Kentucky WBB upset with second-half performance despite big win

It’s rare to blow out another team and be disappointed with the result. But, the Kentucky women’s basketball team has a chance to be a rare group this season.

After UK defeated Bellarmine 63-45 on Thursday night at Memorial Coliseum, the team made some surprising comments at the press conference. Instead of celebrating their fourth-straight win, the ‘Cats immediately criticized their second-half performance.

Fixing the little things

“We’re definitely unsatisfied. Our team is known for our defense and the energy that we bring. I feel like we started to let our offense dictate our defense and we were not as intense as we should have been like we were in the first half,” Fifth-year senior Blair Green said during the postgame press conference.

Kentucky’s final 20 minutes certainly weren’t ideal. To start, they were straight-up outscored. The Knights dropped 28 points in the second half compared to just 26 for Kentucky. Additionally, the Wildcats’ second-half shooting was abysmal. The team connected on just seven of their 33 field-goal attempts through the third and fourth quarters.

The players weren’t the only ones aware of the subpar performance. After the game, head coach Kyra Elzy discussed the win as if it was a painful loss.

“We let our offense affect our defense by missing open 3-pointers that we’re capable of hitting. We missed some layups and I thought we got really defeated after that,” Elzy said.

Kentucky feels the pressure

Perhaps the team’s mindset is a product of their upcoming schedule. After playing four games in the comfort of Memorial Coliseum, Kentucky is heading to the Bahamas to take on No. 14 Virginia Tech on Nov. 21. The Hokies will be UK’s first ranked opponent this season.

A veteran guard, Green knows what the uptick in competition means, but she also believes her team can handle it.

“We’re playing a top-25 team in the Bahamas, so that will show us where we are,” Green said. “I think we should all be excited and confident. We’re not ranked and we believe that we should be, so I think this is a great opportunity to show what we are about.” 

BBN will see on Monday if Kentucky deserves to be ranked. The ‘Cats will take on the AP Top-25 opponent at noon. The game will be broadcast online at FloHoops.