Kentucky women’s basketball getting boost from unexpected sources during tough stretch.
As a freshman guard at Kentucky during the 2019-20 season, Emma King played 106 total minutes.
Her on-court time totaled just 44 minutes last season.
But in the last five games alone, King has logged 121 minutes for the Wildcats, while also starting a game for just the fourth time in her college career during Sunday’s loss at No. 12 LSU.
A similar stark increase in game action has come for sophomore forward Nyah Leveretter, who played 97 minutes as a freshman for UK last season, but has played 142 minutes in the last five games, including her first career start in Thursday’s loss at Vanderbilt.
These statistics are evidence of just how short-handed Coach Kyra Elzy’s UK team has been in recent weeks.
Five different UK players have missed time for the Wildcats since Jan. 20, a period in which Kentucky has played five games in 11 days.
The absences have come for different reasons: Robyn Benton (ankle), Dre’una Edwards (team suspension), Kristen Crenshaw-Gill (ankle), Treasure Hunt (unspecified injury) and Jazmine Massengill (concussion protocol) have all missed at least one game since Jan. 20.
This comes on top of UK having only nine scholarship players available to play this season after guard Erin Toller was dismissed from the team during the offseason and guard Blair Green suffered a season-ending Achilles injury during the preseason.
But regardless of reason, one thing for certain is that UK’s already limited depth has been tested more in the last 11 days than at any other point this season.
“Being short-handed, it has shown us that we have some resiliency,” Elzy said after Sunday’s nine-point loss at No. 12 LSU. “Yes, we have come up short, but when you ask your players to compete, leave it on the court, sometimes they’re getting a sub, sometimes they’re not, to have a mental toughness to be able to play the amount of minutes that we’re asking.”
The clearest examples of this are King and Leveretter, who have both set several career highs in the last week.
King has set career marks in minutes played (35), points scored (10), field goal attempts (13) and rebounds (four). She’s also made a habit of putting her body on the line, taking charges on defense.
“Emma always brings a spark off the bench,” senior guard Rhyne Howard said after King set a career-best with 10 points in Tuesday’s win at Auburn. “She’s always going to work hard no matter what’s happening, what’s going on in the game. We can just count on her to make the little plays like diving on the floor, getting loose balls and just running the court, crazy layups.”
Leveretter has set career marks in minutes played (38), field goals made (three) and blocks (six).
“She was one of those kids that, you’re not coming out unless you tell me you need to. Otherwise, just keep going,” Leveretter’s high school coach, Gregory Bauldrick, told the Herald-Leader last summer. “There’s something positive coming from Nyah about every single situation, no matter how bad it is. The glass is always half full and she’s just such a breath of fresh air for everybody.”
Leveretter’s play has been especially necessary for UK as Edwards missed four straight games from Jan. 20 until Sunday due to a team-imposed suspension, leaving Kentucky with just two recognized frontcourt players on the roster.
“She’s extremely athletic and she’s going to come into her own,” Elzy said of Leveretter during the coach’s weekly radio show on Jan. 17. “I’m happy with her progression so far.”
As recently as Kentucky’s Dec. 12 loss at Louisville, King and Leveretter were both unused bench players.
Now, they’re playing major minutes for Kentucky at a crucial point in the season.
“Credit to Nyah Leveretter and Emma King. Three weeks ago they weren’t even playing, now they’re either starting or playing 30-plus minutes and they have stepped up and made big plays,” Elzy said Sunday. “I can see their confidence continue to grow.”
When Kentucky returns to full availability and health, it’s unlikely that King and Leveretter will sustain their current playing time.
But until then, the high-minute outings for the pair have come while Kentucky tries to keep its season together.
The Wildcats, now with an overall record of 9-9 and a 2-6 mark in Southeastern Conference games, are fading fast from the NCAA Tournament picture.
According to the latest NCAA Tournament bracketology released by ESPN’s Charlie Creme on Friday morning, Kentucky has a 1-8 record against teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament.
UK has fallen completely out of the NCAA Tournament projections itself. UK isn’t even found in the First Four Out or Next Four Out categories, and Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament profile got worse this week after the loss to Vanderbilt.
Eight games remain for Kentucky in the regular season, including another upcoming congested stretch from Feb. 10 to Feb. 20 when the Wildcats will again play five games in 11 days.
But for now, a welcome respite has arrived. The Wildcats have a full week off until their next game on Sunday afternoon at home against Texas A&M (11-9 overall and 1-7 in SEC play).
Ideally, this period will allow Benton and Massengill, who both missed Sunday’s loss at LSU, to get healthy and return to the starting lineup.
“We’re going to be a dangerous team when we have all of our pieces in place,” Elzy said she told her team.
But regardless of their return, UK will need King and Leveretter to contribute over the final five weeks of the season, following their recent growth in confidence and production.
Next game
Texas A&M at Kentucky
When: Noon Sunday
TV: ESPN2
This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 7:52 AM.
