SAN FRANCISCO ? Delaware?s Chrissy Fisher and Tyresa Smith combined for 50 points Friday and the Blue Hens shot 61.2 percent (30-of-49) from the field in an 86-70 win over No. 20/24 Kentucky in the first round of the Odwalla Classic hosted by the University of San Francisco in War Memorial Gymnasium.
The Wildcats (2-2) led by as many as 11 points, 37-26, with 4:34 remaining in the opening period before Delaware (3-1) went on an 8-0 run to go into the locker room down just three, 42-39. The Blue Hens stormed out of intermission on an 11-4 streak and never looked back. Delaware?s impressive 61.2 percent shooting, including 66 percent (16-of-24) in the second half, marked the first time an opponent shot better than 60 percent from the field against the Wildcats since Georgia shot 64.2 on Feb. 2, 2006.
?You have to give Delaware credit,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?They executed well offensively, shooting 66 percent in the second half. Tyresa Smith is a phenomenal player and she brought her A-game tonight. She was very hard to defend and Chrissy Fisher was as well. She ended up with 22 points.”
Junior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) led the Wildcats with a career-high 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting to go with a team-high 12 rebounds for her fifth career double-double and first this season. Junior guard Samantha Mahoney (Detroit) followed in the scoring column with 16 points to complement six rebounds and three assists, while sophomore point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky.) dished out a career-high eight assists.
“Sarah Elliott played well in the first half and we still kept trying to get it to her in the second half,? DeMoss said. ?Delaware made adjustments at the half and made it harder for us to get the ball inside. She put up big numbers but we didn’t have a whole lot of help from anyone else. (Jenny) Pfeiffer was getting some good looks and usually she provides a spark off the bench but tonight we couldn’t get a spark.?
The Wildcats shot a respectable 45.2 percent (28-of-62) from the field and out-rebounded the Blue Hens 32-30, but could not overcome a hot Delaware shooting night. Kentucky again struggled from the free-throw stripe, connecting on just 46.7 percent (7-of-15) of its charity shots. Delaware out-scored the Cats 47-28 in the second period.
The Wildcats held a narrow advantage throughout much of the first half. Leading 26-24 with 8:12 left in the opening half, they went on an 11-2 run to extend their advantage to 37-26, with 4:34 left until halftime before the Blue Hens rallied.
Smith finished with a game-high 28 points while Fisher had 22 for Delaware.
Kentucky returns to action Saturday when it faces the loser of the San Francisco/Southern Illinois contest at 8 p.m. EST in the consolation game of the Odwalla Classic. The game between the Dons and Salukis had not been concluded at press time. UK?s game will be carried live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with Neil Price.
