already played can be tricky. On the Kyra Elzy Show on Wednesday evening, Coach Elzy said that it “becomes a chess match” when you try to scout a familiar foe, like in this case. However, things will be different on Thursday. In fact, Arkansas could be without freshman phenom Taliah Scott. The young guard leads the SEC in scoring, averaging 22.3 points per game. That is also good enough for ninth in the nation.

Scott hasn’t played since the Kentucky game, missing the Razorbacks’ last four contests due to a back injury. Coach Mike Neighbors has the guard listed as “day-to-day”. It goes without saying, but this could be huge for Kentucky. Of course, you never wish an injury on a player, first and foremost. But if Arkansas is without their leading scorer and the SEC Freshman of the Year favorite, then Kentucky’s chances of victory are great. Reports have indicated that Scott returned to practice on Tuesday. That being said, her status for Thursday remains up in the air.

Really ever since Scott went down against the ‘Cats, junior guard Samara Spencer has been an excellent placeholder for her. Since January 4th, Spencer is averaging 20.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. She has also scored 15+ in 10 games this season. However, the main and glaring weakness in her game is that she is shooting 34.7% on the season and just 31.9% since Scott went down.

While she only scored nine points against Kentucky in the first go-around, redshirt sophomore Saylor Poffenbarger made her presence known in Lexington as she grabbed 15 rebounds against the ‘Cats. Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, Poffenbarger had her worst outing of the season against No. 10 LSU. In just 15 minutes of play, she recorded two points and two rebounds. Previously, she hadn’t played less than 22 minutes in any other game this season. However, don’t expect Poffenbarger to come out and stink it up again.

Kentucky has not won a single game away from home this season. Again, they currently sit at 0-7 when they aren’t playing on their home court and 0-4 on the road specifically. This is a great chance for the ‘Cats to get a road win, especially an SEC road win. With or without Taliah Scott, Arkansas will need the power of Bud Walton Arena at its full capacity if they want to fend off the ‘Cats.