The Stars struggle as the Cats lose for the sixth year in a row to Louisville – Kentucky Kernel

2,558 days. That is how lengthy it has been since Kentucky ladies’s basketball received a sport in opposition to Louisville.

Since December 10, 2015, the Wildcats have misplaced six straight occasions in opposition to their opponents.

Kentucky struggled mightily in opposition to the Cardinals on Sunday, as Louisville managed to render the UK’s finest gamers virtually irrelevant to the sport.

Going into the sport, Jada Walker was averaging 15 factors per sport, however on Sunday she scored solely three factors, along with her first discipline purpose not arriving till there was solely a few minute left to play within the fourth quarter.

Walker’s suspension enormously hindered the Cats’ capability to win the sport with the place to begin guard having little or no affect on the result of the sport.

Walker wasn’t the one Wildcat to wrestle in opposition to Louisville although, as veteran Blair Inexperienced additionally completed with simply 3 factors as properly. Inexperienced averaged 10 factors per sport main as much as the sport with the Playing cards, however, like Walker, her first rating did not come till about 6:30 left within the sport.

Disappointing performances in opposition to Louisville is one thing Kentucky desperately wants to repair, lest the Cats wait one other 2,000 days earlier than beating their greatest rival.

Louisville entered Sunday’s sport able to play, sporting a physicality that Kentucky could not compete with.

Six-foot-five Memphis native Liz Dixon completed with 16 factors and was a powerhouse within the paint playing cards all day. Dixon was 5-6 from the court docket and 6-7 from the free throw line, and in addition grabbed three rebounds, two move breakups, and one blocked shot.

Haley Van Leith additionally dismantled the Kentucky protection, scoring 21 factors with 4 assists to her identify.

Morgan Jones additionally made an enormous distinction for the Playing cards, ending with 12 factors, and capturing 5-7 from the sphere.

Regardless of making one shot in 15 makes an attempt from exterior the arc, Louisville’s physicality, plus capturing 33-39 from the road, made all of the distinction in opposition to the Wildcats to increase UofL’s successful streak to 6 video games.

On the plus aspect for Kentucky, the Wildcats now discover themselves 7-2 on the season with solely two losses on the season to ranked groups.

Within the dropping effort, no less than three gamers scored in double figures for the eighth time this season, and Kentucky was standing 6-2 in video games when no less than three gamers scored 10 or extra factors.

Robyn Benton completed the sport with 20 factors whereas junior Maddy Scherr scored 18, capturing 6-10 from the sphere, 2-4 from exterior the arc and 4-4 from the road.

Ajay Betty additionally completed with 11 factors on the day.

Kyra Elzy’s group wasn’t precisely unhealthy, but it surely was only a case of “an excessive amount of too late” in opposition to the playing cards, with Elzy solely explaining that match.

“Clearly we do not wish to begin sluggish. It is not what we’re attempting to do and it is not our intention,” stated Elzee. “You already know, credit score to Louisville, I assumed they got here in and performed actually laborious. You already know it solely took us a minute to settle into the bodily. I assumed after we did the adjustment, within the second half, however that is too lengthy. It took us a very long time to calm down.”

Regardless, the shortcoming to get the whole group to click on was a recurring drawback for the Cats all season. If two of the UK’s finest gamers are unable to carry out when it issues, it could possibly be a really lengthy season for the Wildcats.

Kentucky is working out of time to repair its points earlier than the SEC will get into play, with simply three extra outings till the Cats journey to Columbia, Missouri, on Dec. 29.

The UK’s subsequent match is in opposition to Murray State on Friday, December sixteenth, inside Memorial Coliseum. Walker and Inexperienced will each be in search of rebound performances in opposition to the contestants.