No. 9 Cats Tame Terriers on Saturday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Dre’una Edwards scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Rhyne Howard had 18 points, four rebounds and four assists as the ninth-ranked Kentucky women’s basketball team cruised past Wofford 98-37 on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Coliseum.
Chasity Patterson had 17 points and four assists for the Cats, while Olivia Owens was also in double figures for UK with 10 points. Kentucky had 11 players score in the game.
Kentucky made 39 of its 77 shots (50.6 percent), while holding Wofford to just 13 of 46 (28.3 percent). The Cats forced 33 Wofford turnovers and turned those into a whopping 49 points. UK also held big advantages in second-chance points (21-4), bench points (32-8), points in the paint (56-18) and fast break points (25-6).
Kentucky opened the scoring on an Edwards steal and layup, but that was the only field goal in the game’s first three minutes. Each team got a pair of free throws and Kentucky led 4-2 early.
The Cats would eventually get the offense going, with a pair of baskets from Olivia Owens, to take a 10-2 lead early. Kentucky’s defense would force Wofford to miss its first 11 shots of the game before a three-pointer from Lilly Hatton broke the streak for the Terriers and cut the UK lead to 10-5. But the Cats would score the next 11, including the first UK points for Jazmine Massengill, to lead 21-5 after 10 minutes of play.
As the second quarter began, Kentucky’s attack continued. The Cats got baskets from Blair Green and Patterson to start the period, extending the lead to 25-5. After Wofford got a basket from Helen Matthews, Kentucky scored eight in a row on an Edwards layup, three-pointers from Howard and Robyn Benton and a Benton layup, to take a commanding 35-7 lead with 3:57 left in the half. In all, it was a 25-2 Kentucky run that turned a five-point lead into a 26 point advantage.
But the Cats were not done. In fact, Kentucky would close the period on a 13-2 run to take a 48-11 lead into the break. Altogether, Kentucky outscored Wofford 38-6 over the last 14:22 of the first half.
Eight Wildcats scored in the first half, with Howard scoring nine, while Benton and Patterson each had eight. Kentucky made half of its field goals (19-38), while holding Wofford to just three of 25 (12.0 percent) shooting in the first 20 minutes. UK also forced 18 Wofford turnovers and turned those into 24 points in the first half. The taller Cats also held a 24-4 advantage in points in the paint in the first half.
As the second half began, the onslaught continued. Kentucky scored four baskets, all off Wofford turnovers, in the first 54 seconds of the third quarter to lead 56-11. After Wofford scored five in a row, Kentucky answered by scoring the next 18 straight to lead 74-16 with 3:07 left in the third. Howard had a pair of threes in the run than ended on a Nyah Leveretter layup and free throw.
Wofford would have a run of its own near the end of the third, scoring eight in a row to make it 74-24. But Kentucky would lead 75-24 after three periods.
In the fourth quarter, Kentucky continued to stretch the lead, with the final margin being the biggest lead that UK had on the day.
Kentucky will return to action on Dec. 31, opening SEC play against Arkansas at Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff for the New Year’s Eve contest is set for 8:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
