Kentucky women’s basketball keeps it close but comes up short at Mississippi State

For the final 10 minutes of Kentucky’s women’s basketball’s matchup against Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon, a much-needed SEC victory was anybody’s for the taking.

But UK, no stranger to the trials and tribulations of a hot-and-cold offense, fell 77-76 in Starkville, Miss.

After multiple scoring droughts during the second half, UK (9-10, 1-6 SEC) did manage to hit four of its last five attempts from the field, but it wasn’t enough.

“I thought we played really tough down the stretch,” UK head coach Kyra Elzy said. “We made some defensive plays when we had to have ‘em.”

With 14 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Robyn Benton hit a jumper to cut the lead to 76-74 in favor of the Bulldogs (15-5, 4-3). This forced Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell to burn his final timeout.

Almost immediately after play resumed, Jada Walker intercepted a pass from Mississippi State guard Ahlana Smith.

“Jada gets the steal, we let her go in transition,” Elzy said. “My mindset that moment, even though I had two timeouts, that’s when Jada’s at her best — in transition offense. She comes down, makes the bucket to tie.”

All season, Walker has proven that she’s not intimidated by big moments. Her determination to rise to the occasion has consistently benefited UK, and that trend continued Sunday. Her jump shot off the fast break tied the game with seconds remaining on the clock.

On the back of Benton’s inbounds defense, UK nearly forced a five-second call. Bulldogs’ guard Anastasia Hayes found a way through and Benton fouled her on the shot.

“Close, maybe should’ve got it, but didn’t,” Elzy said of the moment. “Give Anastasia Hayes a breakaway, we ended up fouling her.”

Hayes, who had been perfect from the free-throw line in eight attempts prior to that trip, missed the first. In sinking the second, she put her team back in front, 77-76.

Elzy then called her final timeout with three seconds remaining. UK had plenty of time to set up its final shot — a well-planned jumper from Benton — but Mississippi State tightened up its defense and the shot missed.

“I thought we got a good look,” Elzy said. “What we wanted down the stretch. Unfortunately, didn’t turn out in our favor today.”

The Bulldogs earned their first comeback win of the season when trailing at halftime. UK, up 33-28 at the break, entered this game having won eight of nine when leading through two quarters.

Despite leading for 22:57 of this game and accomplishing some goals, UK couldn’t overcome unforced errors, long periods without offensive production and personal fouls.

“Proud of us for getting to the free-throw line,” Elzy said. “Got there 24 times, we wanted to get there 20-plus. Made 21, shot 87% from the free-throw line. Our goal is always 80%, so we did achieve that. I thought in the second and third (quarters), we did not adjust to how they were calling. Started getting some touch fouls, put them in the bonus extremely early. So we’ll have to go back and work on that, not fouling.”

Though the Wildcats committed 22 personal fouls (while drawing 20) on the afternoon, the story of the day was (missed) opportunities in the paint. The Bulldogs scored 46 of their points there while UK delivered only 20 total paint points.

It was another impressive performance for UK’s guards. Benton, Walker and Maddie Scherr made necessary adjustments in order to keep it competitive. Whether it be acknowledging the need to drive to the basket or draw fouls and get to the free-throw line, the trio carried this team for much of the game.

The UK frontcourt, a weakness for the Wildcats this season, didn’t have much of an answer for Mississippi State star forward/center Jessika Carter. Carter, a redshirt senior who stands tall at 6-foot-5, caused a slew of problems for the Wildcats’ posts.

Nyah Leveretter, Adebola Adeyeye and Ajae Petty all failed to score.

Height differential was noticeable once again for the Wildcats, with Mississippi State winning the battle on the glass 39-22. The Bulldogs grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and picked up 15 second-chance points. Kentucky grabbed only six offensive rebounds and scored seven second-chance points.

Benton led the Cats in scoring with 24 points on 8-for-17 shooting, with 12 of those points arriving in the final 10 minutes. She hit one of the Wildcats’ seven three-pointers.

Walker scored 22 points on 7-for-13 from the field, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. She and Benton combined for 24 points in the fourth quarter.

Scherr, who fouled out with 23 seconds remaining, delivered 16 points on 4-for-12 from the field. She was perfect from the free-throw line in seven attempts.

Carter led Mississippi State in scoring with 21 points, including nine in the seven minutes she was on the floor in the fourth quarter.

Hayes was another difference-maker for the Bulldogs. She contributed 17 points on 4-for-6 from the field and 9-for-10 from the free-throw line.

Next game

Kentucky vs. Auburn

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

TV: SEC Plus (online only)

Radio: WLAP-AM 630

Records: Kentucky 9-10 (1-6 SEC), Auburn 11-8 (1-6)