Nov. 10, 2013
NEW YORK (AP) — DeNesha Stallworth had 18 points and 13 rebounds to help No. 7 Kentucky rout Wagner 96-57 on Sunday.
Bria Goss added 17 points for the Wildcats, who trailed 7-3 early, before getting going.
The Wildcats (2-0) scored 27 of the next 30 points, hitting five 3-pointers during the game-changing spurt. Goss had eight points in the run, including a 3-pointer that made it 30-10 with 8:26 left in the half.
Kentucky led 50-27 at halftime and poured it on in the second half. Goss scored nine quick points to extend the lead over 30 before the first media timeout of the second half.
Wagner, which was hosting its first-ever Top 25 team, couldn’t get any closer the rest of the way.
Freshman Jasmine Nwajei scored 19 points to lead the Seahawks (0-1).
The contest capped a two-game New York swing for the Wildcats, who beat Marist on Friday night in the season opener. The Wildcats were in New York last spring for the NCAA tournament when they played their first two rounds at St. John’s. They didn’t get much of a chance to enjoy the city on that trip with the focus on basketball.
This time around they were able to visit the Sept. 11 Memorial and have a nice Italian dinner before walking around Times Square.
The game also served as a homecoming for Wildcats Jennifer O’Neill and Jelleah Sidney, who are from New York. O’Neill finished with 11 points. Sidney had six points and seven rebounds.
Even though they were outsized and outmatched, second-year coach Lisa Cermignano jumped at the chance to play the Wildcats.
“I’d rather play the best to raise the bar and get them to the place and the level I’m used to,” she said.
Cermignano played at George Washington in the late `90s and was an assistant there when the Colonials were a constant Top 25 team.
Wagner had just three wins in her first season, but Cermignano has a young team with only one senior on the roster.
