Freshman Kentucky forward Victoria Dunlap (Nashville, Tenn.) scored a career-high 20 points to lead three Wildcats in double figures in a resounding 75-44 win over William and Mary in Memorial Coliseum Tuesday.
Two Wildcats ? Dunlap and sophomore forward Amani Franklin (Decatur, Ga.) recorded double-doubles in the game, marking the first time two players accomplished that feat since SeSe Helm and Sara Potts vs. Louisville on Dec. 3, 2003. Dunlap had 10 rebounds to complement her career-best 20 points for her first career double-double and Franklin tallied a season-high 16 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for her first career double-dip. Franklin also dished out a career-high four assists. Senior guard Samantha Mahoney (Detroit) scored 16 points, marking the seventh time this season she has tallied double-digit points. Fellow senior Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.) added eight points while senior Chelsea Chowning (Berea, Ky.) made her second start at UK and scored six points.
Kentucky (4-4) shot a season-best 51.7 percent (31-of-60) from the floor in the game, marking the first time this year that the Cats have shot 50 percent or better from the field. UK held William and Mary (3-4) to just a 29.6 percent (16-of-54) efficiency from the floor, its second-best field goal percentage defense of the season.
?We were much better tonight,? UK Coach Matthew Mitchell said. ?I thought it was a good win. We did some things that I had been looking for our team to do for quite some time. I was very encouraged with the improvement we made tonight. Clearly, our defensive energy was better ? we certainly weren?t perfect execution-wise, but holding a team to 29.6 percent is good. I thought our pressure in the second half bothered them. We played with a lot more spirit and a lot more energy tonight and I am very happy about that.?
The two teams battled closely to begin the game, inching ahead 10-5 at the 15:36 mark of the opening half after Dunlap and freshman point guard Amber Smith (Winter Haven, Fla.) knocked down back-to-back baskets in a 15-second span. Kentucky and William & Mary then traded baskets for the next five-and-a-half minutes before Mahoney connected on a three-pointer from the left wing to give the Cats a 19-14 advantage with 10:45 remaining in the period. That trey sparked a 7-2 run that put UK ahead 23-16 with 7:31 left until intermission. The Tribe whittled their deficit down to six, 29-23, with 3:11 left in the half, but the Cats closed the opening period with consecutive baskets by Dunlap and Franklin.
The Wildcats, who had been working on increasing their intensity and energy levels this week in practice, fed off their up-tempo style of play, jumping out to a 10-point, 33-23, advantage at halftime. They shot 50 percent (15-of-30) from the floor in the opening half and were led by Mahoney?s 11 points.
?I think for us to be a successful team, we are going to have to play with that intensity,? Mitchell said. ?I thought we had some lulls [defensively] tonight, but they did a good job of coming out of that.?
Kentucky?s intensity remained in the second half as the Wildcats broke out of the locker room on a 13-6 run that included seven points from Dunlap. That run put UK up 48-28 with 14:14 remaining in the game. The Wildcats extended their advantage to 55-34 after a three-pointer by Franklin with 11:28 left. That sparked a 14-1 run by UK that put it ahead by 31, 66-35, on a lay-up by Mahoney at the 6:17 mark. The Cats led by as many as 33 points (75-42) with 1:37 remaining.
?They (Franklin and Dunlap) are rounding into the players that we think they can be,? Mitchell said. ?Clearly for Amani, she was 7-for-10 and she was aggressive and took another charge ? she is leading our team in taking charges. Victoria Dunlap, just played 32 minutes and played her 32nd minute as hard as she played her first. She is just a really tough, tough competitor.?
UK?s stifling defense did not allow a Tribe three-pointer in the second half, limiting them to just 3-of-14 in the game. William and Mary entered the contest averaging 7.8 three-pointers made per game. Senior forward Kyra Kaylor led the Tribe with 15 points while sophomore forward Tiffany Benson added 14. Kaylor, the team?s leading scorer, was held to just three second-half points.
Kentucky out-rebounded William and Mary 41-32 and won the battle of the post 44-22 in points in the paint.
Kentucky returns to action Saturday when it travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on Big Ten Conference member Michigan. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. EST and the game will be carried live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with Neil Price. It also will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
