No. 22 Kentucky Women Cruise Past Morehead State, 86-53
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 22nd-ranked Kentucky women’s basketball team had four players in double figures on Wednesday as the Wildcats rolled past Morehead State 86-53 in Memorial Coliseum.
Junior Maci Morris scored 19 points and senior Makenzie Cann added 15 points and 10 rebounds and a career-high five assists, notching her second straight double-double. Junior Amanda Paschal had a career-high 11 points, while sophomore Jaida Roper scored 10 points.
Kentucky (5-0) shot the ball well in the win, connecting on 31 of its 55 attempts (56.4 percent), including 10 of 17 (58.8 percent) from behind the arc. The Wildcats forced MSU into 15 turnovers and turned those miscues into 20 points. Kentucky also got big contributions off the bench, outscoring MSU 33-13 in bench points in the game.
The Wildcats also distributed the ball well, recording 25 assists on 31 made baskets in the contest. Eight Wildcats had assists in the game, with Junior Taylor Murray leading Kentucky with six assists.
Kentucky scored the game’s first six points before Morehead State ran off five straight of its own to make the score 6-5. The Wildcats then scored the next nine points of the game to open a 15-5 advantage mid-way through the first period. When senior Jessica Hardin connected on a three-pointer from the corner, Kentucky had hit its first seven shots from the field to lead 18-7. The Cats would lead 26-12 after one quarter of play.
The Wildcats did not let up in the second quarter. Kentucky scored the first seven points of the frame to lead 33-12, forcing Morehead State into a timeout. The Wildcats continued their onslaught, assembling an 18-4 run to lead 44-18 with 4:31 left in the half. Morris had eight of Kentucky’s points during the stretch. MSU would score the final seven points of the half, but Kentucky took a commanding 46-27 lead into the half.
In the third period, Kentucky hit four of its first six shots and was able to extend the lead to as many as 28 on three occasions. The Wildcats would lead 65-39 after three periods.
Kentucky stretched its lead to as many as 38 in the fourth quarter before winning by 33.
Kentucky returns to action on Sunday, hosting Marshall at Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network+.
