LEXINGTON, Ky. Kentucky?s inside presence, led by junior center Sarah Elliott?s (McKee, Ky.) game-high 21 points and freshman forward Lydia Watkins? (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 10 rebounds, stepped up big as the Wildcats limited Mississippi Valley State to just 12 second-half points in an impressive 84-37 win in front of 5,136 fans in Memorial Coliseum.
The Wildcats (7-3) won their third consecutive game by holding the Delta Devilettes (2-5) to a season-low 20.9 percent (13-of-62) shooting from the floor. Kentucky, which led 41-25 at intermission, opened the second half with 17 unanswered points to put the game away.
?It was a tale of two halves,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?I thought that we came out in the second half and set the tone early which is something that I had wanted them to do in the first half ? to set the tone. I wasn?t real pleased with the way we started the game but I thought that we played out of it ? particularly to start the second half ? held them to 12 points in the second half. Defense was much more intense in the second half and I thought we were much more focused on the offensive end.?
Kentucky exploited its size advantage over Mississippi Valley State with a dominating post presence. The Cats out-scored the Delta Devilettes 38-10 in points in the paint and were tenacious on the boards, winning the rebound battle by 27 (57-30), including 23 offensive rebounds. UK had a season-high nine blocks and outscored MVSU 24-1 in second-chance opportunities. All 11 Wildcats saw action and scored at least two points.
?We were able to play a lot of players today and that?s really the purpose of these games,? DeMoss said. ?We were able to get everybody some minutes today and good game experience. I think that?s going to prove very valuable when we get into conference play.?
Elliott, who eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the third time this season, was 10-of-14 from the field in 18 minutes of action. She narrowly missed her third double-double of the season with nine rebounds, including six on the offensive end, and also tied a season-high with three blocks. Senior guard Jenny Pfeiffer (North Vernon, Ind.) added 15 points, including three three-pointers. Pfeiffer has knocked down seven treys and scored 30 points in her last two games combined.
Watkins was one rebound shy of her career-high and also had four points on a career-best 4-of-6 performance from the free-throw line. Junior guards Chante’ Bowman (Detroit) and Samantha Mahoney (Detroit), and sophomore point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky.) each chipped in seven points. Sophomore forward Jenn?e Jackson (Radcliff, Ky.) had a career-high three blocks in the game.
The Cats, who led 41-25 at halftime, opened the second half with 17 consecutive points to take a 58-25 advantage with 15:16 left in the game. Elliott had eight points during that stretch. Kentucky continued adding to its lead, using a 13-0 run to pull ahead by 46 points, 77-31, with 5:25 left. The Wildcats led by as many as 50 points (84-34) in the game.
Kentucky shot 44.6 percent (29-of-65) from the floor in the game and benefited from 20 Mississippi Valley State turnovers with 25 points off those miscues.
The Wildcats got off to a sluggish start offensively, missing seven of their first eight shots and finding themselves down 6-3 after a pair of three-pointers by MVSU?s Monique Overstreet in a two-minute span. Kentucky then used a 9-0 run that included two three-pointers by Pfeiffer to move in front 12-6 with 13:26 left in the half.
?Jenny came in the game in the first half and really gave us a spark off the bench,? DeMoss said. ?We were missing lay-ups early on and that has a tendency to deflate you. She came off the bench and got some threes off and that really got us going.?
Leading 19-12 with 8:47 remaining in the opening period, the Wildcats went on another 9-0 run over the next 3:16 that included two baskets by Elliott and Pfeiffer?s third trey of the half to go up 28-12. Kentucky closed the first half on an 11-4 run to take a 41-25 advantage into the locker room.
Kentucky returns to action Thursday when it plays host to Southern. Tip-off in Memorial Coliseum is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be carried live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with Neil Price.
Single-game general admission tickets are available for $5 adults/$2 senior citizens and children 6-18. Ages five and under are admitted free. For ticket information, log on to ukathletics.com or call the UK ticket office at 859-257-1818 or 1-800-928-CATS (2287).
