Miles, Petty Lead Kentucky Past Samford on Sunday
Kentucky women’s basketball head coach Kyra Elzy has implored guard Brooklyn Miles to look for her shot more often rather than always setting up her teammates. On Sunday against Samford, Miles was able to do both.
The junior from Frankfort scored a career high 13 points and also dished out six assists as the Cats beat the Bulldogs 72-59 at the Clive M. Beck Center at Transylvania University.
Elzy was pleased with Miles’ effort on Sunday.
“So proud. I gave her a shout out in the locker room. I thought she adjusted to how they were playing her. Early in the season, when they weren’t guarding her, she would just stand. Today, we talked to her about cutting. To see her cut, make layups, make plays and be aggressive and that’s what we’re going to need from her.”
Kentucky (7-7) got a game-high 22 points from Ajae Petty. The senior from Baltimore added 13 rebounds, recording her seventh double-double of the season.
Maddie Scherr had a solid all-around game with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, one blocked shot and one steal.
Kentucky scored first on a Petty free throw and the Cats would establish a four-point lead at 7-3 on a Petty layup. UK would hold the lead for the remainder of the quarter, leading by as many as seven and taking a 21-17 lead after 10 minutes of action.
Samford got off to a quick start in the second period. The Bulldogs scored the first nine points of the quarter to take a 26-21 lead. Petty scored five in a row to tie the game at 26-26. The lead would change hands five more times before the end of the half, but baskets from Cassidy Rowe and Maddie Scherr gave UK a 32-30 lead at the half.
The Cats continued the run by scoring the first seven points of the second half to grab a 39-30 lead. The Cats would go up by 10 before Samford scored six in a row, cutting the UK lead to 44-40. Kentucky would lead 50-44 after three quarters.
After Samford scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, the Cats went on a 12-0 run to seal the deal.
Kentucky returns to action on Thursday, hosting Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference opener. Tipoff from Rupp Arena is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.
