‘She made some big plays.’ Central Kentucky kid has career night in UK’s season opener.

A critical moment in Kentucky’s 74-66 season-opening women’s basketball victory over East Tennessee State came with 28 seconds left in the third quarter Tuesday night.

Amiya Jenkins, Kentucky’s 2022 Miss Basketball from Anderson County, was fouled in the paint as she scored on a driving layup.

That basket and the sophomore’s subsequent free throw brought Kentucky’s fans at Transylvania’s Clive M. Beck Center to their feet as the Wildcats tied the score at 50. It also positioned Kentucky to finally regain control of the game following a disastrous stretch of the second and third quarters that left UK trailing by as many as nine points.

“Honestly, I was just really locked in,” Jenkins said of the sequence. “I don’t know. I just kind of was so focused on the game and I was like, ‘We just need to score.’ So I just went in and tried to do what’s best for my team to get us where we need to be.”

Jenkins went on to score five of her team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, including three more free throws in the closing minutes. Kentucky took the lead 54-52 on a jumper by senior Maddie Scherr with 8:20 remaining and never let it go.

UK trotted out a starting five of Jenkins, Ajae Petty, Saniah Tyler and Miss Kentucky Basketball honorees Scherr (2020) and Brooklynn Miles (2021) as the Wildcats tipped off the program’s 50th season. Jenkins’ inclusion was the only shift from the starting lineup used in the team’s exhibition win over Kentucky State last week, which instead featured sophomore forward Zennia Thomas. The switch did, ultimately, reflect what would be a guard-heavy offensive attack Tuesday. And, from start to finish, Jenkins made the Buccaneers take notice. In addition to her 16 points, Jenkins — who did not start any games as a freshman last season — finished with four rebounds and a steal.

UK head coach Kyra Elzy, who recorded her 50th career win as a head coach in Tuesday’s victory, said Jenkins’ impact aided the Wildcats when they didn’t have any momentum.

“I thought Mimi Jenkins came up big for us today,” Elzy said. “Her ability to drive to the rim and finish with contact. I thought when we didn’t have anything going, her finishing around the rim was huge for us. But also her defense. She’s able to guard the 1 through the 4 which helps us. So when we went small, I thought she made some big plays for us defensively.”

The Wildcats led ETSU — picked as the Southern Conference preseason favorite by league coaches — 21-16 after the first period. However, when the Bucs switched their defense to a zone, the Wildcats appeared to lose the spark and quickness that put them ahead.

Six of the Wildcats’ seven turnovers were committed in the second quarter as UK scored just seven points to the Buccaneers’ 14, surrendering their lead and any momentum long before the buzzer signaled halftime. Four of UK’s seven points came via Miles, who kept her foot on the gas all night. During the second quarter, UK shot 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) from the field.

“Sometimes shots don’t fall, you know?” Scherr said. “And sometimes you’re not locked in enough on defense, plays go wrong.”

However, the Wildcats did find a way to lock in on defense to close the first half, holding the Buccaneers scoreless for the final four minutes and nine seconds of the second quarter. ETSU’s slim lead of 30-28 at the half did not adequately reflect how out of reach this game felt for the Wildcats.

Foul trouble

UK also found itself in foul trouble by the end of the first half. After two quarters, Petty was saddled with three, while Jenkins, Scherr and Tyler each had two.

Elzy noted that her players had to adjust to how officials were calling the game and, though she appreciated her players’ aggressiveness, it began to interfere with their desired rhythm.

“The biggest thing is, I said, ‘Guys, we have to quit fouling, so we can get out and run.’ So you have to get a defensive stop, or quit fouling so we can get the tempo that we wanted to get. I thought it was slower than we wanted in the first half.”

Help off the bench from Thomas and Eniya Russell, the only players outside of the starting five to tally double-digit minutes on the night, plus frequent small guard substitutions between Miles, Tyler and sophomore Cassidy Rowe, provided some breathing room for the starters.

Scherr fouled out with 48 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but by that time the Wildcats had the game sufficiently under control.

Finishing strong

After trailing by as many as nine in the third quarter, the Wildcats successfully executed a plan that was much discussed — but not often enacted — last season: find a way to win. In fact, the victory against ETSU was the Wildcats’ first regular season win since Jan. 29, when they defeated Mizzou 77-54 at home.

Tuesday night, Kentucky won the game at the free throw line. UK made 22 of 36 (61%) from the line, including 10 of 18 in the fourth quarter. Jenkins made 6 of her 10 attempts, Petty sank 4 of 9 and Miles made 4 of 6. Scherr was a perfect 4-for-4.

The Wildcats also overcame ETSU’s impressive duo of Kendall Folley and Courtney Moore. Folley finished with 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Moore recorded 17 points, two rebounds and two assists.

Several times last season, UK built leads only to fall short when the final buzzer sounded. Scherr, the team’s lone returning starter and the only healthy player who saw significant minutes on last year’s roster, said it felt good to know that this season’s team stayed composed and finished strong.

“It’s super encouraging to be able to be on this side of a dogfight,” Scherr said. “And that’s not the last one we’re going to be in. So I think it’s a good lesson to know that we’re going to be in situations like that, and also against bigger, tougher opponents, and you know, we got to be able to pull them out.”

A balanced scoring attack

Each of UK’s five starters scored in double figures — on a night where all but Scherr registered their first career starts.

Petty posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, plus one assist and one block. Both Scherr and Tyler finished with 14 points. Scherr also had five rebounds, one steal and three assists. Tyler added one steal. Miles scored 10 points, pulled in three rebounds and recorded four assists and one steal.

“We got down,” Elzy said. “But we kept talking in the huddle, kept fighting defensively even when we were making mistakes. But the proudest thing for me is when our shots weren’t going in, that we hung in defensively until we could get it back going. So I was proud of their resiliency and their fight.”

Next game

South Carolina-Upstate at Kentucky

When: 6 p.m. Saturday

Where: Rupp Arena

TV: SEC Network + (online only)

Radio: WLAP-AM 630

Records: USC Upstate 0-1, Kentucky 1-0

Series: Kentucky leads 3-0

Last meeting: Kentucky won 67-44 on Dec. 19, 2021, in Lexington

Kentucky’s Miss Basketball trio sparks second-half rally in season-opening victory