What changed for Kentucky WBB in a 13-day span?

Just 13 days ago, Kentucky Women’s Basketball defeated the No. 1 team in the country. On Saturday night, the ‘Cats fell to 11-seed Princeton. What happened in between that two-week span?

Kentucky’s first-round exit is a cliff note in a winding season. The ‘Cats began the year ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25. By early February, the ‘Cats had a 2-8 record in the SEC and were a blip on the nation’s radar. On March 6, the ‘Cats capped off a 10-game win streak by winning the SEC Tournament. Now, their season is over.

Kentucky’s rest put them to sleep

The immediate theory is Kentucky never woke up from its 13-day hibernation. Nearly two weeks is a long time for anybody not to play, even the defending SEC champions. Yet, head coach Kyra Elzy doesn’t believe the break was the reason for the team’s subpar performance.

“We had been focused in practice. We have been locked in, I thought, all week and taking care of our business,” Elzy said Saturday night. “It wasn’t like we didn’t come here prepared and wanting to win.”

Elzy’s players’ comments back up her testimony. Before the nightmarish loss occurred, Dre’una Edwards discussed the break.

“I didn’t even realize we had 13 days off, honestly. We’ve been working. We’ve been in the gym. So, I mean, we didn’t have 13 days off,” Edwards said on Friday before Kentucky’s loss to Princeton.

As easy as it would be to blame the exasperated waiting period between games, history doesn’t support this theory. Surprisingly, the 13-day stretch isn’t the longest break Kentucky has had this season between two games. The ‘Cats didn’t play from Dec. 19 to Jan. 6 (18 days).

After those 18 days, Kentucky had one of their best performances of the season in a convincing 84-76 win over a ranked Georgia squad. Kentucky’s rest wasn’t single-handedly responsible for the team’s loss to Princeton.

Princeton was the better team

While the Tigers were the better team on Saturday night, the evidence says Kentucky was the better team this season. Before defeating Kentucky, Princeton had one win this season against a Top 25 opponent. In comparison, Kentucky had three in the SEC Tournament alone.

The ‘Cats were frank when describing how Princeton compared to other teams they played this season.

“Credit to Princeton, but we’ve played better teams and come out on top,” Rhyne Howard said during the postgame press conference.

Edwards added her opinion.

“The SEC is the top conference in women’s basketball, so that’s pretty much all I’ve got to say.”

Of course, these comments may be sour grapes. Yet, there is undoubtedly truth to the words. According to RealTimeRPI, Kentucky had a .6 strength of schedule while Princeton had a mere .55, a significant gap between the two squads.

Moreover, Kentucky was simply the more athletic and physical team. The ‘Cats have four players in their starting lineup taller than 6-foot. Princeton has one. Yet, Princeton out-rebounded Kentucky 37-30 in the contest. So, what caused the loss?

A bad night to have a bad night

In reality, Kentucky had an off night. Unfortunately for the ‘Cats, the NCAA Tournament isn’t forgiving. In the defeat, Kentucky shot 20-56 (36%) from the field and 4-15 (27%) from beyond the arc. These figures are a far cry from two weeks ago.

Throughout their four games in the SEC Tournament, the ‘Cats shot 119-260 (46%) overall and 29-69 (42%) from 3-point range. The 13-day break was a meat locker for Kentucky’s steamy shooting, and the ‘Cats knew it.

“We just hit shots in the SEC Tournament. Some things didn’t go our way today. We just got to finish on our end,” Edwards said.

Elzy followed Edwards lead when asked about Kentucky’s performance.

“It did not go our way today,” Elzy said. “Some of the defensive stops that we have been getting down the stretch to get on our winning streak, we just couldn’t get today.”

The keyword between both statements: today. If Kentucky and Princeton played 10 times, the ‘Cats might walk away with nine wins. Nevertheless, they didn’t on Saturday, and it will haunt them for a whole offseason.