Kentucky-Murray State Postgame Notes

UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
KENTUCKY VS. MURRAY STATE
FRIDAY, DEC. 16, 2022
MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
 

Murray State 51, Kentucky 44 – FINAL

 
Team Records and Series Notes  

• The University of Kentucky women’s basketball program is in its 49th season with an 889-572 (.609) all-time record.   
  • The Wildcats are now 7-3 on the season. 
  • The Racers are now 6-2 on the season. 
• Kyra Elzy is in her third season as the head coach of the Wildcats, holding a 44-24 overall record.  
• This marked Kentucky’s first loss to Murray State in the all-time series. 
  • UK remains the leader in the all-time series with MSU, 15-1. 
• Kentucky will return home to host NR/RV Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 1 p.m. ET for the program’s annual Holiday Game. 
  • Fans are encouraged to join the coaches and staff in wearing their ugliest holiday sweater. 

Team Notes  

• Kentucky used the starting combination Jada Walker, Maddie Scherr, Robyn Benton, Blair Green and Nyah Leveretter for the fifth game this season. UK is 4-1 using that starting combination.  
  • Kentucky won the opening tip. 
  • Jada Walker was the first player to score for Kentucky. 
  • Ajae Petty was the first substitute off the bench for Kentucky. 
• Both teams went scoreless for the first minute and 50 seconds in the game. 
  • Jada Walker was the first player to score on either team, thanks to a jumper at 8:10 in the first quarter. 
  • Murray State answered with a 9-0 run to take a 9-2 lead. 
  • Walker snapped the scoring run with a fastbreak layup at 4:30. 
    • Her score helped Kentucky go on a 5-2 run over the next two-and-a-half minutes. 
  • Both teams went scoreless from 1:37 to :27 in the first quarter. 
  • The Racers capped the period with a 3-pointer under 30 seconds. 
  • Murray State led Kentucky, 14-7, at the end of the first quarter. 
• Maddie Scherr opened up the second quarter with a 3-pointer, helping the Wildcats get within two possessions of the Racers. 
  • Murray State responded with a layup. 
  • Kentucky scored next on back-to-back layups by Kennedy Cambridge then Ajae Petty. 
    • The Wildcats’ 7-2 run to start the second quarter helped close the gap, as Murray State led Kentucky, 16-14, with seven minutes and 44 seconds remaining in the period.
  • Murray State drained a pair of free throws over the next, almost, three minutes, then Benton knocked down a 3-pointer at 5:16 to get within one point. 
  • Neither team went on a run under five minutes, just back-and-forth scoring, until the Racers made a free throw at the two minutes, followed by a layup at one-and-a-half minutes, to cap scoring by either team in the second quarter. 
  • The Racers led the Wildcats, 25-20, at the end of the second quarter. 
    • UK outscored MSU, 13-11, in the second quarter, the lone quarter the Wildcats outscored the Racers.  
• Murray State knocked down a 3-pointer at the start of the third quarter, stretching its lead to 28-20. 
  • The two teams went back-and-forth in scoring after that three-point field goal, with neither team making a run more than a single bucket for the remainder of the third quarter. 
  • Murray State led Kentucky in scoring in the third quarter, 10-8. 
    • Both teams went on a scoring drought down the stretch of that period, with MSU going without a score in the final six minutes and two seconds of that period and UK going without a score in the final four minutes and 18 seconds of that period. 
  • The Racers led the Wildcats, 35-28, at the end of the third quarter. 
• Ajae Petty was responsible for the first two Kentucky scores to begin the fourth quarter, and then Benton was responsible for the next 10 Kentucky points after that. 
  • Kentucky never could get a stop and get on a run greater than four points during that stretch, as Murray State had an answer for almost every make down to the last minute in the game. 
  • The Racers made six free throws under the minute mark. 
  • Petty capped the game in scoring with a layup with five seconds remaining. 
  • Murray State defeated Kentucky, 51-44. 

Player Notes  

• Graduate guard Robyn Benton led the team in scoring with 15 points. 
  • It marked the second straight game she has led the team in scoring. 
  • She has scored in double digits in all 10 games this season. 
  • She made at least one 3-pointer for the fifth straight game. 
  • She added two rebounds, two assists and one steal. 
    • She made at least one steal for the fifth straight game. 
• Junior forward Ajae Petty had 11 points. 
  • She has scored in double digits for six straight games.  
  • She added nine rebounds, two blocks and a steal. 
• Junior guard Maddie Scherr had seven points. 
  • She has made a 3-pointer in two straight games. 
  • She added five rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. 
  • She has made at least five rebounds in three straight games.  
  • She has made at least two blocks in three straight games.  
• Sophomore guard Jada Walker made three steals, which marks the 13th straight game she has recorded at least one steal. 
  • She added four points, four rebounds and a block. 
• Junior forward Nyah Leveretter reentered the starting lineup for the first time since mid-November. 
  • She had five rebounds, a season-high tying two blocks, two points and one steal. 
  • She has made at least five rebounds in two straight games.