14-seed Wildcats run away from 11-seed Gators

GREENVILLE, SC – For the Kentucky women’s basketball team, it’s all about the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

The Cats, who won four games in four days to claim the title last season, won their first game of the 2023 tournament on Wednesday, defeating Florida 72-57 at Bon Secours Arena.

Kentucky (11-18) snapped a seven-game winning streak, behind 20 points from Robyn Benton and 12 points from Jada Walker.

Adebola Adeyeye had 11 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in the win, while Maddie Scherr had 10 points, six assists and four rebounds while battling through injuries.

Kentucky advances to the second round of the SEC Tournament, where the Cats will face Alabama on Saturday at 8:30 pm ET. The Tide won the previous meeting between the teams 72-65 at Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 9.

Wednesday’s win was the second time this season the Cats have topped the Gators. On Jan. 15 in Gainesville, UK won 81-75.

Florida scored first on Alberte Rimdal’s layup, but UK responded with a 7-2 run to take an early four-point lead. The Gators would rally and take a 10-9 lead before the Cats scored nine in a row to make it 18-10. Kentucky would have an 18-12 advantage after one quarter.

In the second period, Kentucky extended its lead to 22-14 before an altercation between the two teams stopped play. The game officials needed more than 20 minutes to sort out the penalties, which included many players for both teams being sent off.

When play resumed, Florida outscored Kentucky 7-0 in the final 3:06, but the Cats held a 22-21 lead at the break.

Kentucky scored the first four points of the third period to extend its lead to five, 26-21. Florida cut the lead to 26-24 before UK scored six straight to take a 32-24 lead. Later in the stanza, Florida would score six in a row to lead 41-39. But Kentucky got late baskets from Robyn Benton and Maddie Scherr to take a 43-41 lead with 10 minutes to play.

Florida scored the first three points of the fourth quarter to take a 44-43 lead. But that advantage lasted only 23 seconds, as Benton scored five in a row to give England a four-point lead. Later in the period, with UK leading 56-52, the Cats scored 10 straight to take a 66-52 lead. That run proved decisive as the Cats claimed victory.