Kentucky WBB moves past Georgia, 64-50, in round one of SEC Tournament
In what could’ve been their last game of the season, Kentucky Women’s Basketball did what Kentucky Women’s Basketball does. Surprise us. And on Wednesday, they overcame the Georgia Bulldogs in the first round of the 2024 SEC Tournament.
After losing to Georgia, 72-65, earlier this season, there were little expectations that Kentucky could down the Bulldogs. But even without senior Maddie Scherr, who was unavailable due to concussion protocol, the ‘Cats settled in offensively and came out with a 64-50 win down in Greenville, SC.
At the start, the Bulldogs had a 10-4 lead before the first media timeout. After that timeout, however, Georgia wasn’t able to recover. The ‘Cats held the Bulldogs to 0-6 from three in the first half alone and were 4-10 (40%) from the perimeter themselves. Senior Ajae Petty finished the first half with eight points and nine rebounds, but Eniya Russell led the scoring for Kentucky with 10 points.
Russell led all scoring for Kentucky, finishing with 19 points. The senior added four rebounds and three assists. Petty recorded her 17th double-double of the season, totaling 11 points and 14 rebounds on the day. Brooklynn Miles finished in double-digits with 11 points and went 3-4 from the field. Miles also made her eighth three-pointer of the season to push the ‘Cats to a 10-point lead in the second quarter.
Going into the second half though, the Bulldogs came out ready for a fight. Georgia almost immediately went on an 8-1 run to start the half and cut Kentucky’s 14-point halftime lead to only seven. Saniah Tyler, however, answered with an offensive rebound put-back to end Georgia’s run. Cassidy Rowe then scored her first points of the tourney, a three-pointer to extend Kentucky’s lead to eight.
Georgia wasn’t going to give up there though. Javyn Nicholson, who finished with 23 points on the day, had 10 of those in the third quarter alone. Kentucky responded to Nicholson and her team with a 7-0 run to end the third quarter and was up 13 going into the fourth.
Kentucky destroyed Georgia on the boards, 41-25, and played very solid defense against a team notorious for its 39 rebounds per game average. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 72 in rebounds per game nationally. Kentucky is ranked 277th with 34 per game. The ‘Cats also finished with 17 turnovers, five of them coming in the last 10 minutes. Head coach Kyra Elzy called three timeouts in the fourth quarter urging her team to slow down and regroup, which seemed to work.
While Georgia never let up on the ‘Cats, Kentucky maintained composure and stayed locked in offensively. The ‘Cats finished the day 20-51 (39.2%) from the field and 6-18 (33%) from three.
The ‘Cats are back in action tomorrow, Thursday, March 7, where they take on five-seed Tennessee. Tipoff is set for 25 minutes after the conclusion of the first game of the day, which starts at 12:00 p.m. EST at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
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