Three negative takeaways from Kentucky WBB's season

The Kentucky women’s basketball season is over, but the conversation is not.

After defeating Florida and Alabama in the SEC Tournament, Kentucky fell to Tennessee in an 80-71 loss in the quarterfinals. As an isolated event, the SEC Tournament was a solid showing. The Cats finished as a middle-of-the-pack squad, the result most media members predicted before the season began.

Gave it everything. pic.twitter.com/KIIGjVBZ8i

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) March 4, 2023

However, Kentucky’s season was anything but solid. The team went 12-19 in total and 2-14 in conference play, finishing last place in the SEC. The last time the Cats tumbled to the bottom of the totem pole was in the 2001-2002 season. Since then, the SEC has added two teams, making Kentucky’s latest placing all the more painful.

UK head coach Kyra Elzy isn’t dodging the ugly truth.

“Kentucky is used to winning and that’s what we want to do. Fourteenth [place] is not where we want to be, and we won’t be here again. So, we got to go back and reevaluate, but that’s something that will be on our minds all spring,” Elzy said after losing in the SEC Tournament.

Hopefully, Kentucky can clean up a few of its most concerning messes during the offseason.

A lack of mental strength

The standout issue for the Cats this past season wasn’t on the court, but in their minds. When a player missed a shot, they were going to miss the next one. When Kentucky lost a game, it was going to lose the next one. The pattern snowballed into an ice-cold streak the Cats couldn’t escape.

“We continue to let our offense affect our defense,” Elzy said after Kentucky lost to Texas A&M on Feb. 23. “We got some good shots against the zone that weren’t going. We just have to find a way to hang in defensively when the shot’s not going.”

Kentucky could hardly hang in games by the end of the year. The Cats finished the regular season on a seven-game losing streak. During the downward spiral, Kentucky connected on just 34.5% of its field-goal attempts.

🫶 pic.twitter.com/wkOsewOaEn

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) March 4, 2023

The tournament was a clean slate for the Wildcats’ minds and the numbers prove it. UK shot a far-improved 43.5% from the field in March while picking up the same number of wins in two days the team had in two months.

Kentucky’s frontcourt was background noise

Although the Cats fought to keep their heads above water during SEC play, their bigs were like weights tied to the team’s feet. Each post player provided their own problem. The dysfunction was obvious, with Kentucky’s guards hesitating to throw it in the post and grimacing when tragedy struck.

One of those tragedies was Nyah Leveretter’s offensive struggles. The 6-foot-3 center failed to score double figures in a game despite starting in 21 contests. Leveretter wasn’t the only one who struggled with the ball in her hands.

Ajae Petty recorded 54 turnovers this season despite playing 15 minutes per outing. For reference, Jada Walker had 84 turnovers this season, the most on UK. Yet, the guard played 520 more minutes than Petty.

As for Adebola Adeyeye, the 6-foot-2 forward was a non-factor when it came to paint defense. UK point guard Maddie Scherr doubled Adeyeye’s block total. Opponents didn’t respect Kentucky’s presence down-low and why would they?

LESSSGOOOOO. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/7UiXbPF9va

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) March 4, 2023

“We need them,” Elzy said of her frontcourt on Feb. 9 following Kentucky’s loss to Alabama. “They’ve got to continue to learn and grow, but they do make us different.”

Kentucky’s dismal numbers from downtown

A lot of changes could have made Kentucky different, including improved 3-point shooting. The Cats hit just 29.2% of their attempts from beyond the arc this season. Supposed sharpshooters such as Blair Green and Emma King shot even worse.

Kentucky never saw its kryptonite coming. As a guard-reliant squad, fans expected UK to be a dangerous team from outside. Instead, foes packed the paint, begging Kentucky to shoot. The Cats fell for the trap, shooting above 40% from deep just twice through 31 games.

Elzy’s statement after Kentucky defeated Florida on Jan. 15 summed up the season.

“We settled for some quick outside shots early,” Elzy said. “We just kept shooting 3s instead of finding another way to score.”

Perimeter or paint, offense or defense, home or away; none of it mattered in the end. This season wasn’t a success for Kentucky women’s basketball. While the grueling conversation isn’t over, neither is the program’s story.