Kentucky-Mississippi State Postgame Notes

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
KENTUCKY AT MISSISSIPPI STATE
SUNDAY, JAN. 22, 2023
HUMPHREY COLISEUM – STARKVILLE, MISS.
  

Mississippi State 77, Kentucky 76 – FINAL 
 
Team Records and Series Notes   

• The University of Kentucky women’s basketball program is in its 49th season with an 891-579 (.607) all-time record.    
  • The Wildcats are now 9-10 overall and 1-6 in the league.  
  • The Bulldogs are now 15-5 overall and 4-3 in the league. 
• Kyra Elzy is in her third season as the head coach of the Wildcats, holding a 46-31 overall record.   
  • She has an 18-20 overall record in the SEC. 
• Kentucky remains the leader in the all-time meetings with Mississippi State, 31-23, in a series that began in 1979. 
  • UK and MSU are tied in games played in Starkville, 11-11. 
• Kentucky will play host to Auburn on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. ET inside Memorial Coliseum for its annual We Back Pat game.  

Team Notes   

• Kentucky used the starting combination Jada Walker, Maddie Scherr, Robyn Benton, Blair Green and Nyah Leveretter for the 13th game this season. UK is 6-7 using that starting combination.   
  • Mississippi State won the opening tip.  
  • Jada Walker was the first player to score for Kentucky for the eighth instance this season.
  • Adebola Adeyeye was the first substitute off the bench for Kentucky for the 10th instance this season.
• Jada Walker had all six of Kentucky’s first six points in the game, thanks to back-to-back makes from the arc to take a two-point lead over Mississippi State, 6-4, with six minutes and 39 seconds remaining in the first quarter. 
  • Including Walker’s second make from the arc, the Cats went on a 7-2 run up to the media timeout to lead the Dogs, 11-6, at 4:46. 
  • Out of the timeout, the Cats used a piece of that scoring series to produce a 9-0 run to conclude the first quarter. 
  • Kentucky led Mississippi State, 18-8, at the end of the first quarter. 
• Mississippi State drained a 3-pointer on its first possession out of the break, but Kentucky’s Scherr immediately responded with a 3-pointer. 
  • Scoring was back-and-forth after that, with neither team going on a run greater than four points over the next four-and-a-half minutes, despite MSU outscoring UK, 11-8, during that time. 
    • The Wildcats led the Bulldogs, 29-22, at the media timeout with four minutes and 43 seconds remaining in the second quarter. 
  • Out of the timeout, MSU hit a 3-pointer to continue to chip away at UK’s lead, 29-25. 
  • Neither team scored for more than two-and-a-half minutes down to the two-minute mark 
  • UK narrowly outscored MSU, 4-3, down the stretch. 
    • That included Kennedy Cambridge’s steal with one second left on the clock, that ended up drawing a foul. She knocked down both of her shots to give UK some padding before the break. 
  • Kentucky led Mississippi State, 32-28, at halftime.  
• The Bulldogs came out of the break with an 10-0 run to take their first lead since 7:34 in the first quarter, 38-33. 
  • Scherr crafted a 5-0 run on her own to tie the game, thanks to a couple of free throws, then an offensive rebound put-back that drew a foul, before she knocked down another free throw. 
  • Mississippi State knocked down a couple of free throws to regain the lead, but Benton drained a pair of jumpers to take it back. State then tied the game, 42-42, with a layup before the second media timeout of the third quarter (3:43). 
  • The Cats and the Dogs tied its again at 44 and again at 46, before the Bulldogs rallied a 4-0 run to take a lead, 50-46, down the stretch. 
  • Kentucky capped the period with a couple of free throws, one by Benton and another by Walker. 
  • Mississippi State led Kentucky, 50-48, at the end of the third quarter. 
• Blair Green knocked down a jumper at the start of the fourth quarter to tie the game, which prompted a 7-2 run as the Cats took a lead over the Dogs, 55-52, at 8:18. 
  • The Bulldogs made a couple free throws, then Walker drained a 3-pointer to help Kentucky take a four-point lead. 
  • UK didn’t hold its lead long as MSU went on a 9-3 run going into the media timeout, taking a two-point lead with four minutes and 43 seconds on the clock. 
  • The two teams went back-and-forth in scoring out of that timeout, with neither team going on a run greater than four points. 
  • Benton and Walker hit back-to-back jumpers in the final 20 seconds to tie the game at 76 with 14 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. 
  • MSU drew a foul with three seconds remaining, making one of its two attempts.  
  • UK got the ball back on its half of the court, going down hill in under three seconds and the shot didn’t fall and no foul was called. 
  • Mississippi State defeated Kentucky, 77-76. 
• Robyn Benton (24) and Jada Walker (22) scored at least 20 points in the game. 
  • It marked the first time two players have scored at least 20 points in a game since Rhyne Howard (32) and Dre’una Edwards (25) against Auburn on Feb. 30, 2022. 
• Kentucky shot 45.3 percent from the field (24-53), while Mississippi State shot 47.5 percent from the floor (28-59). 
  • Kentucky also went 87.5 percent from the line (21-24). 
• The Wildcats made seven 3-pointers, which marked the fifth game in the last seven games that the Cats have hit at least six 3-pointers. 
• Kentucky was outrebounded, 39-22, as Mississippi State made eight more points off second-chance attempts.  
• The Wildcats forced the Bulldogs to commit 19 turnovers, scoring 21 points off those miscues. 
  • The Cats have forced 17 of their 19 opponents to commit at least 17 turnovers this season.  

Player Notes   

• Graduate guard Robyn Benton led Kentucky with 24 points, the second-best scoring performance of her career, only behind her 29 points at Florida last Sunday. 
  • She has put together back-to-back games of at least 20 points for the second time this season. 
    • The last player to do that was Maddie Scherr with 22 against LSU (Jan. 8) and 25 against South Carolina (Jan. 12). 
  • She has scored in double digits in all 18 games she has played in this season. 
    • She averages over 20 points a game in Kentucky’s five true road games this season.  
  • She made at least one 3-pointer for the 13th straight game. 
  • She added a career-high seven assists and two steals. 
• Sophomore guard Jada Walker had a career-high 22 points. 
  • It marked the fifth 20-plus point game of her career, and her third this season. 
  • It marked her 14th game this season she has scored at least 10 points and it marked her ninth game this season she has scored at least 15 points. 
  • She added four rebounds and three steals.  
    • She has recorded at least two steals in five of the last six games. 
• Junior guard Maddie Scherr had 16 points.  
  • She has scored at least 15 points in four straight games and she has scored at least 10 points in five straight games. 
  • She added six rebounds, a season-high tying five steals, three assists and one block. 
    • She leads Kentucky with an active streak of 10 straight games recording at least one steal. 
    • She has dished out at least three assists in 17 games this season.