Kentucky-USC-Upstate Postgame Notes
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UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
KENTUCKY VS. USC UPSTATE
SATURDAY, NOV. 11 2023
RUPP ARENA – LEXINGTON, KY.
Kentucky 82, USC Upstate 54- FINAL
Team Records and Series Notes
- Kentucky is 2-0 in 2023-24, while USC Upstate moved to 0-3 this season.
- The University of Kentucky women’s basketball program is in its 50th season.
- UK has an 896-588 (.604) all-time record, just four wins away from 900.
- Kyra Elzy began her fourth season as the head coach of the Wildcats, holding a 51-40 (.560) overall record.
- The Wildcats improved to a 4-0 all-time record against the Spartans, including 4-0 in games played in Lexington.
- Kentucky will play host to Austin Peay on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. ET inside the Davis-Reid Alumni Gym on the campus of Georgetown College.
- The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
- It will mark its last home game until Nov. 30.
Team Notes
- Kentucky used the starting combination Brooklynn Miles, Saniah Tyler, Ajae Petty, Maddie Scherr and Amiya Jenkins for the second time this season.
- Kentucky is 2-0 when using that starting combination.
- The Wildcats 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.
- Kentucky defeated USC Upstate, 82-54.
- Kentucky has a 380-26 all-time record in games when it scores at least 80 points.
- The Wildcats tip off the season with five players scoring in double digits for the second straight game.
- For the second straight game, more than one player set a career high in scoring.
- Kentucky had 58 points in the paint.
- That is the most points in the paint in a game in the Kyra Elzy era.
- The Wildcats forced the Spartans into 22 turnovers, scoring 21 points off those miscues.
- The Wildcats committed 15 turnovers themselves, allowing just four points off them.
- UK led USC Upstate in points off turnovers (21-4), points in the paint (58-28), second-chance points (15-2) and bench points (28).
- Kentucky outrebounded USC Upstate, 42-31.
- UK has outrebounded its first two opponents of the season.
How It Happened
- By the first media timeout, Kentucky led USC Upstate, 14-7 (1st, 4:36).
- The Wildcats began the game on 7-of-12 shooting from the field (58.3 percent).
- The first quarter ended with a steal and layup by Eniya Russell to assemble a 9-0 run, as Kentucky led USC Upstate, 25-12.
- The Wildcats had seven scorers in the first quarter, maintaining at least a 50.0 percent shooting average in the period.
- The Wildcats had 10 bench points in the first quarter, already two more than in the season opener.
- UK allowed USC Upstate to a 5-0 run to start the second quarter, tightening the gap, 25-17, Kentucky, with seven minutes and 56 seconds remaining in the period.
- However, Kentucky answered with a 20-2 run, including a 17-0 run to close out the half, as the Wildcats led the Spartans, 45-19.
- Zennia Thomas led all scorers in the first half with 10 points on 3-of-5 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line.
- The Wildcats had 28 points in the paint in the first half.
- The Spartans came out of the halftime break making six of their first six shot attempts, outscoring the Wildcats, 14-9, by the five-minute mark in the third quarter.
- UK rallied to get back to even scoring the rest of the third quarter, as both teams got out of the period with 21 points apiece.
- Kentucky led USC Upstate, 66-40, at the quarter break, shooting 48.1 percent from the field and leading in rebounds, 32-25.
- It was even scoring to start the fourth quarter, too, with both teams at 12 apiece at the first media timeout (4th, 4:57).
- The two teams went scoreless for the next two minutes, until freshman Janae Walker came in her first career game and scored her first career layup to break the scoring drought at 3:12.
- Kentucky defeated USC Upstate, 82-54.
Player Notes
- Ajae Petty, a senior forward, led Kentucky with a career-high 19 points, which came off 9-of-11 from the field.
- It marked her second straight game this season and the 11th game of her career she has scored 10+ points.
- It marked her first game this season and the third of her career she has scored 15+ points.
- She added a team-high tying nine rebounds.
- Eniya Russell, a senior guard, had a career-high tying 14 points, which came off of 6-of-10 from the field, and a team-lead tying and career-high nine rebounds.
- It marked her first game this season and the fifth game of her career she has scored 10+ points.
- She added two assists and one steal.
- Maddie Scherr, a senior guard, had 12 points, six rebounds a team-high six assists, a team-high three steals and one block.
- It marked her second straight game this season and the 22nd game of her career she has scored 10+ points.
- It marked her first game this season and the 19th time in her UK career she has led in assists.
- It also marked her second straight game this season and the 47th game of her career she has dished out at least three assists.
- It marked her second straight game this season and the 12th time in her career she has led in steals.
- It also marked her first game this season and the 41st game of her career she has had at least two steals.
- She has recorded a steal in seven straight games.
- Brooklynn Miles, a junior guard, had 10 points, four assists, three rebounds and one steal.
- It marked her second straight game this season and the third time in her career she has scored 10+ point.
- It marked her second straight game this season the third time in her career she had at least three assists.
- She has recorded a steal in two straight games.
- Zennia Thomas, a sophomore forward, had a career-high 10 points, which came off of 3-of-5 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from the line.
- It marked the first game of her career she has score 10+ points.
- She added a career-high tying two rebounds and a career-high tying one assist.
- Janae Walker, a freshman forward, had her first career points with a layup in the fourth quarter.
- She added three rebounds and a block.
