‘She makes plays when we absolutely have to have them.’ Another transfer boosting UK.
Dre’una Edwards has made the biggest impact so far among first-year contributors for the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team, starting the first four games of the season and putting up three straight double-doubles. But another newcomer is quietly becoming one of the Wildcats’ most dangerous weapons.
Auburn transfer Robyn Benton was integral to No. 11 Kentucky’s furious rally against No. 13 Indiana in Memorial Coliseum on Sunday. The junior guard scored 12 points in 23 minutes off the bench, coming up clutch in the fourth quarter as the Cats fought back from a 14-point deficit to knock off the Hoosiers, 72-68.
Benton’s three-pointer drew Kentucky within 59-58 with 3:22 to play, and her pair of free throws half a minute later gave the Wildcats their first lead since the first quarter. Benton scored in the paint to put UK ahead 66-61 with 37 seconds left.
UK associate head coach Niya Butts, who led the Wildcats against the Hoosiers, heaped praise on Benton following the win.
“I’m not sure we have enough time to talk about the importance of Robyn Benton,” Butts said. “In all of our games, she has the most timely scores, probably, of any player ... She makes plays when we absolutely have to have them.”
Benton, a 5-foot-9 junior from Conyers, Ga., transferred to UK in April after two seasons at Auburn, where she was named to the All-Southeastern Conference Freshman Team then averaged double-digit points as a sophomore.
After a summer during which it looked as if Benton would sit out 2020-21 as a transfer, she was granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA on Nov. 17 — eight days before the start of the season.
Indiana head coach Teri Moren pinpointed Benton’s late three as perhaps the key play of Sunday’s game.
“That was a huge three that gave them a lot of life,” Moren said.
Edwards wasn’t surprised that Benton stepped up against the Hoosiers.
“I say I’m a dog, Robyn’s a dog, man. We already knew what she was capable of. We knew she was going to hit the shot. We (weren’t) worried at all,” Edwards said of Benton’s late three to draw the Cats within one point.
Benton also played a major role in Kentucky’s grind-it-out win at Kansas State last week. She scored 11 points in 28 minutes, knocking down a pair of clutch three-pointers and swiping three steals.
“As you can see, we are very grateful that we have Robyn Benton. She just can make plays,” Elzy said after the Kansas State game. “What I love about her is she’s willing to make plays on both sides of the floor. She made some key defensive stops. ... She hit a big three tonight when we were down and out, had nothing going.”
Benton had seven points and two steals in the season-opening win over Murray State, then followed that up with nine points and four assists in a blowout of Belmont. She grabbed five rebounds in each of UK’s first three games.
“She is a playmaker, and she just brings ... versatility to our offense and more athleticism,” Elzy said.
Been there, done that
It surely wasn’t an ideal situation when UK announced about two hours prior to tip-off Sunday that interim head coach Kyra Elzy would miss the Indiana game because of a health issue not related to COVID-19. However, Butts provided the Wildcats with a solid backup plan.
Not only did Butts bring a wealth of head-coaching experience to the sideline — having led Arizona from 2008-2016 — it was her job leading up to the Indiana game to scout the Hoosiers.
“It was an easier transition, just because I have experience as a head coach,” Butts said. “The good thing is, (Indiana) was my scout. So, the late-game switch was a little bit comfortable for me. ... I was already prepared for them at a deeper level.”
Butts was proud that UK’s players were able to roll with the punches Sunday after having navigated an offseason that included all the uncertainty spawned by the coronavirus pandemic as well as the sudden retirement of former head coach Matthew Mitchell two weeks prior to the opener.
“Our team responded so well, they’ve been resilient all season long,” Butts said.
Butts didn’t go into detail about what caused Elzy to miss the game, but said her colleague was following along.
“She was definitely watching it, definitely following the game for us and she’s feeling OK, she’s doing well,” Butts said. “I don’t want to really comment any further on that, but she definitely was aware of the game and how we played.”
Wyatt returns
Senior forward Tatyana Wyatt saw her first action of the season Sunday following a three-game suspension for an undisclosed violation of team rules.
Wyatt gave the Cats a spark in the third quarter, scoring her first points of the year on a three-pointer that pulled UK within 50-42. She then came up with a steal that led to a fast break which Benton finished with a runner to get the Cats within six.
Wyatt totaled three points and two rebounds in 13 minutes.
Herd heading west
Next up for Kentucky is a matchup with Marshall in Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The teams last met in 2017 in Lexington with Kentucky winning, 69-39.
In Sunday’s season opener against Radford, Marshall trailed 50-49 in the fourth quarter before closing the game on a 20-8 run to pull out a 69-58 victory. Sophomore guard Savannah Wheeler led the rally, hitting a jumper to give the Thundering Herd the lead then nailing six free throws down the stretch to ice the game.
Wheeler, who starred in high school for Boyd County and was voted 2019 Kentucky Miss Basketball, scored 25 points to go along with two steals and three rebounds in the win. She made the Conference USA All-Freshman team last year after leading Marshall in scoring with a 13.4 points-per-game average. Wheeler also led the Thundering Herd in assists (2.8) and steals (1.4).
Other Kentucky natives on Marshall’s roster are 5-foot-7 junior guard Kia Sivils and 5-foot-5 senior guard Kristen Mayo.
Sivils, who starred at Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, started six games at Marshall last season and averaged 3.7 points and 2.4 rebounds. She drew the start in Sunday’s victory over Radford and had two points, three rebounds and three assists.
Mayo, who played for East Carter High School, started every game for Marshall as a junior. Against Radford, she had seven points, six rebounds and three steals.
Last season, Marshall went 13-17 overall and 7-11 in league play, finishing in a three-way tie for eighth place in the 14-team C-USA.
Next game
Marshall at No. 9 Kentucky
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
TV: SEC Network Plus (online)
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 7:54 AM.
