Senior guard Sara Potts led a trio of Kentucky players that scored in double-figures and junior forward Jennifer Humphrey tallied the fourth double-double of her career as the Wildcats rolled over Florida A&M, 84-55, Sunday in Memorial Coliseum.
Potts led UK (2-0) in scoring for the 25th time in her career. She made four three-pointers and connected on all seven of her free-throws, moving to No. 19 on Kentucky?s all-time scoring list with 1,076 points.
Humphrey brought down a career-high 15 rebounds, including nine on the offensive end, to complement 12 points. The junior led a dominating post performance for the Cats, as UK outscored the Rattlers (0-1) 30-12 in points in the paint. The Wildcats also out-rebounded Florida A&M 61-55. Kentucky?s 61 rebounds were just five shy of the school record 66 rebounds set in 1980 and 1982. UK has out-rebounded its opponent 112-57 in two games.
?If we can continue to do that, we will be very successful in games this season,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?Defense has been my point of emphasis since I?ve gotten here and we have worked a lot on our defense. Defense and board play is going to be critical every night out, especially to have any chance of winning on the road.
?Jennifer was very active on the boards today,? DeMoss said. ?We would like for her to be able to finish some of those easy shots, but she did a great job on the boards for us and was very active. She really was relentless and I am proud of her effort tonight.?
Freshman Sade Buley chipped in an impressive 10 points in just 12 minutes of play after making both of her three-point attempts. As a team, Kentucky shot 40.3 percent from the field, but the defense limited the Rattlers to only 31.3 percent shooting in the game. The Wildcats? bench outscored FAMU?s bench 44-18. Freshman reserve center Sarah Elliott provided eight points, eight rebounds and a team-high three blocks for the Wildcats, while Eleia Roddy and Danyelle Payne each added nine points.
?I was really excited to see Sarah run the floor tonight,? DeMoss said. ?She came with a lay-up in transition and ran the length of the court. I am very proud of her effort tonight. She was tough on the boards as well.?
Both teams struggled holding on to the ball early in the game, with each squad committing three turnovers in the first five minutes. Kentucky pulled ahead 8-6 on a steal by Potts that she took the length of the court for a lay-up with 15:06 remaining in the first half.
?It took our team a little while to settle down,? DeMoss said. ?Florida A&M applied good pressure in the game, but also we tried to force some passes and we fumbled some balls on the offensive end. It took our team a little while to settle down in the game.?
A pair of freshmen teamed up to break an 11-all tie as Sam Mahoney found Roddy under the basket for an easy shot at the 11:06 mark. That basket, coupled with UK?s stifling zone defense, sparked a 10-0 run over the next 3:11.
The Wildcats led 40-25 at halftime and despite shooting only 42.4 percent from the field in the first half, UK?s tenacious defense allowed FAMU only 34.5 percent shooting. The Cats continued to build their lead when Florida A&M went on a 7-2 run of its own to trim the deficit to 14, 50-36. The Wildcats pushed the advantage to 20, 58-28, on a basket by Buley with 11:34 to go in the game. A three-pointer from the left corner by Buley with 9:08 left brought the crowd to its feet and capped a 13-2 Kentucky run to give the Cats a 65-38 advantage. Roddy connected on a three-point play with 4:46 left to push UK ahead, 76-49. A Potts trey on the ensuing possession gave the Wildcats a 30-point cushion.
Kentucky returns to action on Thursday as it begins its stretch of three games in three days at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The Cats face Oregon State on Thursday, Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. ET, South Dakota State on Friday, Nov. 26 at 3:30 p.m. ET and No. 17/18 Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 3:30 p.m. ET All three games will be carried live on WLXG 1300-AM with Chris Cross. Saturday?s game with the Scarlet Knights will be carried live on Fox College Sports television. For more information, log on to ukathletics.com
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Game Notes
Kentucky wins the first meeting between the Wildcats and Florida A&M. Head coach Mickie DeMoss improves to 4-3 in her career vs. the Rattlers and a 13-17 overall record at UK.
UK?s 61 total rebounds are the most since grabbing 61 vs. Morris Brown on Dec. 23, 2002. Kentucky has brought down more than 50 boards in each of its last two games.
UK has out-rebounded its opponent 112-57 in two games.
Senior Sara Potts moved into sole possession of 19th place on UK?s all-time scoring list, passing Tedra Eberhart?s 1,071 points. Potts now has 1,076 career points and needs five more to move up to the 18th spot.
Potts led UK in scoring for the 25th time in her career with 21 points in the game. It marks the second consecutive game that she has scored 20 or more points.
Jennifer Humphrey tallied the fourth double-double of her career with a 12-point, 15-rebound performance, marking a new career high in rebounds.
Today?s game marks the first time in the DeMoss era that the Cats have scored 40 or more points at halftime in back-to-back games.
Key run: With the score tied at 11 with just under 13 minutes remaining in the first half, Kentucky went on a 10-0 run. The run was backed by four points by Jennifer Humphrey.
For the second consecutive game all 11 players that dressed saw action. (Afton Perry and Chante? Bowman did not dress due to injuries)
