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PREVIEW: Kentucky WBB prepares for Mississippi State

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs02/15/22grant_grubbs_
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Photo by Eddie Justice | UK Athletics

With five games left in their regular season, Kentucky Women’s Basketball is looking to win out.

The ‘Cats (10-11) will face the Mississippi State Bulldogs (15-8) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night in Memorial Coliseum. Kentucky is coming into the contest off a narrow 67-63 victory over Alabama on Sunday. Sitting at 11th in the SEC standings, every win is vital for the ‘Cats. This will be UK’s second game out of four over a seven-day stretch.

Additionally, Kentucky’s roster is finally healthy. For the past two games, Kentucky has had all nine scholarship players available, and they’ve used all of them. In Kentucky’s win on Sunday, the bench scored 39 points of UK’s 67.

Although Kentucky is looking better than ever, the Bulldogs aren’t an easy opponent. Let’s discuss the team hoping to stop UK’s win streak before it ever gets started.

Breaking down the Bulldogs

Mississippi State has been respectable in conference play. The Bulldogs are 6-5 in the SEC and entering Memorial Coliseum after defeating Ole Miss 70-59 on Sunday. For reference, the ‘Cats fell 63-54 to Ole Miss on Jan. 23.

Led by interim head coach Doug Novak, the Bulldogs score 71 points per game while holding their opponents to 64.7 points a night. Mississippi State rarely makes mistakes. The Bulldogs commit just 11.6 turnovers per contest. Only five teams in the country average a lower number of miscues.

The Bulldogs’ precise offense is led by redshirt senior Anastasia Hayes. The 5-foot-7 guard is recording 19 points and 4.5 rebounds per outing. Hayes isn’t the only guard for the Bulldogs having a standout season.

Sophomore Jordan JerKaila is contributing 13.9 points and 5.9 boards a night. JerKaila is a sharpshooter, converting 39% of her attempts beyond the arc. Redshirt senior Myah Taylor is another offensive weapon for Mississippi State.

The 5-foot-7 guard adds 8.7 points per game to the team’s total. While Taylor doesn’t have the same scoring prowess as some of her teammates, her passing skills are unmatched. She leads the team with a jaw-dropping 125 assists this season.

Though the Bulldogs are having a successful season, it hasn’t come without adversity. Just 15 games into the season, the team lost its 6-foot-2 Rickea Jackson to injury. Worse, Jackson then announced she was entering the transfer portal.

Without Jackson, Mississippi State doesn’t have a player over 6-foot who averages more than 15 minutes per contest. Kentucky will look to take advantage of the Bulldogs’ lack of height.

Keys for Kentucky WBB

With many players still fresh off an injury, Kentucky is still shaking off some rust. Nonetheless, the team’s win over Alabama was a step in the right direction. All nine available players for Kentucky got in the scoring column. Despite the team’s success, head coach Kyra Elzy listed what the team needs to continue to improve.

“Go back to work, continue to work on our transition offense, finishing around the rim, free throws,” Elzy said during the postgame press conference. “We’re a better 3-point shooting team than what we displayed today.”

Kentucky struggled from deep against Alabama, going 3-17 (17%) from 3-point land. However, Sunday wasn’t the start of Kentucky’s shooting woes. The ‘Cats have gone 51-185 (27.5%) from beyond the arc during conference play.

To secure some much-need victories, Kentucky must rediscover their shooting rhythm. Though the ‘Cats didn’t put on a shooting clinic on Sunday, the team was dominant on defense. UK forced Alabama to commit 18 turnovers. Elzy discussed her team’s successful press after the contest.

“Our press was really good. We knew we needed to generate some scoring opportunities off of our defense. We turned Alabama over and we scored off some of those.”

Kentucky scored 18 points off the Crimson Tide’s miscues on Sunday. The figure is promising, yet worrisome for Tuesday night’s game. As mentioned previously, the Bulldogs rarely have turnovers. It will be key for the ‘Cats to find ways to disrupt Mississippi State’s smooth offensive.

Finally, Kentucky needs Robyn Benton to return to form. In her two games back from injury, Benton has averaged 2.5 points while shooting 1-5 from 3-point land. As a player who once averaged double-figure points, Benton must contribute to the offense.

Hopefully for Benton, the third time is the charm. The ‘Cat will get another chance to redeem herself as UK takes on Mississippi State at 6 p.m. tonight in Memorial Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

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2025-09-12