It’s been seven years since UK women’s basketball beat Louisville. That streak could end Sunday.
By the time Sunday afternoon’s showcase women’s basketball game between Kentucky and Louisville tips off inside Rupp Arena, it will have been more than seven years since the Wildcats last defeated the Cardinals.
An 18-point UK win on Dec. 10, 2015 — which marked a fifth straight for UK in the series — has been followed by five consecutive Louisville victories. Four of those U of L victories have come by six points or less, including last year’s 64-58 Louisville triumph at the KFC Yum Center.
While the Cardinals have had significantly more NCAA Tournament success than the Wildcats since that December 2015 meeting — two Final Four appearances and two other Elite Eight appearances for the Cards compared to just one Sweet 16 appearance for the Wildcats — the head-to-head matchups between the teams are often close games separated by only a few possessions.
That’s expected to be the case again when Kentucky (7-1) and Louisville (6-4) take to the court at 1 p.m. Sunday at Rupp Arena in front of a national television audience on ESPN.
Early returns good for new-look Wildcats
Given the more than seven-year gap since Kentucky’s last win over Louisville, it’s unsurprising that no current UK player has ever beaten the Cardinals while at Kentucky.
Elzy has beaten Louisville on two occasions while with UK, but those wins came in December 2009 and December 2011 when Elzy was an assistant coach and an associate head coach with the Cats.
UK’s longest-tenured player is hoping that her final season in Lexington will feature her first ever win over the Cardinals.
Graduate student guard Blair Green was part of UK’s 2018 recruiting class, alongside program legend and close friend Rhyne Howard.
Howard went the entirety of her illustrious Kentucky career without a win over Louisville.
Green hopes the same fate won’t happen to her.
“I would love to be sent out with a win against Louisville,” Green said Friday afternoon.
Green is one of three Kentucky players averaging double figures in scoring this season. Sophomore guard Jada Walker leads the way (15.4 points per game), followed by graduate student guard Robyn Benton (14.8) and Green (10.4).
With Howard having departed last offseason to become the top pick in the WNBA Draft — and then win last season’s WNBA Rookie of the Year award — this season’s Kentucky team will be defined by a slew of newcomers (10 new players) as well as how productive players are in new roles.
“I think we’re definitely starting to figure it out,” Green said. “Overall, I feel like our team chemistry, especially on the offensive end, is starting to come together.”
“I definitely feel like our bench and our starters both together are producing what we need,” Walker added.
Entering Sunday’s game, one of the best examples of how effectively and quickly the Wildcats have come together this season is junior forward Ajae Petty, an offseason transfer from LSU.
Petty is leading UK in rebounding (6.3 per game) despite coming off the bench in all eight games.
She also recorded the first two double-doubles of her career in Kentucky’s last two games. Petty scored a career-best 16 points and tied her career high with 12 rebounds in Wednesday night’s road win at Minnesota.
“She has a big body, very athletic, gets our style,” Elzy said of Petty. “I think she’s settled in and understands her role. We need to be able to go inside and (have) her finish consistently.”
Additionally, the Cats have shown cohesion on the the defensive end, particularly in forcing turnovers.
As of Friday, UK ranked first in the SEC and 10th nationally in turnovers forced per game with 25.
This has also been an effective way to kick-start the Kentucky offense: The Wildcats have outscored their opponents, 219-96, off turnovers this season.
“I think we’re a work in progress, but I do think our identity does lie on the defensive side of the basketball,” Elzy said. “We are getting closer to where I want us to be, haven’t reached the pinnacle yet, but I think our identity is showing right now.”
Scouting the Cardinals
This hasn’t been a typical season so far for Louisville women’s basketball.
After making the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season in the spring — as well as reaching the Final Four for just the fourth time in program history — U of L has had some rough moments early in the 2022-23 season.
On the court, that’s been evident as head coach Jeff Walz’s team suffered defeats by double-digit points to Gonzaga and South Dakota State during a tournament in the Bahamas, a lopsided home loss in a marquee nonconference game against No. 3 Ohio State and an 18-point loss last Sunday on the road at Middle Tennessee State.
This marked the first time since 2016 that Louisville had lost consecutive nonconference games, which was a big reason why the Cardinals dropped out of the latest Associated Press poll.
It was the first time since February 2020 that the Cards had lost back-to-back games in general.
U of L had a chance to recover ahead of Sunday’s trip to Rupp Arena, though, and the Cardinals did so in dominant fashion on Tuesday night at home.
Louisville set a new program record for most points scored in a half (62) and junior guard Hailey Van Lith became the 32nd player in U of L history to score at least 1,000 career points in a 105-32 win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
Van Lith averages 20.0 points per game to lead Louisville in scoring.
“Their versatility, and they are very skilled offensively, their ability to score,” Elzy said when asked about the challenges posed by Louisville.
Two Louisville guards did not play in the SIUE game: Graduate student guard Mykasa Robinson (concussion protocol) and senior Norika Konno (non-COVID illness).
Adding to the recent on-court issues was the news that Louisville sophomore guard Payton Verhulst entered the transfer portal last weekend.
Verhulst was the No. 12 recruit in the class of 2021, according to ESPN, and had been averaging 6.4 points and 15.1 minutes per game as a bench player so far this season.
In-state players in rivalry game
Any Kentucky-Louisville rivalry game matters a great deal within the commonwealth. Here are the players from Kentucky on both sides of this year’s game:
Kentucky: Blair Green (Harlan County), Amiya Jenkins (Anderson County), Emma King (Lincoln County), Cassidy Rowe (Shelby Valley) and Maddie Scherr (Ryle).
Louisville: Mykasa Robinson (Ashland Blazer).
Sunday
Louisville at Kentucky
When: 1 p.m.
Where: Rupp Arena
TV: ESPN
Records: Kentucky 7-1, Louisville 6-4
Series: UK leads 34-23.
Last meeting: Louisville won 64-58 at home on Dec. 12, 2021
