Kentucky-Radford Postgame Notes

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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

KENTUCKY VS. RADFORD
MONDAY, NOV. 7 2022
MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
 
Kentucky 82, Radford 78 – FINAL
 
Team Records and Series Notes 

• The University of Kentucky women’s basketball program is in its 49th season with an 883-569 (.608) all-time record.  
• Kyra Elzy is in her third season as the head coach of the Wildcats, holding a 38-21 overall record. 
  • Elzy is 23-7 at home, including 21-5 record inside Memorial Coliseum and 2-2 mark inside Rupp Arena. 
  • Elzy is 3-0 in season openers. 
• Kentucky is 41-8 in season openers.  
  • The Wildcats are 45-4 all-time in home openers and have won 14 in a row as well. 
• Kentucky improved to 3-0 all-time against Radford with all three games being played inside Memorial Coliseum. 

 
Team Notes 

• Kentucky used the starting combination Jada Walker, Maddie Scherr, Robyn Benton, Blair Green and Nyah Leveretter. 
  • Kentucky won the opening tip. 
  • Robyn Benton was the first player to score for Kentucky.  
  • Adebola Adeyeye was the first substitute off the bench. 
• Robyn Benton scored first in the game, before it became a back-and-forth affair for the remainder of the first quarter. 
  • Radford tied the game on its first possession.  
  • The Highlanders took their first lead after a 3-pointer midway through the first quarter, 7-6. 
  • Kentucky reclaimed its lead with a Benton 3-pointer, followed by a free throw. 
  • The Wildcats went on a 6-0 run toward the end of the first quarter thanks to three straight layups by Ajae Petty, Adeyeye and Eniya Russell. 
  • The Highlanders tied the game, 16-16, in the final 20 seconds of the first quarter. 
  • Jada Walker made a last-second layup to put Kentucky ahead Radford, 18-16, at the end of the first quarter. 
• Radford tied the game, 20-20, on its first possession of the second quarter. 
  • The two teams would go tit-for-tat until Kentucky at last began to pull away around the fifth minute of the second quarter. 
  • UK went on a 6-0 run, including a 4-0 run by Adeyeye herself, to put the Wildcats ahead of the Highlanders, 31-27. 
  • Radford tied it up, once again, 33-33, around the two-and-a-half minute mark. 
  • Kentucky responded in an important way, as Walker scored a crucial 3-pointer, followed by a Russell jumper and a Leveretter put-back, as the Wildcats took a quick 40-33 lead. 
  •  Kentucky concluded the first half ahead, 42-36, keeping Radford scoreless from the field for more than two-and-a-half minutes at the end of the second quarter. 
• The Wildcats took their largest lead in the game, to this point, in the seventh minute of the third quarter, 48-38. It happened on a steal by Walker, the dish by Scherr and a layup by Green. 
  • Kentucky went on a two-and-a-half minute scoring drought while leading, 59-45, toward the end of the third quarter. Russell capped the scoring drought with a spin move under the basket.  
  • Radford scored back-to-back 3-pointers to cap the third quarter. 
  • Kentucky led Radford, 63-52, at the end of the third quarter. 
• Kentucky held as much as a 15-point lead in the beginning of the fourth quarter as Radford began to slowly chip away it. 
  • The Highlanders had a 7-0 run around the seventh minute of the fourth quarter thanks to a pair of layups and a 3-pointer, as the Wildcats continued to lead, 69-61. 
  • It was back and forth until the final 30 seconds of the game, when Radford went on a 4-0 run by way of free throws to get within three points of Kentucky (81-78). 
  • Walker was fouled in the final 10 seconds of the game, making one of her two free-throw attempts. 
  • Kentucky defeated Radford, 82-78, in the season opener.  
• Kentucky shot 45.2 percent from the field on 33-of-73 shooting, while Radford shot 53.6 percent from the field on 30-of-56 shooting.  
  • The Wildcats had 56 points in the paint. 
  • The Wildcats forced the Highlanders to commit 17 turnovers, while the Cats scored 18 points off those miscues. Meanwhile, the Cats turned the ball over just 10 instances themselves. 

 
Player Notes 

• Sophomore guard Jada Walker led the team with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field.  
  • It marked just the second time in her career she has led the team in scoring.  
  • Her 19 points marked the eighth game in her career scoring 15+ points in a game. 
  • She added four rebounds, a team-high four steals, two assists and a block. 
  • Her four steals marked the 15th time in her career she has recorded at least two steals in a game. 
• Graduate student guard Robyn Benton had 17 points, adding four assists, three rebounds and a steal. 
  • Her 17 points marked the ninth time in her career scoring 15+ points in a game. 
  • Her four assists marked the 16th time in her career she has recorded at least three assists in a game.  
• Graduate student forward Adebola Adeyeye had six points and a team-high nine rebounds. 
  • Her six points came on 2-of-3 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line. 
  • Tonight’s game marked Adeyeye’s Kentucky debut. 
• Junior guard Maddie Scherr dished out a team-high seven assists, adding four points, six rebounds and a steal. 
  • Tonight’s game marked Scherr’s Kentucky debut. 
• Graduate student guard Blair Green produced a solid statline in her debut since returning from her ruptured Achilles, scoring nine points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal. 
• Freshman guard Amiya Jenkins scored her first points in her collegiate career. 
  • Her first bucket in Blue and White came in the sixth minute of the second quarter, helping Kentucky tie Radford, 25-25.