Look, it has been a tough 7 days for Kentucky fans. Let Kentucky women’s basketball lift your spirits.
The old SEC East nemesis, Florida and Tennessee, derailed Kentucky football, and Kentucky men’s basketball got throttled by Kansas and needs a buzzer-beater to beat Northern Arizona. But you want to know who hasn’t struggled: Kenny Brooks.
The Cats are rolling into today’s matchup with Eastern Michigan at a perfect 4-0 and coming off two straight historic shooting performances. The Cats nailed 18
three-pointers against both NC State and Evansville, tying the school record. Asja Sivka had 8 against NC State, tying Rhyne Howard, but Emily McDonald broke the record with 9 against the Purple Aces.
Now, Kentucky sets its sights on the Eastern Michigan Eagles. What will the Eagles try to do to derail Kentucky?
Eastern Michigan (0-3)
The Eagles enter Historic Memorial Coliseum winless, having lost to App State (12), Purdue (10), and Robert Morris (18). The season’s leading scorer is 5’10 forward Fernanda Ovalle; she averages 15 points and leads the team in rebounds as well, at 7 a night.
The Chile-born player is a true post player; she doesn’t like to step out and shoot from beyond the arc, which should help Kentucky’s bigs stay connected in the paint.
The Eagles are only 23.8% from deep this season, but have two capable shooters in Peyton Hill (37.5%) and Oliwia Pelka (38.5%). They don’t play exceptionally fast either, so expect them to try to make Kentucky move side to side a lot on defense.
This will be the first game in which Kentucky won’t have a massive height advantage, with 4 players over 6’2 on the Eagles roster. Only Ni’Rah Clark sees extensive minutes, but the option is there for the Eagles to go big.
For Kentucky, this is another nice opportunity to fine-tune things.
What does Kentucky need from this game?
First, the biggest thing Kentucky needs to do is keep developing the bench. Maddyn Greenway was outstanding against Evansville, finishing the night with 8 assists and 0 turnovers. That kind of production from a backup freshman point guard will be key against smaller, quicker guards like Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes.
Greenway can get up in the smaller guards on the defensive end in a way that Dianna Collins just can’t.
Ayanna Patterson is still finding her way back from a couple of injury-plagued seasons; she saw 19 minutes last time out, scoring 4 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. She will be key against more physical teams down low, freeing up Clara Strack from that responsibility.
And of course it would be nice to see the hot shooting continue, but the Cats probably won’t hit 18 3’s again, though with this team, you never know.
Games like these are meant for progression, and that is all you can really ask for. This is also a game I think will suit Savvy Swords.
She likes to mix it up down low, and she doesn’t mind getting a little physical. The freshman is averaging 9.5 boards a game, and I could see her grabbing a double-double here.
Also, if I told you that Clara Strack would lead Kentucky in only one major statistical category, how many would guess it was blocks and not points? That’s how good Asja Sivka has been.
Game Details
Location: Lexington, Kentucky at Historic Memorial Coliseum
Time: Noon EST
TV: SEC Network+ (this was removed from the SEC Network after the Ole Miss/Oklahoma football game was delayed, so it is streaming only)
Prediction: This is another game Kentucky will win easily, but I want to see the fire continue the whole 40 minutes; I think it will.
Final Score: Kentucky 87, Eastern Michigan 50
