No. 14/14 Kentucky Crushes NKU on Thursday
Asia Boone scored 21 points as No. 14/14 Kentucky crushed Northern Kentucky 79-28 on Thursday night at Historic Memorial Coliseum.
Me’Arah O’Neal had 12 points and five rebounds for UK, while Clara Strack had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Ajša Sivka had 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
The Kentucky defense was swarming on Thursday night. UK forced 28 turnovers and turned those miscues into 36 points. Kentucky also held NKU to 6 of 44 (13.6 percent) shooting from the floor.
Kentucky scored the first nine points of the game, with O’Neal making a free throw, followed by two baskets from Sivka. Two O’Neal baskets made it 9-0 before Northern Kentucky hit a three to cut the deficit to six.
Strack scored four in a row, Maddyn Greenway made an acrobatic layup, Strack scored underneath, O’Neal hit a pair of free throws, Savvy Swords scored on a putback and Ayanna Patterson made a layup and then a runner to close out a 16-0 run that put UK ahead 25-3 after one quarter.
Sivka scored the first points of the second quarter on a fadeaway jumper in the lane. Strack followed suit and the Cats led 29-3. The Norse would score before Swords hit a free throw, Strack hit one at the charity stripe and Diana Collins made a pair of free throws, making it 36-5. The Norse would make a free throw, then Greenway did the same before NKU scored five in a row to cut the UK lead to 37-11.
Boone hit a three, then made two free throws and UK led 42-11. The Norse would score the final point of the half, but Kentucky took a 42-12 lead into the break.
Kentucky extended its lead early in the second half. Sivka scored on a layup, Boone hit a three and O’Neal scored to make it 49-12. NKU would make a free throw before O’Neal hit a three from the corner to stretch the lead to 52-13. Swords followed with a three of her own and UK led by 42. However, the Norse scored the next eight points and UK’s lead was cut to 55-21. Boone hit a three to end the NKU run and the Cats led 58-21 after three quarters.
Boone hit another three early in the fourth quarter, then hit a mid-range jumper and the Cats led 63-21. Sivka hit a right-wing three, then Boone scored on a fast-break layup to stretch the lead to 68-21. NKU hit a pair of free throws to cut the UK lead to 45.
Strack hit a pair of free throws for the Cats before the Norse hit two of their own. An Emily McDonald layup and a Patterson free throw gave UK a 73-25 advantage. UK would lead by as many as 51, including at the final buzzer.
Kentucky returns to action on Sunday, facing N.C. State in Charlotte. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ESPN2.
