Time to flush last night out of our minds. Kenny Brooks and the Kentucky women’s basketball team hit the court again tonight at 6:30 to take on Evansville.
The Purple Aces are 0-2 on the year, but college basketball can be funny. Tonight will be a good test of whether Kenny Brooks’ squad can avoid that dreaded hangover. After a big win against NC State, it’s possible they could come out slow and lethargic.
I don’t think so, though. This is the most complete team I have seen take the court at HMC. They
have a little of everything, and even more importantly, they do it together.
So, what will Evansville try to do? Let’s break it down and find out.
Evansville 0-2
The Purple Aces have lost 90-65 to DePaul and 62-49 to Lindenwood. They have a lot of international flair on their roster with 3 players from Spain:
Mireia Mustaros
Marina Artero
Maria Serrano
The best player on the team, though, is a 5’10 freshman from Indiana. Jayden Scott leads the team in scoring (12.5) and is second in rebounding (4.0) despite being under 6 feet. Marina Artero leads the team in assists (4.5), and Kaelyn Johnson is 6-for-13 from deep this season.
They don’t play exceptionally fast, but their biggest issue has been turnovers. They average over 20 a night, and that is a stat that could spark a fun Kentucky night. However, if they can avoid those turnovers, they run good sets and get good shots. So, it should be a good learning experience for some of the younger players on the Cats roster.
What to watch for
From a Kentucky perspective, you want to see this team open it up early and keep the foot on the gas. This is a game where many bench players should play heavy minutes, and if they don’t, this game won’t have served its purpose.
So, the first thing to watch for is how many minutes players like Ayanna Patterson and Jemma Amoore get.
Next, I would love to see a continuation of that hot shooting. Kentucky nailed 18 3s against NC State. They aren’t going to do that every night, but this is a team that could easily hit 12-14 any given night.
And then, of course, I feel like a broken record at this point, but Kentucky’s height is going to be a lot of Evansville. Their tallest player is 6’2.
This author would also love to see Maddyn Greenway get some run and regain some confidence. I really believe she will be an important part of this team once SEC season begins.
Game details
- Location: Historic Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, KY
- Time: 6:30 EST
- TV: SEC Network+. This is a streaming-only game, so the ESPN app is the place to be.
- Prediction: I don’t think this game will be within 10 points for very long. I expect Kentucky to assert their dominance and win going away. Final Score: Kentucky 85, Evansville 50
What are you looking forward to tonight?
