Saniah Tyler finds her stride against Western Kentucky

After playing only 32 minutes over the entire season, Saniah Tyler was finally given a chance to shine in Kentucky’s non-conference finale against Western Kentucky. On Saturday, the junior played a total of 16 minutes, scoring 11 points on 4-5 from the field, including 3-4 from three.

Her minutes and points both set a season-high. It was easily the best performance of her junior campaign yet.

“Right before we went to pregame, (Tyler) and I had a heart-to-heart,” Head coach Kenny Brooks said postgame. “… She stepped up and she did it.“

Nobody is happier for Saniah Tyler than Georgia Amoore, who is smiling ear-to-ear after Tyler sinks her third three-pointer of the afternoon.

— Phoenix Stevens (@PStevensKSR) December 28, 2024

Last season, Tyler averaged 26.8 minutes per game and was one of Kyra Elzy’s common starters. Out of 32 games played, the 5-foot-6 point guard led her team in scoring in eight of them. She set a career-high 22 points twice during the season in wins against Lipscomb and Mississippi State. She played a career-high 37 minutes against Minnesota on Dec. 6, 2023.

Since then, Tyler hasn’t played near the amount she did as a sophomore in 2023-24. Now, she averages 6.9 minutes in seven played matchups. Before the game against WKU, she only averaged 0.8 points per game. Now, she’s up to 2.3 points per game. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but the Big Blue Nation saw a massive improvement from Tyler against WKU.

Now that she has been given a true chance, it begs a question. Will she see more consistent minutes heading into SEC play? Only time will tell.

Kentucky is back in action against Mississippi State to begin conference play on Jan. 2. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST at Memorial Coliseum and will be streamed on the SEC Network+.