‘We were panicked.’ Kentucky falls behind 18-0, never recovers in latest SEC defeat.
At halftime of Kentucky’s 88-61 women’s basketball loss at Arkansas on Thursday night, Mike Neighbors — whose team had a 21-point lead — said his Razorbacks were benefiting from “taking care of the ball (on offense) and guarding down here (on defense).”
In so doing, the Arkansas head coach addressed two components of winning that UK hasn’t consistently mastered all season.
Arkansas, a team Kentucky beat 73-63 in its Southeastern Conference opener on Jan. 4 in Rupp Arena, was ready this time. The Razorbacks, despite missing two injured starters, scored the game’s first 18 points at Bud Walton Arena on Thursday night and was never seriously challenged the rest of the way.
“It’s clearly not how we wanted to start the game,” said Kentucky head coach Kyra Elzy, whose Wildcats didn’t put up their first points until 3:05 remained in the opening 10-minute quarter. “I thought Arkansas threw the first punch tonight and we never regrouped.
“I thought they went downhill early and we did not handle that, and didn’t rotate our defense. So I thought they got to the free throw line and easy layups early, which I think affected us, and then when we went down, thought we were panicked offensively. One pass, two pass, throw up a shot, didn’t make the defense shift and move.”
The Wildcats (9-11 overall, 2-4 SEC) committed 13 of their 21 turnovers on the night in the first half, which Elzy said was another consequence of playing panicked.
“I thought we played too fast when we got down,” Elzy said. “Had some miscues, threw it out of bounds or trying to do too much, driving it down the middle when the defense is set. Got some offensive charges, not playing off of two feet and, I thought that really affected us.”
Despite Kentucky entering the game 0-8 on the road this season, the Wildcats had reason to believe they could break the cycle. Not only did UK win the first game of the series, but Arkansas (15-6, 3-3 SEC) was down two starters this time. SEC Freshman of the Year candidate Taliah Scott and league rebounding leader Saylor Poffenbarger sat out with injuries.
Arkansas guard Makayla Daniels, who scored a game-high 22 points in the Razorbacks’ victory Thursday, said the team talked about persevering through a shorter bench due to injuries all season.
“It’s a lot easier to play through fatigue when you’re playing hard and you’re having fun,” Daniels said. “When you’re down, it’s a lot harder to play through fatigue, so just making sure we’re giving that effort.”
According to Elzy, the key difference between the two games was Kentucky’s defensive approach.
“In Lexington I thought we had great defensive intensity,” Elzy said. “I thought we were flat today defensively. And credit to Arkansas, they made us pay.”
In the Wildcats’ win over Arkansas at home, they held the Razorbacks to 33.3% (21-of-63) shooting, but on Thursday, Kentucky allowed Arkansas to shoot 46.4% (32-of-69), while giving up at least 80 points for the eighth time this season. Four of those games were against SEC competition, with each of those league contests resulting in a loss.
Quiet night for UK’s leading scorers
More than half of Kentucky’s 61 points came courtesy of bench players; Eniya Russell’s 20 points marked her second-straight game with 20 and the sixth time this season she’s led UK in scoring. Amiya Jenkins’ 11 points bumped her career double-figure scoring total to four games. And, though starting guards Brooklynn Miles and Emma King combined for 15 points, Kentucky’s remaining starters combined for just 11. In its redemptive victory, Arkansas successfully contained UK’s three leading scorers, most notably seniors Ajae Petty and Maddie Scherr.
Following Kentucky’s conference play-opening victory over Arkansas, Neighbors called Petty “the most improved player in the SEC.” In that game, Petty recorded 22 points and 19 rebounds, and was impossible for the Razorbacks to stop. This season, Petty is averaging a double-double. However, on Thursday Arkansas held Petty to just six points — all in the second half. Petty did grab 16 rebounds Thursday, but Elzy said she thought the senior’s obstacles were mental.
“I thought she got frustrated early,” Elzy said. “And then this is where we’re gonna have to help her grow up, that you still have to work. Even if they double-team you, kick it out, repost. I thought there was some spots that she could still duck in and work on the post that we got to hit her. But you know, she’s proven what she could do this year. Have to have more movement from her. And she’ll go back and watch the film. That’s what I always count on in Ajae. She’ll watch the film, probably on the way home, make adjustments. She’s coachable after she sees it, and she’ll be ready for the next game.”
Scherr, who entered Thursday’s game averaging 14.8 points per game, struggled in both games against Arkansas this season — fouling out in both (Scherr has fouled out in four of the Wildcats’ six SEC matchups, and seven times total this season). In Kentucky’s win over the Razorbacks, Scherr scored just three points, and on Thursday she was limited to just two in 27 minutes. Elzy has mentioned during conference play that she’s spoken with Scherr about freeing her up offensively. Elzy reiterated that after the loss to Arkansas, and affirmed her faith in Scherr.
“(The team has to) move around more offensively,” Elzy said. “She’s having to take tough shots. But when the ball is not moving, then she has to create shots for herself. So we can go back and make an adjustment there for her. She’ll bounce back.”
Next game
When: 5 p.m. Sunday
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Kentucky 9-11 (2-4 SEC), Alabama 15-6 (2-4)
Series: Kentucky leads 36-18
Last meeting: Kentucky won 71-58 in the second round of the 2023 SEC Tournament on March 2, 2023, in Greenville, S.C.
