Kentucky women preparing for ‘a dogfight’ in top-15 border battle with Indiana
Dre’una Edwards admitted Thursday night that Kentucky has started the season by playing down to its opponents.
While blowout wins over Presbyterian College and North Alabama this week ended as such, the process of getting there was more laborious than needed.
Kentucky hardly led during the first half of its season-opening win over Presbyterian on Tuesday night, and UK held just a four-point halftime lead during Thursday night’s win against North Alabama. Strong third quarter starts helped power the Wildcats to victories both times.
But should Kentucky start slow again this weekend, the opposition won’t be as forgiving.
Sunday night’s marquee matchup between No. 13 Kentucky and No. 8 Indiana — set for a 5 p.m. tip-off inside the storied college basketball venue of Assembly Hall and to be broadcast on ESPN — pits the Wildcats against a Hoosiers squad that returns all five of its starters from last season’s Elite Eight team.
“We know that this is a big game and we’re not going to go out there sluggish, or not knowing the correct defense or not communicating in the right way,” said Edwards, who led UK in scoring in both the Presbyterian (20) and North Alabama (27) wins. “We’re going to go out there locked in, mentally focused and we’re already prepared for it.”
“I feel like we’ve been playing sort of sluggish because we aren’t hitting our shots,” said Rhyne Howard, Kentucky’s star senior guard who recorded her 18th career double-double in the North Alabama win. “So, it has affected us on the defensive end. We’re going to come out hot, because we know what the odds are and how big of a game this is.”
Sunday’s game is important to the Wildcats on multiple fronts.
UK’s non-conference schedule is highlighted by two marquee road contests against longtime rivals: At Indiana and at Louisville, which is ranked No. 6 in the AP poll.
These are measuring-stick moments for head coach Kyra Elzy in her second season in charge in Lexington.
“You have an opportunity to step up on a big stage and this is going to be a dogfight,” Elzy said. “We just have to set the tone of Kentucky basketball, but no matter what it’s a great test to see where you are and what you need to work on going into the future.”
The game will also be a test for Kentucky’s recovery ability. Sunday will mark the end of a stretch of three games in six days for the Wildcats.
The December matchup at Louisville will also come at the end of a stretch of three games in one week for Elzy’s team.
UK has options
Kentucky continues to have only eight scholarship players available following the season-ending injury suffered by senior guard Blair Green during the preseason and the announcement that sophomore forward Nyah Leveretter would miss time with a non-COVID illness.
Despite these limitations, Elzy and the Wildcats can still play in distinct ways.
Center Olivia Owens and guard Emma King both started the season opener.
Owens, a traditional interior presence, hasn’t played more than 14 minutes in either of UK’s first two games. Elzy said the goal for King this season is to “be a zone buster and shoot 40% or higher from behind the three-point line,” but so far King is just 1-of-5 on three-pointers.
Guards Treasure Hunt and Robyn Benton both started the North Alabama win.
Hunt exploded off the bench for a career-high 18 points in the Presbyterian win, and the oversized guard has shown an ability to grab loose balls in the post, recording 19 rebounds this season.
Benton made her first career Kentucky start Thursday night and scored 14 points on 50% shooting while not committing a turnover in 35 minutes.
Another impact option for the Wildcats is true freshman guard Jada Walker, who scored 13 points and had five assists against North Alabama and has impressed with her on-ball defense in Kentucky’s fast-paced and frenetic defensive system.
“I like her aggressiveness, she looks to push in transition and she’s only a freshman,” Elzy said of Walker. “She’s still figuring it out, but the intensity in which she plays, you’ve got to love it.”
Hoosiers present challenges
Being just the third game of the season for UK, things are still a work in progress.
While Elzy has been pleased with Kentucky’s ability to force turnovers, causing 25 against Presbyterian and 21 against North Alabama, she wants the Wildcats to improve on quarter-court offensive execution and help-side defense.
That directive will face a stern test against the Hoosiers.
All five IU starters who began the Hoosiers’ season-opening win at Butler on Wednesday night — guards Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, Ali Patberg, Grace Berger (who attended Louisville’s Sacred Heart Academy), and forwards Aleksa Gulbe and Mackenzie Holmes — also started throughout IU’s run to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight last season.
In the 86-63 win over Butler, Cardaño-Hillary scored 29 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the field, including a career-high seven three-pointers made.
“We better deny her the basketball and run her off the line,” Elzy said. “We cannot let her catch and shoot, obviously she has proven that she can hit those.”
“Twenty-nine in the opener isn’t 29 on us,” Howard said when asked about containing Cardaño-Hillary.
Beyond Cardaño-Hillary, the Hoosiers boast two All-Big Ten First Team selections from last season in Berger and Holmes.
Berger led the nation in triple-doubles last season and averaged 15.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.
“Grace Berger is very talented. She is tough. She plays hard. She has experience,” Elzy said of the senior. “She has the ability to score at all three levels. We’re going to have to match her intensity.”
But for all these challenges, Kentucky has experience winning against this Hoosiers team.
Last December inside Memorial Coliseum, the Wildcats beat the Hoosiers, 72-68, with Howard scoring 22 points and Edwards recording a double-double.
UK is bringing an underdog mindset with it for Sunday’s return game in Bloomington.
“Most of the time when we go play a top team the odds are against us. So, we just use that as motivation,” Howard said.
“We use it as motivation to fire us up,” Edwards said. “We’re not mad about it. It’s like, ‘OK we got it, it’s cool.’ We aren’t worried, we aren’t tripping that they’re thinking like that because we already know what we’ve got in our team.”
Sunday
No. 13 Kentucky at No. 8 Indiana
When: 5 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Kentucky 2-0, Indiana 1-0
Series: Kentucky leads 14-12.
Last meeting: Kentucky won 72-68 on Dec. 6, 2020, in Lexington.
