Kentucky-Bellarmine Postgame Notes

UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

KENTUCKY VS. BELLARMINE

THURSDAY, NOV. 17, 2022
MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
 
Kentucky 63, Bellarmine 45 – FINAL
 
Team Records and Series Notes  

• The University of Kentucky women’s basketball program is in its 49th season with an 886-569 (.609) all-time record.   
  • The Wildcats improved to 4-0 this season, including 4-0 at home in 2022-23.  
• Kyra Elzy is in her third season as the head coach of the Wildcats, holding a 41-21 overall record.  
  • Elzy is 26-7 at home, including 24-5 record inside Memorial Coliseum and 2-2 mark inside Rupp Arena.  
• Kentucky remains the leader in the all-time meetings with Bellarmine, 3-0, according to Kentucky records. 
  • It marked the first meeting between the two teams in 46 years. 
• Kentucky will face No. 14/14 Virginia Tech in the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship in the Bahamas on Monday, Nov. 21 at noon. 
  • It will mark UK’s first top-25 opponent of the season.  
  • Kentucky will depart for the Bahamas on Nov. 19.

Team Notes  

• Kentucky used the starting combination Jada Walker, Maddie Scherr, Robyn Benton, Blair Green and Nyah Leveretter. The Wildcats are 4-0 using that starting combination this season.  
  • Kentucky won the opening tip.  
  • Blair Green was the first Kentucky player to score in the game for the second straight game. 
  • Adebola Adeyeye was the first substitute off the bench for the fourth straight game. 
• It was a slow offensive start for both teams, as Kentucky scored just 12 points to Bellarmine’s nine points in the first quarter. 
  • Blair Green had Kentucky’s first three points in the game, thanks to a jumper and a free throw. 
  • Ajae Petty and Adebola Adeyeye came off the bench to score the next eight points over the next five minutes.  
  • Jada Walker had a pair of free throws to help Kentucky improve its lead over Bellarmine, 12-9, at the end of the first quarter. 
  • Despite Kentucky’s slow offensive start, they brought intensity in other areas, forcing Bellarmine to commit nine turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game. 
• The Knights scored first in the second quarter, however the Wildcats responded with a 12-0 run that lasted more than four minutes.  
  • Kentucky’s scoring streak was snapped after a Bellarmine field goal from behind the arc at 4:24, as the Cats remained in the lead, 24-14. 
  • The two teams went back-and-forth over the next minute. 
  • The Wildcats then went on a 9-0 run, on 5-of-6 from the field, over the final two minutes and 43 seconds.  
  • Green hit a last second three-point field goal to help Kentucky earn its largest lead in the game, 20 points, 37-17, at halftime.
• Walker began the third quarter with a couple of free throws, as UK stretched its lead over BU, 39-17. 
  • Scoring was back-and-forth in the third quarter with neither team going on a run greater than four points. 
  • Kentucky went on a scoring drought for the final four minutes and 15 seconds of the third quarter. 
  • Bellarmine outscored Kentucky, 16-15, in the third quarter, as the Wildcats continued to lead the Knights, 52-33. 
• Kentucky made its first points in the fourth quarter at 7:16, after Scherr dished it to Green for a field goal from long range.  
  • Elzy continued her effort of introducing freshmen players in the fourth quarter, as she tested new lineups with a focus on her rookie student-athletes.  
  • The Wildcats scored eight more points, after Green’s 3-pointers at the start of the fourth quarter, on free throws alone, as the Cats went 8-of-10 from the line in those 10 minutes.  
  • The Knights took advantage of the Wildcats’ new look and narrowly outscored the Cats, 12-11, in the fourth quarter. 
  • Kentucky defeated Bellarmine in the end, 63-45. 
• The Wildcats forced the Knights to commit 27 turnovers, scoring 24 points off those miscues, which marks their third straight game forcing opponents to turn the ball over at least 25 times. Meanwhile, the Cats have scored at least 24 points off turnovers in every game this season.
• Kentucky had a season-high 43 rebounds in the game.  

Player Notes  

• Kentucky had three players score in double digits for the third straight game. 
• Graduate guard Blair Green led the team in scoring for the first time this season with a season-high 15 points.  
  • It marked her third straight game scoring in double digits.  
  • Green led the team in 3-pointers, knocking down a season-high two from behind the arc. 
  • She tied her season high with five rebounds. 
  • She added a steal and her first block of the season. 
• Sophomore guard Jada Walker had 14 points, in part thanks to 6-of-6 from the line.  
  • It marked her second straight game scoring in double digits. 
  • She added a season-high and team-high tying seven rebounds, in part thanks to a career-high five offensive rebounds.  
  • She had a season-high tying and team-leading five steals, while she also added two assists. 
    • Walker leads the team with seven straight games recording at least one steal, a streak that dates back to last season. 
• Graduate guard Robyn Benton is the only Wildcat to score in double digits all season, putting up 11 points in tonight’s game. 
  • She added two rebounds, two steals and one assist.  
    • Benton has had at least two steals in three of four games this season.  
• Junior forward Ajae Petty had a career-high and team-high tying seven rebounds, a career-high two steals and a career-high tying one assist. 
  • She added a season-high tying one block. 
• Junior guard Maddie Scherr covered her stat line with eight assists, six points, five rebounds, a season-high two steals and a block.