Kentucky WBB's Ajae Petty continues to shine, records 8th double-double against Arkansas

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Ajae Petty could very well be Kentucky’s first All-SEC selection since Rhyne Howard made the cut in 2022. With her performance against Arkansas, Petty helped her case as she was prolific in leading the Lady ‘Cats to a 73-63 win over the Razorbacks.

For the eighth time this season, Petty recorded a double-double as she scored 22 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in Thursday’s victory. The most impressive part? The senior forward was up against one of the best rebounders in the nation, Saylor Poffenbarger, who averages 12.9 rebounds per game. That number is good enough for second in the nation. Despite that, Petty still held her own and dominated the glass against Arkansas.

And that’s without mentioning her 22 points, marking the fourth time this season Petty has scored 20+ points in a game. Impressive stuff.

Kentucky’s SEC opener got off to a very slow start as the ‘Cats led just 8-6 at the end of the first quarter. Then, heading into the half, Kentucky went on a huge 12-0 run to catapult themselves into a 26-14 lead at the break. However, it was obvious that this would be no easy victory for Kentucky, despite getting out to such a big lead.

So many times before Kentucky had faltered, and it seemed like that would (again) be the case Thursday night.

With 9:05 to go in the fourth quarter, the Razorbacks had themselves a 47-46 lead. It felt like yet another brutal, gut-punch loss was coming for Kentucky. Then, with Maddie Scherr sitting on the bench as she fouled out, it was up to Petty to take charge. Just like that, the Baltimore native put the team on her back and willed them to a double-digit victory. 10 of her 22 points came in the final period.

AJAE PETTY TAKEOVER MODE😵‍💫@AjaePetty15 #WeAreUK pic.twitter.com/aqGjYsHC8P
— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) January 5, 2024

All-SEC Ajae Petty: Can it happen?

Following the Arkansas game, Ajae Petty’s name may have finally entered the All-SEC radar. With 16 total players being selected to the All-SEC list, there is no reason why Petty couldn’t make the 2024 team at this stage. With the Tennessee matchup approaching, Petty is…

7th in the SEC in points per game (16.3)
2nd in the SEC in field goal percentage (59.0%)
2nd in the SEC in rebounds per game (10.5)
And 13th in the SEC in blocks per game (0.9)

If she can continue this pace for the remainder of the season, then Petty should be pretty well set to receive her first-ever All-Conference selection. Plus, when you dominate other SEC bigs with this much ease, that may be a sign you can eat with the big dogs. Let’s see if she can make it happen.