Kentucky women’s basketball (12-19, 4-12) booked its ticket to a rematch with Tennessee after beating the Georgia Bulldogs 64-50 inside the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
The win came against all odds as, shortly before tipoff, it was announced that senior Maddie Scherr would not be available for not only the Georgia game, but the entire SEC Tournament due to a concussion.
The tip would be followed by yet another slow start from the Wildcats, with Georgia jumping out to a 10-4 lead in the first five minutes of play behind six opening points from Bulldog forward Javyn Nicholson.
“She’s the type of player that keeps you up at night,” Kentucky head coach Kyra Elzy said. “Her ability to score inside and out, she’s aggressive and she can rebound and has great touch around the rim.”
It wouldn’t take long for the Wildcats to bounce back, with a triple from senior Eniya Russell tying the score at 10 before the Baltimore native gave Kentucky its first lead with a made layup.
Kentucky would proceed to open a seven-point lead to end the first quarter, with a 3-pointer from junior Brooklynn Miles giving the Cats a double-digit lead with six minutes left in half.
“I challenged her today at the point guard position to be an engine and a leader,” Elzy said regarding Miles. “We’ve had to play without Maddie [Scherr] this year unfortunately, but she stepped up big for us.”
The Wildcats would continue to build on their advantage for the rest of the half, taking a 14-point lead into the break behind Russell’s 10 first-half points.
Georgia would start to chip away at that lead out of the break, with a series of jump shots from Nicholson bringing the Bulldogs within seven with six minutes left in the third.
A pair of made free throws from Nicholson would shorten the Kentucky advantage to five, but would be followed by a 10-2 Kentucky run that saw the Cats take a 13-point lead into the fourth.
The fourth quarter would be a steady one for the Wildcats, with senior Ajae Petty cleaning the glass on her way to yet another double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
“I’m more of a doer and less of a talker,” Petty said about her approach to playing physically. “If I’m grabbing a lot of boards, that’s motivating other people to try and get in there and grab some more.”
Kentucky would control the rest of the game with the Bulldogs not being able to get within nine points of the Cats as they took a 64-50 first-round win over Georgia.
Russell led the Wildcats in scoring with 19, with Petty and Miles both adding 11 to make this the fifth year in a row that Kentucky has advanced in the SEC Tournament.
The win earned the Cats another date with Tennessee, with Kentucky looking to improve on an 87-69 loss it suffered last time it took on the Vols. The rematch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday with the winner advancing to a matchup with Alabama.
