The No. 13 ranked Kentucky Wildcats women’s basketball team improved to a 5-0 record on the season after defeat of in-state foe, the Morehead State University Eagles (2-3) in a 79-54 victory.
LEXINGTON – November 21, 2019 – Noah Banks – Bluegrass Sports Nation
Lexington, Ky- After a nail-biting 50-47 victory on
the road over the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday, the Cats returned home to
Memorial Coliseum on Thursday night to face off against a fellow Kentucky
school, in the Morehead State University Eagles.
Thursday night’s matchup was nothing short of a
challenge for the Cats as the Eagles were not to go down without a fight.
The 1st
period started with a 5-0 run for Kentucky, and after a few hiccups, the Cats
wouldn’t look back. Kentucky not only started having shots fall, but also
turned up the pressure on defense forcing 10 first quarter turnovers for the
Eagles and pushing the lead to as much as 14 and finishing the quarter with a 27-13
lead.
The 2nd period seemed to be much of the
same. Kentucky came out of the break raining back-to-back threes, forcing
Morehead State to take their first timeout, down 33-13 with 8:52 reaming in the
half. Following the timeout, the Eagles showed a little life, but not enough to
make any dents into the Kentucky lead.
The Cats were led by Sophomore guard Rhyne Howard, who
came alive in the 2nd period and finished the half with 13PTS on
5/13 (38%) from the field, 5REB, and 2AST. Additionally, Kentucky’s 1st
half presence in the paint was unmatched, winning the rebound total by 18-16 and
picking up 5 blocks. The Cats pushed the lead to 24, the largest of the game to
that point, and took a 48-24 lead heading into the half.
After the break, it was all Kentucky as they stayed on
the gas pedal and continued to push the lead. The Cats extended the lead to as
much as 34 points before closing the period with a 71-43 lead. As a team,
Kentucky shot 47% from the field on 17 attempts in the 3rd period.
Playing into the 4th quarter Kentucky
showed no signs of slowing down, keeping the lead built as they closed out the
contest. In the end the Cats were led on the stat sheet by Rhyne Howard who
tallied 24PTS, 6REB, and 3AST. Kentucky cruised to a 79-54 victory over Morehead
state.
When asked about his teams’ dominance post-game,
Kentucky head coach Mathew Mitchell stated that he was “proud of his team for
improving in practice and then coming out and letting some of that shine
through in the game…there were a lot of positives tonight.”
No. 13 ranked Kentucky improves to 5-0 on the season
and will take the court next on Tuesday night at 7pm at Memorial Coliseum
against the Grambling State Tigers (1-4).
