‘We gave them 38 points.’ Turnovers doom Kentucky women at Auburn in sixth straight loss.
At halftime of Kentucky’s latest women’s basketball loss, Auburn had scored as many points off UK turnovers as the Wildcats had scored at all in the game’s first 20 minutes. The Tigers generated 18 first-half points off 12 UK turnovers in the first two periods to build a 40-18 halftime lead on the way to a 78-50 Southeastern Conference win at home.
The Wildcats (9-16, 2-9 SEC), who remain winless outside of Lexington, finished the game with a glaring 26 turnovers, off which Auburn scored 38 points, the highest number of points off turnovers for the Tigers (16-8, 5-6 SEC) during SEC play this season. In a wire-to-wire loss where the Wildcats also made only 16 of their 41 layup attempts and sank just 11 of their 21 free throw chances, head coach Kyra Elzy’s point was clear: “The biggest key was 26 turnovers. We gave them 38 points of their 78. Thirty-eight was on turnovers, so taking care of the ball.”
“I mean, they stole the ball,” Elzy said. “It was a live ball turnover, so when you have a live ball turnover in the middle of the floor, you know, usually you’re converting that. That’s a layup on the other end.”
The Tigers recorded 15 steals. They led 22-4 after limiting Kentucky to 2-for-19 shooting in the opening quarter. Even though UK trimmed the deficit to 15 points briefly in the third quarter, it was never competitive.
“I thought we were more aggressive once we settled in, saw the ball go through the hoop,” Elzy said. “You know, we changed up our defense, thought we were flying around, you know, we gotta build on it. It’s a tough time right now, but what I talked to the team about, we got to stay the course. We’ve got to stay together. Obviously, everybody wants to win, disappointed that we’re not. But the things that we can control, we got to go back and control.”
Despite its defensive adjustments, UK had no answers for Auburn graduate guard Honesty Scott-Grayson, who entered the matchup on a three-game hot streak: averaging 27.3 points per game on 52% shooting from the field. During this stretch, the rest of the Tigers’ offense combined for 38 points per game on 33% shooting from the field.
Against the Wildcats, Scott-Grayson recorded 22 points on 9-of-18 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line, in addition to eight rebounds, four assists and one steal. The rest of Auburn’s players combined to shoot 20-of-50.
“Honesty’s having a great year,” Elzy said. “And she’s had a great year against everybody, not just the Cats. She’s an unbelievable player that can score at three levels. Coming in you know she’s going to make some plays, she’s made plays on everybody. But our game plan coming in, when she gave it up, we wanted to face guard her, make her work to get the ball back. Any time she came off the ball screen, our game plan was to trap her with our 4 and the 5. We weren’t consistent with it to make her give the ball up, but she’s an unbelievable player. And she had another big game tonight.”
Against UK, three of Scott-Grayson’s teammates finished in double-figures — Taylen Collins had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Kaitlyn Duhon and Jamya Mingo-Young each contributed 10 points
Thursday night marked the first time Auburn has tallied back-to-back victories against UK since 2005-06, and aided the Tigers’ quest to remain in NCAA Tournament consideration.
Kentucky’s losing streak is now six games, the longest of the year and only one behind last season’s seven-game skid — the longest in Elzy’s four seasons at the helm.
A starting lineup shift
Kentucky introduced a brand-new starting lineup against the Tigers, its 10th different combination this season.
The Wildcats opted for a starting five of Ajae Petty, Maddie Scherr, Brooklynn Miles, Cassidy Rowe and, for the first time this season, freshman forward Janaé Walker taking the floor to open the game; she finished with two points, four rebounds, one steal and one block in 11 minutes.
Elzy said she wanted to change the starting lineup — prioritizing size on the floor — in hopes of finding success on the boards against a longer and taller Auburn roster.
“I wanted to revamp the lineup,” Elzy said. “We talked about it in practice. I thought it would give us the ability to close the gap on rebounding with two bigs instead of it getting away from us early. Also, you know, sometimes you just need a change in the lineup. And I thought Janaé has done a great job of screening for us, she’s our best screener. So the ability to get someone open against pressure, one. Two, I knew she was going to battle on the boards, what we needed, and then you know, she’s going to sprint and play hard. She’s coachable.”
Elzy’s rationale when choosing the trio of Scherr, Miles and Rowe had everything to do with the versatility of having three floor generals to present against an intense Auburn defense.
“I put (Rowe) in the lineup,” Elzy said. “She’s tough. Having another point guard on the floor, that gave us three point guards against pressure.”
Elzy chose to bring typical starter Emma King (four points), sophomore guard Amiya Jenkins (eight points), Eniya Russell (five points) and Saniah Tyler (two points) off the bench. Jenkins returned to action after sitting out against Texas A&M due to a “coaches’ decision.”
Only Petty (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Scherr (11 points) reached double figures in the loss and, in her postgame radio interview, Elzy expressed the team’s need for a consistent third scorer after noting it was the efforts of Petty, Scherr and an offensive push by Jenkins that put the team on track after its disappointing start.
“Petty after the initial start, I thought she settled in,” Elzy said. “Took her time, played on balance. You know, Maddie, I thought she was aggressive offensively, still passing up a couple more shots that I would like her to pass up. But I thought she tried to settle us in, talk to her team and lead. I thought (Jenkins) came off the bench, gave us a big spark. So we’ve got to find that third scorer consistently.”
50th anniversary celebration
Kentucky’s next game — a noon tip against Florida (13-10, 4-7 SEC) on Sunday — features a guest list including the likes of Valerie Still and Makayla Epps for the program’s 50th Anniversary Alumni Celebration, honoring a half-century of varsity status.
“So excited about the alumni game,” Elzy said. “We have a ton of alumni that are going to be back. I know Big Blue Nation is going to show up and show out in Rupp Arena. You know, the alumni game means so much for so many reasons. There are so many people that have poured into Kentucky women’s basketball, paved the way for us to have this opportunity. And for us to honor them, that’s really important. Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat, so we’re gonna welcome them home. First class. Our staff has done an amazing job of getting everything ready. We’re celebrating 50 years, so to have them back, it’s going to be an amazing atmosphere. So we look forward to it.”
Kentucky legend Rhyne Howard will be one of many on the list of former players planning to return to Lexington for the event — but Howard’s role Sunday won’t just be limited to celebration. UK’s second all-time leading scorer behind Still will suit up in orange and blue as a Florida assistant coach and director of player personnel this season, marking her first time competing against her alma mater.
Howard, a two-time WNBA All-Star, joined head coach Kelly Rae Finley’s staff following another impressive season with the Atlanta Dream and serves the Gators during her pro basketball offseason.
Against Kentucky, the Gators will seek to bounce back from a 77-67 overtime loss to Ole Miss on Thursday.
Next game
When: Noon Sunday
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Kentucky 9-16 (2-9 SEC), Florida 13-10 (4-7)
Series: Kentucky leads 36-27
Last meeting: Kentucky won 72-57 in the first round of the SEC Tournament on March 1, 2023, at Greenville, S.C.
