‘Let me go to work.’ Ajae Petty posts career highs in points and rebounds in Kentucky win.

The Wildcat faithful gathered at Transylvania University’s Clive M. Beck Center roared with applause as senior forward Ajae Petty subbed out with 13 seconds remaining in Kentucky’s 73-67 women’s basketball victory over Tennessee Tech on Sunday.

Petty had just made both free throws awarded after being fouled while grabbing her career-high 15th rebound to give the Wildcats (4-5) a 71-61 lead over the Golden Eagles and bring her career scoring high to 33 points. She also recorded a career-high three blocks. From start to finish in UK’s wire-to-wire victory, the Wildcats’ offense prioritized — and defense leaned on — the 6-foot-3 Petty in the post against a mostly undersized Tennessee Tech lineup.

“My guards did a great job of just looking for me,” Petty said. “Going in, I was just talking to my guards and we just talked about, ‘Hey, it’s mouse in the house, so just let me go to work.’”

Head coach Kyra Elzy was “so proud” of Petty’s career performance in the victory, noting Petty’s growth in pursuing baskets and scoring even through double coverage. However, as the Wildcats continue to try to transfer their off-court chemistry to in-game connection, Elzy cited the importance of Petty’s selflessness in the locker room after the game.

“I walked into the locker room and I mentioned her name, you know, I was gonna go down the list,” Elzy said. “And she goes, ‘What about Cassidy Rowe, Coach? She took three charges.’ So right now it doesn’t matter who gets the credit, but super proud of her. She’s put a lot of hard work in.”

Petty’s dominant performance helped lift a shorthanded Wildcats roster that’s been without both sophomore guard Amiya Jenkins due to a day-to-day shoulder injury and sophomore forward Zennia Thomas because of an indefinite suspension “for a disciplinary matter that is being handled internally,” since the team’s return from the U.S. Virgin Islands for the 2023 Paradise Jam last week. UK lost each of its three games — North Carolina State (84-55), Colorado (96-53) and Cincinnati (65-41) — by double digits.



The Wildcats also suited up Sunday without typical starter Maddie Scherr, who is in concussion protocol after exiting Thursday’s ACC/SEC Challenge win over Boston College with a head injury late in the third quarter.

Against Tennessee Tech (2-5), Elzy selected a starting lineup of Brooklynn Miles, Saniah Tyler, Rowe (first career start), Emma King and Petty. The Wildcats cruised to an early lead, taking a 21-15 advantage after the first quarter.

Eniya Russell, the first player off the bench, subbed in early and provided instant offense, just as she did against Boston College. After taking the court for the first time, Russell went on a 7-0 run to give the Wildcats some control against a scrappy Tennessee Tech roster. Russell finished with 12 points, three rebounds, five assists and one steal.

Despite the size advantage in the post and a more talented roster, the Wildcats found themselves struggling to crash the boards. Tennessee Tech outrebounded Kentucky 37-36, including 14-10 on the offensive boards. And, when Kentucky gained and lost multiple double-digit leads, that — as well as its 17 total turnovers — was to blame.

“I thought their guards started really crashing in the second half,” Elzy said. “And we have to do a better job of finding a body defensively. We need five people on the boards. Find the body and box out. I thought a couple of times we got caught leaking out trying to run, but I said, ‘Guys, you can’t run without the basketball.’ So we gotta do a better job of boxing out there.”

Kentucky also struggled to contain the Golden Eagles’ leading scorer, Scott County High School graduate Maaliya Owens. Owens asserted herself as the best shooter on the floor throughout the afternoon, delivering a team-high 30 points on 8-of-16 from the field, 6-of-12 from three-point range and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Owens also added five rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in 38 minutes.

On Kentucky’s side, however, were many Wildcats with experience playing both with and against Owens during their time on the KHSAA girls basketball scene. King, who added a career-high 14 points as well as seven rebounds, two assists and three blocks, said the team knew to prepare for Owens to lead the charge for Tennessee Tech.

“She’s a great player, and she has always just hunted shots,” King said. “She never quits moving, and that was something that we talked about going into this game. You have to be ready to guard her because, even if she doesn’t have the ball, she’s looking to get the ball.”

Owens, averaging a team-leading 14.3 points per game for Tennessee Tech this season, played a major role in a late comeback by the Golden Eagles that cut UK’s lead to 60-59 with less than four minutes to play in the fourth quarter. But the Wildcats strung together a six-point run and iced their third victory of the season at the Beck Center.

The Wildcats will return to Rupp Arena on Wednesday night for a Power Five matchup against Minnesota (7-1). Though Elzy admitted that UK is still figuring out its identity, she said one thing is for sure:

“We have to sell out,” Elzy said. “We just have to play so hard. We’re talented, but not talented enough not to play hard. So we have to sell out every game and we have to play together.”

Next game

Minnesota at Kentucky

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Rupp Arena

TV: SEC Network+ (online only)

Radio: WLAP-AM 630

Records: Minnesota 7-1, Kentucky 4-5

Series: Tied 1-1

Last meeting: Kentucky won 80-74 on Dec. 7, 2022, in Minneapolis