Guards go off as Kentucky women’s basketball survives Lipscomb with late comeback

A spirited fourth quarter comeback Thursday afternoon in Rupp Arena allowed the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team to enter the holiday break in a festive mood.

The Wildcats overcame a nine-point deficit in the game’s final nine minutes to pull out an 87-80 win over Lipscomb, one of the top teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Kentucky secured the 900th victory in program history and headed toward a nine-day holiday break on a two-game winning streak.

“It’s huge anytime you can come back,” UK head coach Kyra Elzy said. “I told them I was proud of them because when things weren’t going our way, we were missing layups, blowing defensive assignments, missing free throws, things that have been going for us, when I got to the huddle, they were still touching each other, still trying to talk, give each other positivity and still believed that we were going to come back and win.”

In a season where Kentucky’s offense has largely rotated around post player Ajae Petty, the Wildcats’ comeback Thursday was spurred by the perimeter trio of Maddie Scherr (25 points), Saniah Tyler (22) and Amiya Jenkins (20) — fortunate timing considering Lipscomb’s defensive focus on Petty.

“When they’re double- and triple-teaming (Petty),” Elzy said. “That’s credit to what she has done thus far in this season, but it also leaves the perimeter exposed.”

For the majority of the game, the Bisons (6-6) dominated the Wildcats (6-7) in the paint. Lipscomb entered the matchup shooting 39.1 percent from the field, with its highest point total of the year against a Division I opponent set at 77 points. Against UK, which struggled all afternoon with defending Lipscomb’s inside game, the Bisons shot 54 percent, with 48 of their points coming in the paint.

A tall and skilled Lipscomb team was led in scoring by 6-foot-2 Bella Vinson (21 points), 6-2 Aleah Sorrentino (18) and 6-foot Molly Heard (18).

Though UK trailed just 25-20 after the first quarter, the Bisons hit their stride in the second quarter on the back of 50 percent shooting (7-of-14) from the field and five forced turnovers, the majority of which came during a five-plus minute scoring drought for the Wildcats. That stretch also resulted in the Bisons’ first double-digit lead of the game, which, combined with its continued offensive production and UK’s inconsistent scoring, provided enough of a buffer to stay comfortably enough ahead until the fourth quarter.

Lipscomb led 46-37 at halftime and expanded its lead to 51-38 with 7:53 left in the third quarter before Kentucky began chipping away.

“We needed momentum-changing plays,” Elzy said. “And the thing about this is, every day is not gonna be a pretty win. I want some gutsy wins that we have to battle and fight.”

A pair of third quarter pushes by the Wildcats cut the deficit to as few as five both times, but Kentucky couldn’t overcome its lack of defense inside — or Lipscomb’s successful shutdown of UK leading scorer Petty, who finished with just seven points.

However, a 15-2 run over the course of three minutes mid-fourth quarter set the Wildcats up to secure their largest lead (four points) since the 6:16 mark of the first quarter. It was during the fourth quarter that the Wildcats locked in on defense, forcing eight turnovers en route to their comeback victory.

“We just kind of tried to pressure more up on them,” Tyler said. “We was letting them have too many easy passes, so once we got in their face and kind of deflected a few passes, that made them turn the ball over more.”

A major positive for UK was the return of sophomore guard Jenkins after a shoulder injury had sidelined her since the team’s return from the Paradise Jam in November.

“It felt pretty great to just be out there and play with my teammates again,” Jenkins said. “It was really hard for me to sit on the sidelines and watch, but being out there tonight was really exciting and just felt smooth.”

Against the Bisons, Jenkins’ 20 points came off of 9-of-11 shooting from the field, including 2-of-3 3-pointers. She also added four rebounds and one block. She was joined by Scherr, who tacked on five rebounds, seven assists and three of Kentucky’s eight steals. Tyler led Kentucky with three 3-point baskets and made two steals.

Only a New Year’s Eve game against Samford stands between the Wildcats and Southeastern Conference play. UK is the only SEC team with an overall record below .500.

Next game

Samford at Kentucky

When: Dec. 31 at 1 p.m.

Where: Clive M. Beck Center at Transylvania University

TV: SEC Network+ (online only)

Radio: WLAP-AM 630

Records: Samford 7-5, Kentucky 6-7

Series: Kentucky leads 4-0

Last meeting: Kentucky won 88-54 on Dec. 13, 2020, in Lexington