Sunday is Senior Day for UK women’s hoops. ‘Let’s make it a magical day at Memorial Coliseum.’

Kentucky women’s basketball is about to face quite a bit of change.



On Sunday, the program will honor graduate students Adebola Adeyeye, Robyn Benton and Blair Green in its Senior Day celebration. The final home game of the regular season, Sunday against Tennessee, will also mark the Wildcats’ final time playing in Memorial Coliseum prior to its renovations.

“Senior Day is big,” UK head coach Kyra Elzy said. “That’s where our focus is. We’re going to pour into them and let’s make it a magical day at Memorial Coliseum.”

As the program begins to set its sights on the future, here’s some insight on UK’s graduating seniors.

ADEBOLA ADEYEYE

Hometown: Brampton, Ontario.

College career: Buffalo (2018-22) and Kentucky (2022-23).

This season: Has played in 27 games, starting in eight of them. Adeyeye is averaging 4.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.4 blocks while shooting 55.4 percent from the field.

Adeyeye, known as “Ade”, entered the transfer portal as a graduate student with just one remaining year of eligibility. According to the UK coaching staff, Adeyeye was exactly the type of player they wanted to recruit. The question, or so it seemed at first to Elzy, was whether or not UK was exactly where Adeyeye wanted to go.

“We were recruiting Ade, and I thought she was just slow-playing me,” Elzy said. “Because I know the visit was great, couldn’t get a yes from her. ‘I’ll let you know, Coach, I’ll let you know,’ and finally, she called me. She was fighting back the tears. She said, ‘I didn’t want to say yes to Kentucky because I was playing pick-up last week, and I hurt my shoulder. And I was waiting on the results, Coach, because I wanted you to know exactly what you were getting. And I understand if you don’t wanna take me because I’m hurt and I only have one year left.’”

Elzy said that Adeyeye’s handling of the situation only made her want to take Adeyeye more.

Adeyeye’s character has left a lasting impression in each step of her collegiate career.

Felisha Legette-Jack, now at Syracuse, coached Adeyeye during the forward’s time at Buffalo.

“Ade was one of our leaders that stood for everything right,” Legette-Jack said. “Great for the locker room because she was all about the team winning on the court and off. Our CAB, Character Academics and Basketball, was represented by Ade daily. She is a great student who, when she had time, would be in the gym countless hours working on her craft.”

And, though she only had one season with the Wildcats, Adeyeye thinks her time with UK has impacted her.

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot,” Adeyeye said. “Just coming from a program that I was at for four years, and kind of establishing my role to coming to a new program, having to make new relationships. Kind of establishing my role and kind of like being a freshman all over again. Just taking a step back. Knowing what I can do, but also being able to grow and learn from other people. Being able to be relational. Doing what people need me to do and seeing how I can help. Being relatable with my teammates, and with the coaching staff as well.”

Adeyeye graduated with a degree in nursing from Buffalo in May 2022.

ROBYN BENTON

Hometown: Conyers, Ga.

College career: Auburn (2018-20) and Kentucky (2020-23).

This season: Has played in 25 games for the Wildcats, starting in 24 of them. Benton is averaging 16.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.6 blocks while shooting 38.9 percent from the field.

Benton is many things. “Showtime” to Elzy, “Primetime” to many others. “The one” in a new era of UK women’s basketball turned to once Rhyne Howard graduated, and a “rich auntie” to the six freshmen on this season’s roster.

“Robyn,” Elzy laughed. “It’s so funny, when we said we were gonna sign six freshmen, she was like, ‘Oh Coach, that’s too many. I can’t be the second mother, that’s gonna be Blair. She has more nurturing than I do. I’m gonna be like the rich auntie. I’m gonna give them advice, and then give them back to Blair.’ But she does it in her own way. The freshmen love her, so they all gravitated towards her. But she has their way with them. She pulls them to the side to talk to them, she’s gonna give them raw, honest answers. But she also wants to help them learn and grow.”

Elzy also praised Benton’s growth as a leader.

“She’s stepped up big,” Elzy said. “Not just off the court, on the court. She’s never had to be the one, and then all of a sudden we were like, ‘You are the one.’ And the pressure and scrutiny that comes with that. But she’s stepped up to the challenge, and I’m beyond proud of her for that.”

