Obi, Strack Lead No. 23/20 Kentucky Past Marshall
Jordan Obi scored 17 points as No. 23/20 Kentucky beat Marshall 76-44 on Saturday inside the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, West Virginia.
Clara Strack had another double-double, her fourth this season and the 20th of her career. Strack had 15 points and 13 rebounds. She added a block, a steal and an assist.
Kentucky (5-0) got 14 points from Asia Boone and nine points and 14 rebounds from Amelia Hassett.
Both teams struggled to score in the early stages of the first quarter. Kentucky made just one of its first 11 shots, while Marshall missed its first seven. A Boone three was the only basket in the first five minutes, which found Kentucky leading 5-1.
A Clara Strack layup gave UK a 7-1 lead, then Marshall made its first field goal, a three, to cut the Kentucky lead to 7-4. A Teonni Key layup gave UK a five-point lead and the Cats would lead 9-6 after one quarter.
Kentucky opened the second quarter on a 9-2 run. Two Obi free throws, a Strack basket, a three-point play by Obi and another Strack bucket gave UK an 18-8 lead. After Marshall scored four points in a row, the Cats got a Key layup and a Tonie Morgan jumper to lead 22-12.
After two Marshall free throws, UK got threes from Lexi Blue and Hassett to start a 14-3 run that would end the half. Hassett capped the run with a three just before the end of the half which ended with UK holding a 36-17 lead.
In the third quarter, Kentucky again opened on a scoring run. This time, it was a 10-1 run, capped by threes from Hassett and Obi, to make it 46-18.
After Marshall scored six in a row, Strack and Kaelyn Carroll scored to stretch the lead to 26 points. Kentucky would lead 52-27 after three quarters.
Marshall opened the fourth quarter on a 5-1 run, but UK answered with a three from Boone, a layup from Morgan and baskets from Strack and Obi to lead 62-32. The Cats would lead by as many as 34 in the fourth quarter before settling for the 32-point victory.
