LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Five Kentucky players scored in double figures Thursday as the UK Hoops team defeated the Ohio Legends 84-44 in Memorial Coliseum. A strong defensive effort that saw UK force 25 turnovers, resulting in 32 points for the Cats, characterized a balanced victory. The Wildcats improve to a perfect 6-0 in exhibition games under head coach Mickie DeMoss.
The Cats were led by sophomore center Sarah Elliott who scored a game-high 15 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field. She also brought down a team-high eight rebounds in the win over the Legends, an all-star team comprised of former collegiate players from Ohio, Indiana, Texas, West Virginia and Georgia.
Junior guard Nastassia Alcius, sophomore guard Samantha Mahoney and freshman point guard Carly Ormerod each added 12 points, while sophomore forward/center Eleia Roddy added 10. Freshman Jenn?e Jackson came off the bench for eight boards as the Cats out-rebounded the Legends 48-31.
?Tonight I thought we got a chance to play a lot of people,? DeMoss said. ?I thought we did some good things, such as shooting the ball well?almost 50 percent from the field. We rebounded well, but we would?ve had probably 10 more rebounds if we could have gotten our hands on the ones we were tipping around. I thought it served its purpose for an exhibition game where we got a lot of people some minutes, gained experienced, and played against a trap and zone defense.?
Both teams struggled to find their shooting touches early in the game. Kentucky held a slim 12-7 advantage before taking a 10-point (17-7) lead on a shot by senior Jennifer Humphrey with 12:32 remaining in the first half. A shot in the paint by Elliott sparked a 13-2 run just minutes later and the Cats ended the half with a 42-18 lead.
The Wildcats shot 45.7 percent (16-of-35) from the field in the opening period, led by Elliott?s 10 points. The Cats connected on just 1-of-9 shots from long range, using the experimental rule of an added extra nine inches from the previous line.
?Kentucky definitely compares athletically (with the other teams we?ve played)?, Legends coach JayBee Bethea said. ?Kentucky is right there with the Purdue?s of the world. I have a funny feeling that they are going to surprise a lot of teams in the Southeastern Conference.?
UK carried the momentum of the first half with strong play out of intermission. Leading 50-29, the Wildcats scored six consecutive points in a 30-second span when Mahoney found Roddy under the basket for an easy shot at the 14:49 mark.
A 5-0 run by the Legends with 5:11 left in the game brought them to within 26 points (68-42), but that would be as close as they would come. A jumper by Elliott, followed by a resounding three-pointer from Ormerod put the Cats in front by 31, 73-42, and Kentucky?s 40-point win marked its largest lead of the game. UK shot an impressive 52.9 percent from the field in the second half. All 12 players that dressed for the game saw action. Sophomore Afton Perry did not play due to an injury.
The Legends were led by guard Kelly Adams of Central State (Ohio), who scored a team-high 12 points.
Kentucky opens its 2005-06 regular season on Friday, Nov. 18, when it plays host to IUPUI in Memorial Coliseum. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. EST and the game will be carried live on the Big Blue Sports Network with Neil Price.
Single-game general admission tickets are available for $5 adults/$2 senior citizens and children ages 18 and under. UK students, faculty and staff are admitted free with valid identification. Call the UK ticket office at 859-257-1818 or 1-800-928-CATS (2287) to order tickets for women?s basketball.
