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The Kentucky WBB team took on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at Memorial Coliseum Sunday afternoon. The Chanticleers started their season with a 78-61 loss at Georgia, while Kentucky has started their season 2-0 with wins over Radford and Morehead State.
The starting lineup for the ‘Cats included Robyn Benton, Blair Green, Jada Walker, Maddie Scherr, and Nyah Leveretter.
Game Recap:
The scoring started off with an offensive rebound putback by Green for the ‘Cats. An and-one layup through contact brought the lead to 7-0 within the first 2-minutes of action. Coastal Carolina responded with their own 5-0 run. Kentucky broke their mini scoring drought via an Adeyeye layup. The score was 11-7 at the media timeout in the first quarter. Later in the quarter, another scoring drought by the ‘Cats was broken via two Benton free throws, bringing the score to 17-11 Kentucky. Those free throws sparked a 6-0 run at the end of the quarter that featured a transition jumper by King and a driving layup by Walker to bring the lead to 21-11 at the end of the first quarter. Scherr picked up her second foul just 5-minutes into the game, leaving her on the bench for the rest of the quarter. Play was very physical on both ends of the floor, leading to 10 fouls in the quarter. Offenses on both sides featured a high pace of play in the quarter that led to very few half court sets. Some sloppy passes and lack of ball protection, paired with a stifling Kentucky defense, led to a total of 20 turnovers in the quarter (11 for Coastal Carolina and 9 for Kentucky).
Coastal Carolina started the scoring in the second quarter with a layup. Shortly after, Green also picks up her second foul. Kentucky responded with a Benton layup for their first score of the quarter. The ‘Cats first three-pointer of the game came from Walker, bringing the lead to 26-13. Scherr returned to the court with her two fouls midway through the second quarter. With Scherr out, Walker ran the point and consistently pushed the ball in transition with success. The ‘Cats took a 30-18 lead into the media timeout. After three consecutive possessions with turnovers, Kentucky broke its field goal drought with a driving and-one layup by Jenkins. The ‘Cats end the half on a 9-0 run, growing the lead to 20 points with a score of 43-23. Walker and Benton led the charge for the ‘Cats in the half with Green and Scherr on the bench due to foul trouble. Walker led the ‘Cats in scoring with 14 points, while Benton was close behind with 13 points. The ‘Cats outrebounded the Chanticleers 18-13 in the half, created 20 Coastal Carolina turnovers, and shot 50% from the field.
The second half scoring started with a Chanticleer layup, quickly followed by a Scherr three-pointer for the ‘Cats. A 7-0 run by Kentucky in the first minute of the second half grew their lead to 50-25. That run eventually inflated to a 19-4 run that featured an incredible three-quarters court pass that saw Scherr find Walker for an open three to bring the lead to 62-29 with 5 minutes to play in the quarter. With the offense continuing to execute, the ‘Cats lead grew to 73-39 at the end of the quarter.
The first score of the fourth quarter was a Jenkins layup, after both teams struggled to get going offensively to start the frame. Kentucky’s defense continued to make an impact in the fourth, with the first Chanticleer points not coming until 4 minutes into the quarter via free throws. While the style of play was still up-tempo, it was clear that fatigue was starting to set in for both teams, as shots started to miss just short. The score was 79-43 ‘Cats at the media timeout. With the starters out, Coastal Carolina drew the Kentucky lead to 79-48 with 2 minutes to play. Throughout the fourth the ‘Cats struggled to score, finishing the quarter with just 6 points and getting outscored in the quarter 14-6 by the Chanticleers (10-0 run in final 5 minutes). The lackluster final quarter did not affect the outcome of the game as the ‘Cats ran away in the prior three quarters to give Kentucky a 79-53 win.
The leading scorer in the game for Kentucky was Walker with 21 points, with Benton coming in just behind with 19 points. Green, Benton, and Petty led the rebounding effort with 5 apiece. Walker also led the team in assists with 10 in the game. The two teams totaled a whopping 57 turnovers in the game, as the extremely up-tempo pace of play led to many poor decisions and telegraphed passes from both teams. The Chanticleers ended the game with 32 turnovers, with the ‘Cats totaling 25. The Kentucky defense held Coastal Carolina to 31% shooting from the field in the game. The ‘Cats shot 47% from the field (20% from three-point range).
Kentucky WBB next game is Thursday, November 17 when they take on the Bellarmine Knights at 7:00 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum. The game will be available on SECN+.
