Kentucky WBB seeks revenge vs. Tennessee in SEC Tournament quarterfinals
Thursday night, Kentucky women’s basketball found subtle retribution in its win over Alabama, which defeated the Cats by seven points earlier this season. Tonight, the Cats seek blatant revenge.
Later on Friday night, No. 14 seed Kentucky will square off against the No. 3 seed Tennessee Volunteers in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament at approximately 8:30 p.m. Tennessee obliterated Kentucky 83-63 just five days ago in Memorial Coliseum. In a new state, on a new win streak, Kentucky will search for a new result.
And, if you think the Cats don’t consider these opportunities for vengeance, think again. When the media asked Maddie Scherr if the Cats use their losses as motivation, she had one word.
“Absolutely.“
Here are the top changes the Wildcats must make if they want to transform a 20-point loss into a jaw-dropping win in a five-day period.
Kentucky must control the paint
The Volunteers dominated down low in their recent win over Kentucky. Tennessee outrebounded the Cats 43-27, snagging 13 offensive boards in the process. As a result, the Volunteers nearly scored two-thirds of their points in the paint.
Tennessee star forward Rickea Jackson was a specific problem. The 6-foot-2 powerhouse recorded 21 points and seven rebounds while shooting 10-16 from the field in the win. Kentucky had no answer for the big. However, that may no longer be the case.
In Kentucky’s win over Florida on Wednesday, Adebola Adeyeye had a breakout performance. The 6-foot-2 graduate student recorded 11 points and an incredible 17 rebounds. Combine Adeyeye’s offense with Ajae Petty’s defense and the Cats might have a chance. Adeyeye isn’t letting past let-downs affect her future play.
“We just really had to regroup and lock into each other. Because there are lots of extra noises, but we had to come together and pick up the intensity and pick up the slack and buy into each other,” Adeyeye said after Kentucky defeated Florida.
Role players must be reliable
The Cats have no shortage of reasons to buy into each other lately. In Kentucky’s win over Alabama on Thursday evening, UK’s bench combined for 18 points. Eniya Russell was responsible for 10 of those points in the fourth quarter alone.
The impressive step forward is a harsh contrast to Kentucky’s four bench points against Tennessee. If the Cats want to win, it needs players like Russell, Petty and Amiya Jenkins to be additional threats on the court.
UK bench’s past two performances are making believers out of everybody.
“It’s the time of year where players have to step up and make plays, and I certainly thought their kids stepped up and had a lot of momentum from yesterday,” Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said after falling to Kentucky.
Kentucky can’t come out flat
The Cats had anything but momentum in its loss versus Tennessee. After losing six-straight games, Kentucky walked onto the court like zombies, moving without intent. Before the Cats could snap out of their trance, Tennessee was ahead 13-0. UK never recovered.
Kentucky can’t afford another slow start, and UK head coach Kyra Elzy knows it.
“We dug ourselves too big of a hole to start the game. We came out a little flat. We made a run, cut it to eight or 10, but then we — our ability to get back in transition defense we lacked that. We turned them over 21 times but gave them easy scoring opportunities. It’s good to have a second chance,” Elzy said on Thursday night.
Watch Kentucky look to capitalize on its second chance at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET as it takes on Tennessee in the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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