UK roster still growing as Cats seek bounce-back win in final non-conference game
The ninth-ranked University of Kentucky women’s basketball team will look to bounce back from its first loss under newly elevated head coach Kyra Elzy when it hosts Wofford in Memorial Coliseum on Saturday at 1 p.m. The matchup with the Terriers is UK’s final non-conference game of the regular season.
The Wildcats on Wednesday struggled to defend in transition as they fell at No. 24 DePaul, 86-82, in their second road game of the year. UK (6-1) trailed DePaul the majority of the afternoon but still had a chance to tie the game late. After allowing the Blue Demons to score 50 points in the paint, Elzy said the Wildcats would redouble their focus on defense ahead of the matchup with Wofford.
”I thought we played hard, but there’s a difference between playing hard and playing smart,” Elzy said. “So, some of the time we were playing hard but we were not using the proper technique or we were out of position. So that just goes back to defensive fundamentals.”
Despite the loss, good news for UK emerged this week. Sophomore guard Emma King rejoined the team after missing four games because of COVID-19 protocols. She traveled to DePaul with the team but did not play.
Shortly after UK’s loss to the Blue Demons, news broke that the NCAA Division I Council had granted all transfers eligibility this season, making junior guard Jazmine Massengill immediately eligible to take the floor for the Cats. A UK spokesperson confirmed that the Tennessee transfer would play this season.
Might UK fans see King and Massengill in action against Wofford? The Terriers enter Saturday’s matchup 3-2 on the year following a well-fought loss at Xavier. Wofford clawed back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit and had a chance to tie or take the lead with under two minutes to play, but Xavier pulled out a 70-64 win.
Jackie Carman, a 5-foot-8 guard, scored a team-high 14 points for Wofford in the Xavier loss. Alexis Tomlin, a 6-foot-1 junior forward, scored 13 to go along with nine rebounds and three blocks.
Junior guard Niyah Lutz is the only Terrier averaging double-digit scoring at 11.6 points per game. Carmen averages 9.6 points and 3.6 rebounds, while Tomlin averages 9.2 points and a team-best 6.8 boards.
Wofford averages 63.8 points per game, having struggled to shoot consistently. The Terriers have hit 37 percent of their total field goals but just 21 percent of their three-point shots.
Wofford went 15-15 overall last year and 8-6 in Southern Conference play, finishing tied for fourth in the regular-season standings and falling to Furman in the opening round of the league tournament.
Saturday
Wofford at No. 9 Kentucky
When: 1 p.m.
Where: Memorial Coliseum (limited spectators)
Live video broadcast: SEC Network Plus (online only)
Records: Wofford 3-2, Kentucky 6-1
Series: UK leads 1-0
Last meeting: UK won 67-57 on Jan. 7, 2008, in Memorial Coliseum
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 7:58 AM.
