Kentucky women’s basketball (6-7) defeated the Lipscomb Bisons (6-6) by a score of 87-80.
The win marked the second consecutive for the Cats and the 900th win in program history.
“So proud of the people that have paved the way,” head coach Kyra Elzy said. “This is a victory for everyone that has ever touched Kentucky women’s basketball.”
Brooklynn Miles, Cassidy Rowe, Maddie Scherr, Emma King and Ajae Petty started the game for the Wildcats while sophomore Amiya Jenkins returned after missing five games with a shoulder injury.
“It was really hard for me to sit on the sidelines and watch, but being out there tonight was really exciting,” Jenkins said.
Kentucky was able to jump out to an 8-4 lead, but this was quickly erased by the Bisons, who went on a 7-0 run to take the lead 11-8. A jumper by Scherr was able to cut the deficit to one, but Lipscomb quickly responded with a jumper of its own.
The Bisons were able to fend off the Wildcats’ offense and take a 25-20 lead into the second quarter before back-to-back layups by Jenkins got the Wildcats right back into the game.
Lipscomb was able to create separation with a 12-0 run that propelled its lead to 41-28, but the Wildcats were able to respond with a 3-pointer to break the run.
The teams matched 3-pointers before Scherr hit a buzzer beater to cut the deficit to 46-37 heading into halftime.
“I knew it looked good leaving her hand, but we needed momentum changing plays,” Elzy said when speaking about the effect of the buzzer beater.
Lipscomb began the third quarter on a 5-1 run, but a 7-0 run by the Wildcats cut the Bisons lead to six with the score now 51-45.
The teams traded points back-and-forth for the remainder of the quarter with the Wildcats out scoring the Bisons by one point in the quarter, but still found themselves trailing 63-56.
After two Bison layups were only met with one Kentucky basket to begin the fourth quarter, Kentucky’s defense stiffened up and propelled the Wildcat offense to go on an 11-0 run to take a 69-67 lead.
“Defense really created our offense and we just flourished off that and our energy took us where we needed to be,” Saniah Tyler said.
Lipscomb responded with a jumper to re-tie the game at 69-69, but the Wildcats quickly broke the tie with a layup and two free throws to take a 72-69 lead.
Kentucky would not surrender the lead for the rest of the game as it completed the comeback for the 87-80 victory.
Scherr led the scoring for the Cats with 25 points followed by Tyler and Jenkins with 22 and 20 points, respectively.
“I call her a two way: her on-ball defense, she can bring the heat but she can also score at three levels,” Elzy said about Tyler.
The Wildcats return to action on Sunday, Dec. 31, at 1 p.m. ET when they take on Samford at the Clive M. Beck Center on the campus of Transylvania University.
