No. 3 Colorado women’s basketball exploits Kentucky’s weaknesses in 43-point beatdown

Third-ranked Colorado overpowered Kentucky women’s basketball 96-53 in Friday afternoon’s Paradise Jam matchup, bringing the Wildcats’ losing streak to four. The mismatch highlighted several areas of concern for UK (2-4), but none more so than its lack of depth.

The Wildcats opened on a surprising 9-2 run against one of the trickiest defenses in the Power Five behind a starting lineup of Brooklynn Miles, Saniah Tyler, Amiya Jenkins, Maddie Scherr and Ajae Petty.

Unfortunately, for UK and head coach Kyra Elzy, the Buffaloes powered out of an early timeout to tie the game. Colorado (6-0) closed the first quarter on an 11-0 run to put the Wildcats at bay thanks to a balanced scoring effort. Kentucky pushed back in the second period, tying the Buffaloes 20-20 in the next 10 minutes and trailing by 11 at the half.

Heading into this season, many raised questions about the Wildcats’ roster, with 11 of just 12 scholarship players healthy and, for the most part, lacking necessary experience. The Wildcats’ last win against a ranked opponent came in the 2022 SEC Tournament championship game when UK knocked off No. 1 South Carolina. Friday’s matchup against Colorado was not expected to be UK’s next victory, but a 43-point loss on neutral ground — especially after Thursday’s 29-point loss to No. 10 North Carolina State — demonstrated just how ill-prepared the Wildcats are for high-level play.

What kept UK competitive in the second quarter was an effective duo of Petty and Scherr, who helped cut the Buffaloes’ lead to three at one point before the halftime deficit. For the majority of the game, including Colorado’s dominant, 28-point third quarter, the Buffaloes successfully contained two of the Wildcats’ biggest offensive threats. After Petty and Scherr combined for 17 points in the first half, Colorado adjusted defensively and held the pair to seven combined.

“I thought our defensive intensity hung on in the first half,” Elzy said. “We were flying around, got some stops, deflections. Which led to easy scoring opportunities. I thought we had a better shot selection, moving the ball, playing with each other. So I thought we competed in the first half. The second half I thought we came out flat.”

And, with UK’s strongest contributors limited to single-digit scoring while attempting to come back from a snowballing, double-digit lead — Colorado outscored UK 51-19 in the second half — there was no way for the Wildcats to keep up.

On top of locking Kentucky down defensively, the Buffaloes took advantage of the Wildcats’ mistakes. The Buffaloes were expected to disrupt the UK offense; Colorado entered the matchup forcing 25 points off turnovers per game, as well as 11.4 steals. But against UK, the No. 3-ranked team in the nation recorded 16 steals. Over four quarters, the Buffaloes forced 27 turnovers and converted those into 42 points.

“They have five people that average double-figure scoring,” Elzy said. “So that’s what makes them really dangerous. Their ability to attack in transition and hit layups and open threes, you know, it really forces you to play honest defensively.”

Colorado shot nearly 60 percent from the field (37-62) and 41.7 percent (5-12) from three. Five Buffaloes scored in double figures, led by starting center Aaronette Vonleh with 19 points. Vonleh also contributed four rebounds, three assists and one steal. Jaylyn Sherrod finished with 15 points, and Quay Miller and Tameiya Sadler each scored 10. Kindyll Wetta came off the bench and added 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and five steals, nearly doubling her season steals total.

“It’s nice when you can go into halftime and be able to make adjustments just to make things easier for ourselves,” Vonleh said after the victory. “And it’s also nice that we have such a deep bench, so we all contribute in some way.”

Eniya Russell, the Wildcats’ best example of depth, came off the bench to lead UK with 14 points. Russell also grabbed one rebound, one steal and blocked two shots. Scherr finished with 13 points, one rebound, three assists and one block. Petty had 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block. Petty, double- and even triple-teamed for much of the game, committed 10 of the Wildcats’ 27 turnovers.

“I thought we battled in the first half, that’s something that we can take and grow from,” Elzy said. “But I told the team in the locker room, ‘The difference between average, good and great: we have to be able to sustain. Twenty minutes is not going to be good enough; we must sustain for 40.’”

The Wildcats were to finish Paradise Jam play with a 3:15 p.m. matchup against Cincinnati (2-3) on Saturday. Like Kentucky, the Bearcats are 0-2 in the U.S. Virgin Islands showcase, having lost 77-60 to Colorado on Thursday and 79-45 to North Carolina State on Friday.

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