LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky tied the NCAA record and set a new school record for blocks in a game with 19 as the Wildcats remained undefeated with a 71-40 victory over North Carolina A&T Tuesday in Memorial Coliseum. The Cats were led in blocks by sophomore center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.), who tied the school record with six to complement eight rebounds. Four other players also recorded multiple blocks, including Jennifer Humphrey (Memphis) and LaQwesha ?Moe? Gamble (Winter Haven, Fla.) with three and Chante? Bowman (Detroit) and Jenn?e Jackson (Radcliff, Ky.) with two apiece.
Kentucky?s 6-0 record is its best start since the Wildcats began 6-0 during the 1984-85 season. The Cats? 19 blocks set a new school record and tied the NCAA mark with New Orleans (vs. Western Kentucky on Feb. 13, 1999) and Texas Christian (vs. UAB on Jan. 16, 2005). The previous UK record was 11 vs. Winthrop (Jan. 3, 2000) and Kentucky State (Nov. 24, 1989). The Cats had already tied the school record for blocks with 11 by halftime.
?It wasn?t real, real pretty at times, but I thought we found a way to grind it out and come up with a strong win,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?Our big people have been getting their hands on a lot of shots. I tell our perimeter (players), ?if you get beat, let them go.? Make them get back there and shoot over us. I?m really pleased. That?s impressive, to have 19 blocks.?
The Wildcats used a tenacious presence on the boards to out-rebound the Aggies 55-41 and overcome a slow start. UK?s bench came out ready to play, outscoring the Aggies? reserves 43-3. Three players scored in double figures led by reserve guard Nastassia Alcius? (Lexington, Ky.) game-high 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Jackson and sophomore guard Samanatha Mahoney (Detroit) each chipped in 10 points. Humphrey logged a game-high 10 rebounds and Bowman added nine boards. Freshman point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky.) dished out a career-high seven assists. UK held the Aggies to 23.3 percent shooting from the floor (17-of-73). It was the second time this season the Cats have held an opponent to under .300 percent. UK held Stetson to 18.0 percent shooting.
?I thought our defense was good tonight,? DeMoss said. ?Our goal was to hold them to 41 points and we held them to 40, so that was good. Offensively, we were a little rattled at times. But, they are forcing teams into 22 turnovers and they about got us tonight. We had 21, which was way too many. We found a way to win and that?s the positive thing.?
The Wildcats began the game lackluster, turning the ball over 10 times in the opening seven minutes. The Aggies responded by going on an 11-4 run to take a 13-10 lead with 11:45 left in the first half.
The Aggies hung around within five (24-19) with less than five minutes remaining in the half before junior Afton Perry (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) came off the bench to spark the Cats with a rebound, a field goal and a block in less than a minute.
?A&T is really quick and they guard you,? DeMoss said. ?They were very aggressive and we didn?t match their aggressiveness and intensity level at the beginning of each half. That?s why I took out all the starters in the second half, except for Carly (Ormerod) ? just to generate some energy. I thought we did that and then the starters went back in and did a nice job.?
The Wildcats closed the first-half on a 12-2 run that included back-to-back baskets by Bowman and Mahoney. The Cats went into the locker room with a 36-21 advantage.
The Aggies (0-6) scored six consecutive points out of the break before the Cats again looked to their bench for an answer. Leading by seven, 36-29, UK went on a 13-0 run, capped off by a pair of baskets by Bowman to extend UK?s lead to 49-29 with 11:12 remaining in the game. With a 61-40 lead, UK used a late 10-0 run to close the game with back-to-back lay-ups by Alcius.
Bieanca Johnson led N.C. A&T with 12 points. Ahmad Williams and Shareka Glover followed with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Kentucky returns to action Thursday when it plays host to the Georgetown University Hoyas at 7 p.m. EST. The game will be carried live by the Big Blue Sports Network on television and radio. 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 based on availability. For ticket information, log on to ukathletics.com or call the UK ticket office at 859-257-1818 or 1-800-928-CATS (2287).
