RECAP: Kentucky women’s basketball dominates Lee University 95-51

The Kentucky women’s basketball team’s Thursday night victory over Lee seemed as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning. In Kentucky’s lone exhibition of the season, the Wildcats dominated the Lee Lady Flames from start to finish to come away with a blistering 95-51 victory.

While the Lady Flames were undoubtedly inferior competition to many of the teams in the Wildcats’ near future, they were a solid first trial. Though the ‘Cats didn’t perform perfectly in their first test, they passed with flying colors. Let’s talk about Thursday night’s contest.

Kentucky’s surprising starting lineup

With the recent loss of Blair Green to injury, there were many questions surrounding Kentucky’s starting lineup. Despite all the speculation, not many people predicted the shocking insertion of junior Emma King into the starting five.

Kentucky starters for tonight’s exhibition against Lee:

G Jazmine Massengill
G Emma King
F Rhyne Howar
F Dre’Una Edwards
C Olivia Owens

— Grant Grubbs (@grant_grubbs_) November 4, 2021

Due to early complications last season with COVID-19, King never found her rhythm during her sophomore campaign. In fact, the 5-foot-10 guard only played in five games last year. Nevertheless, Elzy has talked repeatedly about King and her offseason progress. While King didn’t dominate the opponent, she did her job.

King finished the game with five points, three assists and a steal; not fantastic numbers by any means. However, what may not be obvious from the stat book, was obvious on the court. King’s shooting ability forced the defense to spread themselves thin. In turn, Howard was able to slice through Lee’s defense and Kentucky’s bigs had their way in the paint.

When asked about her decision to start King, Elzy responded with confidence.

“I was happy with Emma. You know, I think she has really bought into her role,” Elzy said in the postgame press conference. “She fits the type of player that I’m looking for: a heart, a hustle, intensity — very competitive. So, she buys into her role and she is a big piece of what we’ll do.”

Though Elzy showed little doubt in her starting lineup, they certainly didn’t come out of the gates hot. Halfway through the first quarter, the ‘Cats were tied with Lee at 12 points. Of course, everything changed when Kentucky decided to turn up the pressure.

Kentucky is a bunch of feisty ‘Cats

All it took was one timeout and a stern speech from Elzy for the ‘Cats to kick their game into another gear. In a matter of minutes, the contest went from a barn burner to a blowout. How’d it happen? A change in defensive intensity.

Coming out of the timeout, the ‘Cats went into a full-court press; the rest was history. Kentucky would go on to force 29 Lee turnovers throughout the course of the game. With the mix of Howard’s length and Jada Walker’s speed, the ‘Cats looked like some sort of defensive monster. Unfortunately for the Lady Flames, they were on the receiving end of this tenacious defense.

The ‘Cats turned their defensive success into offensive dominance. Throughout the contest, the Wildcats scored 32 points off of turnovers (more than a third of their total points). This wild statistic almost says more about the ‘Cats transition offense than it does their pesky defense. Elzy surely seems to think so.

“I liked the intensity in which we played. I thought one thing we did well in the press — I thought we made them play fast early; miss some layups around the rim. But, I think we have a chance to be really good,” Elzy said. “We’re pretty talented in transition offense.”

Kentucky’s future opponents will be more careful with the ball, but it’s a promising sign for what’s to come. It certainly helped the ‘Cats take a comfortable 56-27 lead heading into halftime.

Up by 29 at halftime with a whole lot more game left to play. 😼#CommitToIt pic.twitter.com/mZPvu3wXxj

— Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) November 4, 2021

Rhyne Howard hasn’t lost a step

The preseason SEC Player of the Year is the same dominant force BBN witnessed last year… Maybe even more dominant. Howard scored 15 points in the first half, alone; laughing throughout the game as if she was playing against middle schoolers. Howard took the second half as an opportunity to show off some of her other skills.

Howard finished the game with seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block. Howard’s impressive variety of contributions is exactly what the ‘Cats will need from her this year. Elzy is tying this team to a keyword: versatility. There may not be another NCAA women’s basketball player more representative of this term than Howard.

Elzy knows this versatility will be key to the team’s success as they move toward deeper waters.

“In order for us to be the best team that we can be, we’re going to have to rebound the ball on both sides,” Elzy said. “It gives us a lot of versatility which is hard to guard.”

Leaving Lee in the dust

The ‘Cats versatility served them well. With every scholarship player getting minutes and scoring buckets, Kentucky proved just how dangerous they can be.

Although the third and fourth quarters weren’t as lopsided as the first two, the ‘Cats were able to easily control the rest of the game’s pace. When it was all said and done, the ‘Cats were looking in their rearview at a satisfying 95-51 victory.

That's a dub!#CommitToIt pic.twitter.com/7w1UUmiKW9

— Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) November 5, 2021

Forward Dre’Una Edwards led the way for the ‘Cats with 21 points. Howard followed with 17 points of her own and Olivia Owens trailed slightly behind with 16. The ‘Cats shot an efficient 51% from the field and out-rebounded Lee 41-28.

The Wildcats will aim to use the exhibition as a springboard heading into their first official game of the season against Presbyterian College on Nov. 9. The game will take place at 7 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum and be broadcast on SEC Network+.