FILM ROOM: Ajša Sivka is a catch-and-shoot flamethrower that never runs out of gas

Kentucky women’s basketball’s most recent signing was a big one — 6-foot-4 Slovenian Ajša Sivka. She was the No. 10 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft before she went back to Europe, playing in some of the top professional basketball leagues in the world. At 6-foot-4, you’d think she’d be listed as a forward at the minimum. Heck, a lot of Power 4 centers are that size. However, Sivka is listed as a guard, and you can see why when you watch her tape.

Take a step into the KSR Film Room where we’ll watch and break down some of Sivka’s film from her time playing overseas. Grab your popcorn, an ice-cold beverage and let’s enjoy some world-class hoops, shall we?

Moves a lot off the ball to set herself up for open threes

One thing that Sivka does really well is move off the ball. In the SEC, coaches are going to do everything in their power to get their players to deny her the ball so she can’t score, but Sivka doesn’t make that very easy.

Whether it be a set designed specifically for her or just moving with the flow of the offense, Sivka is almost always moving and trying to get herself open to shoot. She doesn’t usually just stand in the corner and wait for the ball.

With the level of guards that Kentucky has in its backcourt, pairing them with Sivka will make for a very dangerous pick-and-pop punch. Defenses will have a hard time trying to guard five-star freshmen, sharpshooters like Asia Boone and Diana Collins and Sivka all at once on the perimeter. This team should be able to score in bunches with her on the court.

A quick, confident trigger from beyond the arc

What Sivka does best is shoot the three. It’s her specialty, and more likely than not, the main reason why Kenny Brooks wanted her in Lexington. In the 2025 FIBA U20 Women’s EuroBasket, Sivka averaged 15.3 points per game while shooting 38.3% from beyond the arc.

Plus, that’s not on one or two or even three attempts per game, that’s on 6.7 three-point attempts per game. The volume is high, and so is her hit rate.

Along with her ability to knock it down at a highly efficient rate, she does so with a rather quick trigger. All she needs is just a little bit of room and a glimpse of daylight. If she’s open, she’s going to let it fly.

Can take you off the dribble to get to the hoop

Of course, her best trait is her three-point ability, but we’d be discrediting her all-around game if we failed to mention how she has quite the bag as well. If the three isn’t there, she can take her man off the dribble and get a good look at the rim.

Her height coupled with her length make it very hard to guard her, even if the defense does switch someone else over to help out as she’s driving to the hole. Even if Sivka is stopped short of the basket, she is able to rise above the defense and float up a very high-percentage look more often than not.

Sivka is a Swiss Army knife on offense, and she could be the final piece that Kentucky needed to finally make a serious push for the Final Four.

More Ajša Sivka film on The Memorial Memo!

Tune into the latest episode of The Memorial Memo — KSR’s Kentucky women’s basketball podcast — for more Ajša Sivka film. Drop a like and a comment while you’re there, and subscribe to the KSR YouTube channel if you want even more exclusive Kentucky women’s basketball content.

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