No. 13 Kentucky at Middle Tennessee
Murphy Center – Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Content by UK Athletics) Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019
No. 13 Kentucky 67, Middle Tennessee 52 – FINAL
Team Records and Series Notes
- Kentucky is 2-0, while Middle Tennessee is 1-1.
- This was Kentucky’s first road game of the season. The Wildcats are 77-64 on the road under Matthew Mitchell.
- Kentucky is 825-540 all-time, including 232-271 all-time on the road.
- This was the 22nd all-time meeting between and Middle Tennessee in women’s basketball.
- The Wildcats lead the all-time series in games played, 17-5.
- UK leads the series 6-4 in games played in Murfreesboro, including winning three of the last four games.
- The two teams have met every season since 2008. UK holds an 9-3 record during that stretch.
- Matthew Mitchell is in his 13th season as the head coach of the Wildcats.
- Mitchell is 313-154 overall in his career and 283-125 during his tenure at Kentucky.
Team NotesKentucky used the starting combination of sophomore guard Rhyne Howard, senior guards Sabrina Haines and Amanda Paschal, and junior forwards KeKe McKinney and Tatyana Wyatt.
UK is 2-0 this season when it uses that starting combination.
Middle Tennessee forced Kentucky into five turnovers in the first five minutes of the game, scoring four of its first five points off those miscues.
UK scored eight points in the first quarter, which was its fewest in a game this season and the least since scoring seven against Missouri in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals last season.
UK scored 10 or less points in the first quarter in three games last season (vs. Missouri, vs. Texas A&M and vs. Virginia). UK went 1-2 in those games with the win coming vs. UVA.
The Wildcats went just 2-of-12 from the field in the first quarter and are 9-of-32 from the field in the first quarter of both its games this season for just 28 percent.
Kentucky found some more offensive rhythm in the second quarter, going 5-of-16 from the field to take a 22-18 lead into the break.
UK’s 22 first-half points were its fewest since 19 vs. Missouri last year in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
Middle Tennessee’s 18 points in the first half were the fewest UK has allowed since holding LSU to 15 on Feb. 24, 2019 inside Memorial Coliseum.
The last time UK held an opponent on the road to 20 points or less in the first half was at Florida in 2017-18. UK accomplished that feat twice that season also holding Middle Tennessee to 20 points in the first half of a game played in December of 2017. The Blue Raiders came back to win that game, 62-57.
The Wildcats started the third quarter on a 13-0 run (15-0 counting the final two points of the second quarter).
The run was UK’s biggest of the season and the second run of 10-0 or better this season.
UK outscored MTSU 31-18 in the third quarter, going 13-of-20 from the field and 4-of-5 from long range.
After Kentucky grabbed its largest lead of the game of 23 at 49-26, the Blue Raiders went on a 15-4 run to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 53-41.
Part of that 15-4 run was a 10-0 run by the Blue Raiders. That run was ended on a basket by Ogechi Anyagaligbo with just under nine minutes to go in the game.
Kentucky grabbed back control of the game with a 11-2 run to take its lead back to 64-43 just over five minutes to go.
Team Notes
UK scored 45 points in the second half, which was its most points scored in the second half of a game since scoring 46 against Murray State on Nov. 21, 2018.
Player Notes
- Sophomore guard Rhyne Howard scored nine points with three blocks.
- Howard has hit at least one 3-pointer in 29 of her 34 career games.
- Junior forward Tatyana Wyatt scored seven points with five rebounds.
- Senior guard Jaida Roper scored five points with four assists and four rebounds.
- Senior guard Sabrina Haines scored 12 points, going 4-of-6 from long range in the game.
- Haines added four steals and two assists.
- The four 3-pointers made ties a career high in 3s made by Haines.
- Haines’ four steals ties a career high.
- Senior guard Amanda Paschal led Kentucky with 16 points, going 5-of-8 from the field and 1-of-1 from 3.
- Paschal went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, which ties a career high in free-throws made.
- She had six rebounds in the game with three assists and two steals.
- Junior forward KeKe McKinney only scored two points but had six rebounds and four blocks in the game.
- For the season, McKinney has 13 rebounds and seven blocks.