The Wildcats’ leading scorer found her way to Lexington by way of Auburn ahead of her junior season. When deciding, a few familiar faces aided her choice.

“Well, when I was making the decision to come to Kentucky,” Benton explained. “I knew that I was gonna play with some familiar people. I knew Rhyne, I knew Jaz (Massengill) through the circuit, we used to play against each other. So I knew that they were good, that definitely influenced my decision. I didn’t really know about Dre (Edwards), ‘cause she was from the West Coast, but she turned out to be a pretty good player, too. It did pan out because we did win a (SEC Tournament) championship together. And that’s something I’m never gonna forget. I will wear that ring to probably every big event I go to.”

Benton is extraordinarily proud of the 2022 SEC Tournament run, during which UK defeated LSU, Tennessee and South Carolina en route to its first tournament title since 1982. She was a necessary piece of the championship team, but most will remember her celebrations after wins. Following the semifinals victory over Tennessee, Benton sang a portion of “O-o-h Child” by Five Stairsteps when describing the feeling of seeing a three-pointer land. And, once the Wildcats beat South Carolina in the finals, Benton hopped on a table in passionate celebration.

“One of the highlights of my career is winning that SEC championship,” Benton said. “I’ll never forget that run. I’ll never forget the games, and the way I acted. Honestly, I’m glad I did that ‘cause I’ll never forget it. I’ll never forget it.”

Benton graduated from UK with a degree in journalism in May 2022.

BLAIR GREEN

Hometown: Harlan County, Ky.

College career: Kentucky (2018-present); Green still has one year of eligibility remaining, should she choose to use it.

This season: Has played in 27 games for the Wildcats, starting in each of them. Green is averaging 8.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.3 blocks while shooting 37.8 percent from the field.

Green committed to Elzy and then-head coach Matthew Mitchell in the middle of dessert during a visit the coaches made to Harlan County.

“Our Kentucky girl through and through,” Elzy said. “It feels like yesterday that Coach Mitchell and I were sitting in the home visit and we were like, ‘You think we can get a commitment from Blair?’ We’re eating desserts, and she goes, ‘Hey guys, I’m coming to Kentucky!’ It was just like yesterday. Can’t believe she’s a senior, but a Kentucky kid that believed in us when things weren’t going like they should be.”

This year, Green’s fifth year with the program, served as either her COVID year or her medical year. She sat out last season with a ruptured Achilles. If Green were to return, she would have the other option available.

“My team made me feel a part of that team as much as if I were to be playing or starting in those games,” Green said of last season. “And I felt just as much a part of that team, and I’m grateful for having teammates like that who just continued to carry me along and listen to what I had to say … I learned so much out of that experience and it made me who I am today so I’m forever grateful, even if it did go that way. God has funny ways of showing you your true colors, and who you really are and who you’re supposed to be. And that was just a part of my journey. I’m always thankful for that.”

Green was recently named to the 2022-23 All-SEC Community Service Team. She has donated more than 80 hours of community service, giving back to the community that’s given so much to her. This summer, following the floods in Eastern Kentucky, Green created the “606 Camp” to raise money and donate resources to flood victims in her home area code.

“I felt like I needed to go back and try to give in any way that I can,” Green said. “And where I played basketball, I thought what better way than just to host a basketball camp and give back in that kind of way. But I’ve always been big on giving into the younger generation and the people who come from where I’m from, the 606. Just giving that motivation and trying to be a role model for those kids and tell them that they can be where I am, it just takes a lot of hard work. Giving what I’ve learned at UK and pouring it into them. That’s what kind of keeps me motivated and keeps me going.”

Green has earned degrees in kinesiology and human communications from UK.

Sunday

Tennessee at Kentucky

When: 2 p.m.

TV: SEC Network

Radio: WLAP-AM 630

Records: Tennessee 20-10 (12-3 SEC), Kentucky 10-17 (2-13)

Series: Tennessee leads 57-16

Last meeting: Kentucky won 83-74 on March 5, 2022, in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament at Nashville