Women's Basketball Contains Robyn Benton, but Other Wildcats Get Hot

Kentucky's leading scorer was held scoreless, but Jada Walker had a career night to send the Crimson Tide home early from the SEC Tournament.

Defense is usually the calling card for Alabama women's basketball, but that wasn't the case during the Crimson Tide's 71-58 loss to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament on Thursday night.

That doesn't mean the offense didn't have issues, especially in the fourth quarter as Alabama shot 27.8 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range down the stretch. The team also gave up 22 points off of 19 turnovers and Brittany Davis was held to single digits (nine points) for only the second time all season.

Overall the Tide shot 38.7 percent and 36 percent from deep, both of which weren't too far from the average for the season. Aaliyah Nye held things down by scoring 15 points on 3-for-9 shooting on 3-pointers.

Alabama simply didn't have an answer for Jada Walker or Maddie Scherr, who were the game's two leading scorers with 24 points and 19 points, respectively.

To put the duo's scoring in perspective, Walker and Scherr combined for 43 of Kentucky's 71 points, and they did it almost exclusively on mid-range and paint shots. Scherr was held in check during the first half, but Walker scored 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field.

It was the second half where Scherr took over, leading all scorers with 14 points over that span. The key for her was getting to the free-throw line, where she went 5-for-5 and 8-for-9 during the game. Walker, on the other hand, got a lot of her points on layups and mid-range jumpers. And she continuously put pressure on the Alabama defense, which allowed her to set a new career-high in scoring.

Even though Scherr and Walker had successful scoring nights, the game really didn't get out of hand until Eniya Russell got hot, scoring all 12 of her points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter.

The points didn't come in spectacular fashion either: Russell scored off two catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, a fast-break layup, and two free throws. But it was the timing of those points that made the comeback that much harder for Alabama:

• Russell's layup in the third quarter tied the game for the first time since it was 5-5
• Her first 3-pointer in the fourth quarter pushed the Kentucky lead to six, the largest lead at that point
• Her second 3-pointer was in response to Davis' first and only deep ball of the game, stopping the momentum Alabama built after cutting it to two points
• Then she went on a personal 4-0 run to push the Kentucky lead to double digits with 2:10 left in the game

Alabama's defense was already on the ropes, but Russell gave Kentucky the final offensive boost it needed to put the Crimson Tide away, and maybe on to the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. 

See also: Alabama Women's Basketball Loses to Kentucky 71-58

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