Kentucky women’s basketball stalls on offense in cold-shooting home loss to Austin Peay
The Kentucky women’s basketball team suffered from a total lack of offensive momentum Tuesday night in its first loss of the 2023-24 season, falling 68-63 to Austin Peay at Georgetown College.
Forced to play without injured senior Maddie Scherr, UK head coach Kyra Elzy went with a starting lineup of Brooklynn Miles, Saniah Tyler, Amiya Jenkins, Eniya Russell and Ajae Petty, and the Governors got out to a quick start.
Kentucky (2-1) finished the game with more rebounds, fewer turnovers and more free throw attempts than the visitors from the Atlantic Sun Conference but could not overcome a brutally cold shooting night in one of their homes away from home during Memorial Coliseum renovations.
The Wildcats made 22 of 70 attempts from the field (31.4 percent), 4 of 20 from three-point range (20 percent) and 15 of 22 from the foul line (68.2 percent). Without Scherr (ankle injury) present to help facilitate, Kentucky’s offense was stagnant during long stretches.
Austin Peay (1-2) led 14-10 after one quarter and extended that advantage to 21-10 before Kentucky mounted a rally to close the deficit to 30-28 at halftime. The Governors trailed 6-4 in the early going but took the lead at 8-6 and never let it go.
Austin Peay’s lead grew as large as 13 points late in the third quarter and early in the fourth before Kentucky started to make headway.
An 18-7 Wildcats run brought Kentucky within 63-61 with 1:24 remaining but UK could not get the defensive stop it needed when Cur’Tiera Haywood drove for a layup for a 65-61 edge with 1:02 to play. Kentucky got no closer thereafter.
Austin Peay made 27 of 51 from the field (52.9 percent), 6 of 17 from three-point distance (35.3 percent) and 8 of 13 from the free throw line (61.5 percent)
The Wildcats had no answers for Austin Peay guard Anala Nelson, who opened the second quarter with seven unanswered points and finished with a game-high 21 points. She also grabbed eight rebounds and dished four assists. Haywood added 15 points for the Governors.
Petty had a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead Kentucky. Tyler finished with 11 points and three steals but made only 3 of her 13 three-point attempts. Eniya Russell, subbing for Scherr in the starting lineup, contributed 11 points, seven rebounds and one block.
Scherr suffered her ankle injury during the closing minutes of Kentucky’s win over USC Upstate last Saturday.
Next game
Kentucky at Florida Gulf Coast
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Alico Arena (Fort Myers, Fla.)
TV: ESPN+ (online only)
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Kentucky 2-1, FGCU 1-1
Series: FGCU leads 2-0
Last meeting: FGCU won 69-63 on Dec. 18, 2022, at Memorial Coliseum
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