Eniya Russell leads her team in Kentucky WBB win over Florida
In Sunday’s matchup against the Florida Gators, there were a lot of very important faces in Rupp Arena. Valerie Still, Stacey Reed Sheppard, Matthew Mitchell, Rhyne Howard, and so many more. But perhaps the most important face of them all was senior Wildcat Eniya Russell.
Coming off the bench, Russell finished Sunday’s performance with only 24 minutes under her belt. However, the senior led her team in scoring with a career-high 24 points on 8-15 (53.3%) from the field, including one three-pointer. After a grueling back-and-forth matchup, the ‘Cats came out on top, 81-77.
We’ve seen plenty of 20-point performances from Russell this season, but none of them compare to the impact she made on Sunday. Russell led the offense, often telling her teammates to pace themselves. Russell even took it upon herself a couple times to drive the full court to the basket, and lay it in, of course.
“Once the game come to me, I just be dialed in, locked in. I always could do it, y’all are just seeing it now,” Russell said in the post-game press conference. “Just going up to the line, just believing in myself. It was just about who wanted it more… physicality showed up today.”
“She had a great game, and that’s what we expect and need from her all the time. I thought she was really steady. She is a mismatch problem, but I thought she was solid all day,” head coach Kyra Elzy said about Russell. “I told her ‘Don’t tease us, we expect that all the time.'”
Along with Russell’s point production, she also had five rebounds, all of which were on the offensive end. The guard added three assists, two steals, and a block. Now, Russell has 260 points on the season, on 102-232 (43.9%) from the field. The Baltimore-native has continued to come in clutch down the stretch since her tying bucket against Boston College.
So far, Russell has had 13 double-digit games, with four of those being in the 20-point range. Her most recent 20-point game was against Arkansas on Jan. 25, which ended in a loss. Luckily for Russell, her team came out on top against the Gators. The senior now averages 9.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
Up next, Russell and the ‘Cats play Mississippi State in Starkville. The ‘Cats lost to the Bulldogs earlier in the season, 77-73, and will definitely be looking for some revenge. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. EST and can be streamed on the SEC Network+.
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