Four Kentucky players scored in double figures Thursday to lead the Kentucky women?s basketball team to a resounding 90-34 exhibition victory over Dalhousie University of Halifax, Nova Scotia in Memorial Coliseum. Each of the squad?s 13 members saw action in the game with 12 Wildcats scoring at least two points.
Sophomore forward/center Eleia Roddy, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL, led the way for Kentucky with a double-double. She charted a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds in only 18 minutes of action, while freshman point guard Carly Ormerod added 13 points, five assists and no turnovers in 25 minutes in her collegiate debut. Sophomore center Sarah Elliott, who also returned from off-season knee surgery, added 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes. Junior guard Jenny Pfeiffer, who did not play basketball last season after sitting out much of her sophomore season with mononucleosis, had 12 points in 16 minutes. She hit 3-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line in her return to the Kentucky team.
?We got a lot of people minutes tonight and that is what exhibition games are all about,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?I think we were able to see some areas we have improved on. For the most part, I thought we kept our intensity and effort at a good level. I think, when the game is one-sided, you have a tendency to let up a little bit. I was pleased that our board play and our overall intensity level were good.?
The Cats? defense limited the Tigers to just 26 percent (13-of-50) shooting from the field and allowed them just 15 points in the opening period. UK committed just three turnovers in the first half, totaling nine for the game.
?I think it?s obvious that our depth is good, as is our athleticism,? DeMoss said. ?We?re better, but I don?t know if we were challenged enough, particularly in the second half and midway through the first half. We had to focus on us, make sure we still took care of the ball and didn?t get sloppy.?
The UK inside game was dominant, outscoring the Tigers 50-12 in points in the paint and 17-0 in second-chance points. The Cats won the battle of the boards by an overwhelming 50-32 margin. The Wildcats? bench also put forth a balanced effort, outscoring the Dalhousie bench 52-0.
Both teams had to brush off first-game jitters to start the contest, but the Wildcats settled in after a few minutes. With UK leading 10-9, sophomore guard Samantha Mahoney hit back-to-back baskets to spark an 11-0 run by the Wildcats to give them a 21-9 lead at the 11:50 mark of the opening period. UK used a 38-6 run to hold Dalhousie scoreless for over six minutes in the first half. The Cats led 48-15 at halftime.
?For us to come down here is a tremendous opportunity to play against Division I,? Tigers head coach Dr. Carolyn Savoy said. ?Certainly we wouldn?t run into any players near the caliber of Kentucky in our country. What we?re hoping is that this will make our team stronger and we will learn to take care of the ball, decreasing our turnovers and the little things. What tonight did for us is magnify the errors we?ve been making all along that nobody made us pay for, and tonight Kentucky made us pay for it.?
Kentucky continued to add to its lead in the second half and the Wildcats pulled ahead by 42 after a three-pointer by Ormerod at the 12:15 mark. A fast-break lay-up by freshman guard Oreonna Taylor gave the Cats a 48-point cushion (73-25) and two free-throws by Pfeiffer extended the Cats? advantage to 54-points, 84-30. Pfeiffer poured in her second trey with 38 seconds left in the game, giving UK the 90-34 win.
The Cats shot 45.6 percent (36-of-79) from the field, including a 63.6 percent (14-of-22) from the free-throw line. Dalhousie hit just 18.5 percent (5-of-27) in the opening period and 26.0 percent (13-of-50) for the game. With the win, Kentucky improved to 5-0 under Coach Mickie DeMoss in exhibition games.
Kentucky concludes its 2005-06 exhibition slate Thursday, Nov. 10, when it plays host to the Ohio Girls Basketball Magazine All-Stars at 7 p.m. ET in Memorial Coliseum. Admission is free. The game will be carried live on the Big Blue Sports Network with Neil Price. Live stats and audio also will be available at ukathletics.com.
