No. 14 seed Kentucky WBB squeezes out 72-57 upset over Florida in SEC Tournament
Kentucky women’s basketball and the SEC Tournament, name a better duo.
On Wednesday afternoon, No. 14 seed Kentucky upset No. 11-seed Florida in a feisty 72-57 finish during the first round of the 2023 SEC Tournament in Greenville, SC. The win is Kentucky’s first in over 30 days. Obviously, it couldn’t come at a better time.
After winning the SEC Tournament last season, Kentucky looked likely to finish last place in the SEC and fail to survive the tournament’s First Four. After all, Nyah Leveretter is out with a torn ACL and Kennedy Cambridge is still sick.
Nonetheless, Kentucky showed up when it mattered most. Specifically, Robyn Benton was spectacular, leading the Cats with 20 points and five rebounds while shooting 7-17 from the field. Benton dropped over half of her points in the fourth quarter alone.
As a team, Kentucky shot 27-61 (44%) from the field and 3-15 (20%) from beyond the arc. The Cats forced 18 Florida turnovers, just six fewer than when they defeated the Gators in early January. The matchup against Florida seemingly shocked the Cats back to life.
Injuries, ejections and basketball
Kentucky wasted no time picking up where it left off the last time they swamped the Gators. The Cats jumped out to an early lead, looking dominant. However, Kentucky’s hot start came to a concerning clash when Maddie Scherr went down with an injury.
Instead of collapsing without Scherr, the Cats turned up the heat. Kentucky ran off seven unanswered points following Scherr’s exit to the locker room. Of course, Florida’s offensive inefficiency didn’t hurt the Cats’ efforts.
Florida went 0-5 from deep in the second period, helping push UK to an 18-12 lead. Kentucky’s second period made the first look like paint drying. After a few back-and-forth minutes, chaos struck.
Kentucky forward Ajae Petty and Florida big Tatyana Wyatt got tangled up on the baseline. Petty skipped away, seemingly unaffected by the issue. Wyatt’s memory wasn’t so short. The 6-foot-3 Gator threw a ball at Petty and charged her from behind. The scuffle spilled into UK’s bench.
Although the players were quickly separated, the refs deliberated over the issue for 22 minutes. In the end, Kentucky role players Cassidy Rowe, Saniah Tyler, Zennia Thomas and Eniya Russell were ejected for leaving the bench. Florida’s Wyche sisters, Ra Shaya Kyle and Faith Dutt were ejected, as well.
Florida took advantage of the extended wait, finishing the frame on a 7-0 run. Meanwhile, Kentucky scored four total points in the period, its lowest-scoring frame this season. The Gators’ scoring surge cut Kentucky’s lead to 22-21 at the half.
Kentucky refuses to lose
The two teams’ slow-paced offenses were unrecognizable in the third quarter. They traded shots back and forth as if they were in the Final Four of March Madness and not the First Four of the SEC Tournament. After a 6-0 run, Florida finally secured its first lead in a long time.
It didn’t last. Fueled by Scherr’s eight points in the frame, Kentucky went into the final 10 minutes of the game narrowly ahead 43-41. As if Kentucky’s stars were taking turns, Benton took over in the fourth frame.
The 5-foot-9 guard dropped 12 points in the last 10 minutes, silencing the crowd with each dagger. Benton’s explosion carried Kentucky to a 10-0 run. Before Florida knew it, the Cats were ahead 64-52. Kentucky waited out the Gators’ dying breaths to walk away with a 72-57 victory.
Kentucky’s rebounding effort was pivotal in the win. The Cats snagged 14 offensive boards, leading to 16 second-chance points. With its extra opportunities, Kentucky repeatedly made the extra pass. UK dished out 18 assists in the win, the most the team has had in a game since Dec. 21.
Those assists led to points. Along with Benton, Scherr, Jada Walker and Adebola Adeyeye scored in double digits. Adeyeye had a monstrous performance, recording 11 points and 17 rebounds. Walker put up 13 points and four assists. Scherr added 10 points and six assists, as well.
The Cats will barely have 24 hours to reward themselves for their hard-fought victory. At approximately 8:30 p.m. EST, Kentucky will take on No. 6-seed Alabama. The Crimson Tide defeated UK 72-65 on Feb. 9. The rematch will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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