Kentucky-Arkansas Postgame Notes

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
KENTUCKY VS. NO. 24/23 ARKANSAS
SUNDAY, JAN. 1, 2023
MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.  
  

No. 24/23 Arkansas 71, Kentucky 50 – FINAL 
 
Team Records and Series Notes   

• The University of Kentucky women’s basketball program is in its 49th season with an 890-575 (.608) all-time record.    
  • The Wildcats are now 8-6 overall and 0-2 in the league.  
  • The Razorbacks are now 14-3 overall and 1-1 in the league. 
• Kyra Elzy is in her third season as the head coach of the Wildcats, holding a 45-27 overall record.   
  • She has a 17-16 overall record in the SEC. 
• Kentucky remains the leader in the all-time series with Arkansas, 16-4.  
• Kentucky will go on the road to play Georgia in Athens, Georgia, on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. ET. 

Team Notes   

• Kentucky used the starting combination Jada Walker, Maddie Scherr, Emma King, Blair Green and Nyah Leveretter for the first game this season. UK is 0-1 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.  
• The Wildcats and the Razorbacks were tied, 8-8, at the media timeout at 4:57, as the two teams turned the ball over a combined nine times in the first five minutes. 
  • Kentucky won the opening tip, then turned the ball over to Arkansas, allowing the Razorbacks to take a quick 2-0 lead. 
  • The two teams traded points on the next couple of possessions, until Kentucky went on its first run of the game.  
    • It was a 4-0 run by Jada Walker and Maddie Scherr, which helped Kentucky take an 8-6 lead with five minutes and 33 seconds remaining in the first quarter.  
  • Arkansas responded with a 10-0 run to earn a 16-8 lead with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter.  
    • Kentucky didn’t score for the last five minutes and 33 seconds in the first quarter.  
  • Arkansas led Kentucky, 16-8, at the end of the first quarter. 
• The Razorbacks improved their scoring series to a 16-0 run at the start of the second quarter, making the period’s first six points, which prompted the Wildcats to call a timeout with seven minutes and three seconds remaining in the second quarter. 
  • Ajae Petty sparked the Cats on offense, scoring back-to-back layups to keep within 10 points out of the timeout. 
  • Arkansas responded with a 10-0 run that lasted five minutes, stretching the Razorbacks’ lead, 32-12. 
  • Emma King snapped the Razorbacks’ scoring run with a jumper at 1:36. 
    • King then earned a steal on the Backs’ next possession, but the Cats turned the ball over on a travel. 
  • Arkansas rallied a layup right before the one-minute mark. 
  • Blair Green answered with a 3-pointer, then a second-chance jumper on Kentucky’s next possession. 
  • The Razorbacks led the Wildcats, 34-19, at halftime.  
• Walker came out of halftime with back-to-back points in the paint. That series included a block on the other end of the court by King. 
  • Arkansas came back with back-to-back makes from long range, followed by a jumper off a turnover. 
  • Nyah Leveretter then made a second-chance layup. 
  • The Razorbacks then enjoyed another 10-0 run.  
  • Blair Green capped that scoring run with a turnaround jumper at 2:10, the Wildcats first points since the seventh minute of the third quarter. 
  • The two teams went scoreless for more than a minute, until Walker drew a foul, making one of her two attempts at the line. 
  • The Razorbacks capped the third quarter with a make at the line. 
  • Arkansas led Kentucky, 53-28, at the end of the third quarter. 
• Kentucky went on an 8-2 run to begin the fourth quarter. 
  • Arkansas snapped Kentucky’s scoring series with a back-to-back layups over the next 45 seconds.  
  • Kentucky then scored on five straight free throws in a series that lasted for more than a minute.  
  • The two teams then went steady back-and-forth in scoring, until Arkansas used the final two minutes of the game to go on a 5-2 run down the stretch. 
  • Arkansas defeated Kentucky, 71-50. 
• Kentucky shot 26.2 percent from the field on 17-of-65 shooting, while Arkansas shot 42.2 percent from the floor on 27-of-64 shooting. 
  • The Wildcats knocked down a pair of shots from long range. 
  • The Wildcats went 14-of-19 from the line. 
• The Wildcats and the Razorbacks tied in rebounds, 41-41, and in second-chance points, 9-9. 

Player Notes   

• Graduate guard Blair Green led Kentucky with 14 points.  
  • It marked her third straight game she has scored in double digits. 
  • It marked her seventh game this season she has scored in double digits. 
  • It marked her second time this season has led the team in scoring.  
  • She went 2-of-6 from long range. 
    • It marked the fourth straight game she has scored in double digits.  
  • She added two rebounds, two steals and one assist. 
    • It marked her second straight game she has made at least one steal and one assist.  
  • She also went 2-of-2 from the line. 
• Sophomore guard Jada Walker had 13 points. 
  • She has scored in double digits in four straight games. 
  • She has scored in double digits in 11 games this season.  
  • She added two assists, two steals and a rebound. 
    • It marked the fourth straight game she has made at least four assists. 
• Junior guard Maddie Scherr grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds.  
  • She added eight points, a season-high tying five steals and three assists. 
    • It marked the fifth straight game she has made at least one steal. 
    • It marked the 11th straight game she has dished out at least two assists. 
• Junior guard Nyah Leveretter had a career-high tying nine rebounds.  
  • She added five points, a steal and a block.  
    • She had made at least one block in four of the last five games. 
    • It marked the second straight game she has made at least one steal.