Kentucky-East Tennessee State Postgame Notes

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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
KENTUCKY VS. ETSU
TUESDAY, NOV. 7, 2023
CLIVE M. BECK CENTER – LEXINGTON, KY.
 

Kentucky 74, ETSU 66 – FINAL
 
Team Records and Series Notes 

• The University of Kentucky women’s basketball program began its 50th season Tuesday.
  • UK has an 895-588 (.635) all-time record, just five wins away from 900.
• UK is 42-8 all-time in season openers, including winning 15 in a row.
  • UK is 46-4 all-time in home openers and have won 15 in a row as well.
• Kyra Elzy began her fourth season as the head coach of the Wildcats, holding a 50-40 (.556) overall record.
• Kentucky improves its lead in in the all-time series against ETSU, 3-1, with all games being played in Lexington.
  • Kentucky now has a two-game win streak against ETSU.
• Kentucky will play host to USC Upstate on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. ET inside Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.
  • The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.

Team Notes

• Kentucky used the starting combination Brooklynn Miles, Saniah Tyler, Ajae Petty, Maddie Scherr and Amiya Jenkins for the first time this season.
  • ETSU won the opening tip.
  • Ajae Petty was the first player to score for Kentucky.
  • Zennia Thomas was the first substitute off the bench for Kentucky.
• The Wildcats defeated the Buccaneers, 74-66, after a nine-point deficit in the second quarter and a two-point deficit at halftime.
  • The last time the Cats won a game after trailing at halftime at home was against Vanderbilt on Feb. 17, 2022.
  • The last time the Cats won a game after trailing at halftime in general was against Alabama on March 2, 2023.
• All five starters scored in double digits, including Amiya Jenkins (16), Saniah Tyler (14), Maddie Scherr (14), Ajae Petty (12) and Brooklynn Miles (10).
  • The last time all five starters scored in double digits was against Oklahoma on March 21, 2016.
• The Wildcats won three of four quarters and the second half.
  • Kentucky shot 43.1 percent from the field on the game, and 55.5 percent from the field in the second half (15-of-27) to secure its comeback win.
• Kentucky committed just seven turnovers, including no turnovers in the second half.
  • The last time UK committed 10 or fewer turnovers was in last year’s season opener against Radford (10) on Nov. 7, 2022.
• The Wildcats got to the line 36 times, making 22 of those attempts.
• UK outrebounded ETSU, 38-37.
• Kentucky led ETSU in points off turnovers (16), points in the paint (36), second-chance points (15) and fastbreak points (11).

How It Happened

• By the first media timeout, Kentucky led ETSU, 13-9.
  • Three Wildcats had balanced scoring across Saniah Tyler (5), Ajae Petty (4) and Maddie Scherr (4) in the first five minutes and nine seconds, as the Cats made five of their first nine attempts from the floor to start the game.
• The Wildats maintained their lead over the Buccaneers at the end of the first quarter, 21-16, making seven of their 17 attempts from the field for 41.2 percent shooting.
  • Notable of the first quarter, the Cats had just one turnover, allowing the Bucs no points off that one error. Meanwhile, the Bucs turned the ball over four times in the first quarter, as the Cats scored seven points off those miscues.
• However, ETSU took a 22-21 lead at 7:55 in the second quarter, its first lead in the game, after back-to-back, 3-pointers to start the period.
  • The Buccaneers extended their lead amidst a 14-0 run, leaving the Wildcats scoreless for the first six minutes and 23 seconds of the second quarter.
  • Brooklynn Miles broke the scoring drought at 3:37 in the second quarter on a coast-to-coast layup.
  • After a pair of free throws by ETSU, Miles added Kentucky’s very next points at 1:30 in the second quarter on a second-chance layup.
  • That spurred a 5-0 run for UK, capped by a free throw from Cassidy Rowe and a second-chance layup at the buzzer by Emma King.
  • ETSU led Kentucky, 30-28, at halftime.
• Despite the Buccaneers going on a 5-0 run out of the half to extend their lead to seven points, the Wildcats rallied back to tie the game, 50-50, at the end of the third quarter.
  • Amiya Jenkins had the game-tying score with an and-one play at 28 seconds.
  • The Wildcats shot 53.3 percent in the third quarter on 8-of-15 from the field and just one 3-pointer. The Cats also went 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.
• Eniya Russell scored on a pull-up jumper to start the fourth quarter and help Kentucky regain the lead for the first time since early in the second quarter.
  • ETSU answered with two points of its own but Maddie Scherr scored another pullup jumper off a turnover to regain the lead, 54-52, and keep it for the rest of the game.
  • The Wildcats go on to shoot a quarter-high 24 points on a quarter-high 58.3 percent from the field in the fourth quarter.
  • Kentucky defeated ETSU, 74-61.

Player Notes

• Amiya Jenkins, a sophomore guard, led Kentucky with a career-high 16 points.
  • It marked the first game of her career scoring in double digits.
  • She added four rebounds and one steal.
• Saniah Tyler, a sophomore guard, had a career-high 14 points.
  • It marked the first game of her career scoring in double digits.
  • She added one steal.
• Maddie Scherr, a senior guard, had 14 points.
  • It marked the 21st game of her career scoring in double digits.
  • She added five rebounds, three assists and one steal.
    • It marked her sixth straight game with at least one steal.
    • It marked the 46th game of her career with at least three assists.
• Ajae Petty, a senior forward, had her third career double-double with 12 points and a team-lead and career-high 13 rebounds.
  • She is the first player to earn a double-double since alumna Adebola Adeyeye had 11 points and 17 rebounds against Florida on March 1, 2023.
  • It marked the 10th game of her career scoring in double digits.
  • She added one assist and one block.
• Brooklynn Miles, a junior guard, had 10 points.
  • It marked the second game of her career scoring in double digits.
  • She added a team-lead four assists, while also contributing three rebounds and one steal.
• Zennia Thomas, a sophomore forward, led Kentucky with a career-high two blocks.
  • She added a career-high tying two rebounds.