LEXINGTON, Ky. – Senior guard Jenny Pfeiffer (North Vernon, Ind) scored a game-high 21 points, including five three-pointers, to lead three Kentucky players in double-figure scoring as the Wildcats claimed their fourth-straight win, defeating Southern, 70-44, in Memorial Coliseum Thursday.
The Wildcats (8-3) shot a season-high 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the floor, including a blistering season-best 46.2 (6-of-13) from beyond the arc and won the rebound battle by 17 (47-30) to beat the winless Jaguars (0-8). Each of Kentucky?s 11 players saw action in the game and that depth proved to be a key to the victory as the Wildcat bench out-scored the Southern reserves 28-2.
?I am pleased with the way we played,? UK Coach Mickie DeMoss said. ?We got off to a much better start today. We still turned the ball over too much, committing unforced errors. All-in-all the effort was good ? three games in five days and right before the break. We had some people who played well. Chante? Bowman is playing really well right now and Jenny Pfeiffer got some good looks tonight and was able to knock some shots down. We dominated the boards ? outrebounded them by 17 so I thought we did some good things.?
Pfeiffer?s five three-pointers, including three treys in the first half, tied a season-high from beyond the arc in 27 minutes of action off the bench. She was 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-8 from long distance, and her 21 points were one shy of her season high. She has scored 15 or more points in each of her last three games and has 12 three-pointers in her last three games combined.
Junior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) tallied double figures for the seventh time in the last eight games with 13 points. The team?s leader in field-goal percentage, Elliott was 6-of-7 from the floor. Senior forward/center Jennifer Humphrey (Memphis, Tenn.) scored 11 points ? her most in five games ? and brought down six rebounds.
Sophomore forward Jenn?e Jackson (Radcliff, Ky.) led the team in rebounding for the first time this season with seven boards, one rebound shy of her career high. Sophomore point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky.) tied a season-high with six rebounds and also dished out six assists. The Wildcats dished out 15 assists ? one shy of their season high in assists.
?We are trying to just learn to play at a certain level regardless of who we are playing,? DeMoss said. ?That is the mark of a great team, championship teams ? teams that play well regardless of the competition. They measure their standards by themselves. What is our team standard? Whether we are playing a team that is No. 3 in the country or a team that hasn?t won a game should not effect how we go out and compete every night. That is something that we have tried to pound home to them.?
The Wildcats opened the game on a 16-3 tear that was capped off by a pair of baskets from Ormerod and a three-pointer by Pfeiffer at the 14:05 mark of the first half. After two Southern hoops, Kentucky used a 14-4 run over the next 7:14 to go in front 31-11 with 4:48 left until intermission. The Cats took a 37-20 advantage into the halftime locker room. UK shot 47 percent (25-of-32) from the floor in the opening period and held a 26-15 edge on the boards.
Kentucky continued adding to its advantage out of the locker room to go ahead by 20 (49-29) with 12:57 remaining on a jumper by Pfeiffer. That basket was part of a 7-0 UK run that put the Wildcats in front by 25 points with 8:45 left on a Chante? Bowman (Detroit) hoop. The Cats led by as many as 33 points (69-46) with 2:40 remaining in the game.
Indi Johnson led Southern with a team-high 14 points, while Fredrieka Lewis added 10.
Kentucky takes a break for the winter holidays before returning to action on Dec. 29-30 at the Wells Fargo New Years Classic in San Antonio, Texas. The Wildcats will face Kent State on Dec. 29 followed by Memphis on Dec. 30. Both games will tip-off at 6 p.m. EST and be carried live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with Neil Price.
