Kentucky womens basketball concluded its postseason play last weekend as the team lost in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals to Tennessee 80-71 in Greenville, South Carolina.

After finishing the regular season 10-18, it was evident that Kentucky’s record was not going to pave the way to the NCAA Tournament on its own and that its only hope to go dancing relied on taking home the win in Greenville.

While the Wildcats were unable to repeat history as the reigning SEC Tournament champions, becoming the first No. 14 seed to advance to the quarterfinals in SEC history was an achievement in its own right, though not quite one that would get the team into the tournament.

Entering with a 2-14 conference record before upsetting No. 11 Florida 72-57 and No. 6 Alabama 71-58, Kentucky finally began to show the fight it had in it all season but struggled to find during regular season play.

After defeating the Crimson Tide, head coach Kyra Elzy and the team discussed how the Wildcats had a new mindset going into the tournament, but that poses a question: where was this mindset during the regular season?

When basketball started up in November, Kentucky looked solid in light of having 10 new players on the team. With an expected number of wins and losses barring an upset here or there, things suddenly took a turn when league play kicked off.

Despite that, a team with three near-consistent double figure scorers and a defensive leader like Jada Walker could not pull off a win.

Perhaps the very inability to win is what kept the team down all season long. It is understandable that being on a significant losing streak can affect mindsets, even when every coach and player is doing their best to stay positive and look to the future.

In times of adversity, it is easy for those negative attitudes to seep in and greatly affect performances on the court.

Then, in January, Kentucky picked up its only two league wins of the regular season over Florida and Missouri but even with the taste of SEC victory four of the Wildcats’ games that month resulted in losses that saw Kentucky lose by a number within five points.

It wasn’t until February, a month in which the Cats would remain winless, that the score at the final buzzer would properly reflect Kentucky’s increasing struggles to keep up with its opponent.

With that being said, it would not be surprising if the high tensions and pressures the team faced trying desperately to shake its losing habits were the reasons why Kentucky would so often run out of stamina in the second half and fail to pull through.

Focusing back on the SEC Tournament specifically, the Wildcats illustrated what a team that has nothing to lose can do in March.

Even when Kentucky lost to Tennessee in the quarterfinals, the Wildcats succeeded in keeping up with the Vols and played through until the end, something that they failed to do when they took on the team just five days prior to meeting in the tournament.

It is unfortunate that Kentucky’s regular season did not go the way that neither fans nor the team would have liked to see, but the small history the Wildcats made in the SEC Tournament goes to show the potential this team had.

Unfortunately, with the recent announcements of the departure of Walker and Kennedy Cambridge, untapped potential may end up being all that ever comes from this team.