PREVIEW: Kentucky WBB gets ready for Coastal Carolina
It only took Kentucky Women’s Basketball three games to run into a real challenge.
On Sunday afternoon, the Wildcats face the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at 1 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. The contest comes only two days after Kentucky handily defeated Morehead State. The game will be Kentucky’s Dads and Daughters game, featuring a free photo opportunity on the concourse before the game along with a free carnation giveaway.
Despite the sweet spectacle off the court, the two teams mean business on the hardwood. The game marks the two programs’ first-ever meeting and neither squad intends on walking away disappointed.
Let’s chat about the Chanticleers
Coastal Carolina is 0-1 this season, but don’t let that deceive you. On Monday, the Chanticleers fell 78-61 to the Georgia Bulldogs. The game was closer than the score indicates. Besides the second period, the Bulldogs never outscored the Chanticleers by more than five points in a quarter. Further, Coastal Carolina outscored the Bulldogs in the final frame.
Preparing to face their second SEC opponent this season, the Chanticleers clearly aren’t scared of stiff competition. This mindset is largely due to a new captain of the ship. In April, the program named Kevin Pederson the new head coach.
While Pederson is a fresh face to Coastal Carolina, he’s a veteran leader. The coach had a 356-160 overall record at Lander University, and most recently led them to the 2022 NCAA Division II Championship Regional final. On Saturday, Kentucky will learn what Pederson is capable of with an even more talented roster.
Aja Blount is at the forefront of this talented roster. The 5-foot-11 graduate student was a double-double machine last season, averaging 19.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. SEC talent didn’t slow her down, either. Blount recorded 13 points and eight rebounds against Georgia on Monday.
While Blount runs the frontcourt, Arin Freeman conducts the backcourt. The 5-foot-7 sophomore led Coastal Carolina in assists last season while adding nine points and 4.2 rebounds per game to the team’s effort.
Freeman’s partner-in-crime is Angie Juste-Jean. The fellow sophomore guard averaged eerily similar statistics to Freeman while shooting slightly better. In her debut campaign, Juste-Jean averaged 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per outing.
These are just a few of Coastal Carolina’s top talents. If Kentucky isn’t careful on Sunday, they’ll suffer an early upset.
Keys for Kentucky WBB
Kentucky undoubtedly had an impressive showing on Friday. However, they were admittedly horrible on the glass. Morehead State grabbed 11 more rebounds than Kentucky and had 13 offensive boards compared to Kentucky’s mere four.
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In turn, the Eagles more than tripled Kentucky’s second-chance points. If the ‘Cats have a similar rebounding effort against a player like Coastal Carolina’s Blout, they certainly won’t have any 25-point victories. Fifth-year senior Blair Green knows the ‘Cats need to be better.
“We didn’t have enough offensive boards tonight. They out-rebounded us on the offensive end and they definitely shouldn’t have,” Green said after Kentucky’s win on Friday. “I think that’ll be our focus; just be more aggressive getting after it.”
Rebounding is about effort. Free throws are a different story. Kentucky left eight points on the court on Friday after shooting a poor 3-11 from the charity stripe. The only ‘Cat to not miss a free throw was Nyah Leveretter. Green discussed the team’s struggles after the game.
“Definitely working on free throws. I don’t think we hit a free throw tonight,” Green said during the postgame press conference. “I think that will be a big focus tomorrow; quick turnaround, three games in one week.”
Although Kentucky has improvements to make, they also did a lot of things well. Specifically, UK’s passing has been phenomenal through two games. The ‘Cats are averaging 22 assists per game. For reference, Kentucky averaged 15.6 assists per contest last season.
Head coach Kyra Elzy is thrilled about the team’s chemistry so far.
“We talked about wanting to share the ball. We had 24 assists on 30 made field goals tonight,” Elzy said after the victory on Friday. “We’re looking to attack and make plays at the rim.”
Kentucky will need to make a lot of plays to take down the Chanticleers this weekend. The ‘Cats will tip off against Coastal Carolina at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
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