Jordan Obi stars in Kentucky debut as Cats get 75-59 victory over Morehead State

kentucky-begins-season-1-0-with-victory-over-morehead-state (1) — Photo of Kentucky guard Jordan Obi by UK Athletics

The Kentucky women’s basketball season got started on Monday as the Cats took on in-state foe Morehead State. The Eagles, led by the youngest head coach in the nation in Ashton Feldhaus (age 30), completely reconstructed their roster with her taking over the program. Given her resume at the D-II level, she should be able to turn that program around — but that rebuild’s gonna have to wait for another day.

Kentucky would cruise to a victory in Historic Memorial Coliseum, downing the Eagles 75-59.

The game got started off rather slowly for Kentucky, getting down 13-10 midway through the first quarter. However, Kentucky would end the period on a 21-4 run behind nine points and four rebounds from Penn transfer Jordan Obi, who missed all of last season with a lower leg injury. After one, it was 25-17 Cats.

Putting the ball in the hoop was an issue for Kentucky during the first half. Through two quarters of play, Kentucky was just 17-42 (40%) from the field overall and 3-16 (19%) from three-point range. Asia Boone, who was a marksman at Liberty, started the game 0-4 from deep.

However, the defense locked in a bit, holding the Eagles to just 10 points in the second quarter. At the break, it was 43-27 Cats with Obi continuing to give the team life offensively.

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With a 14-1 run in the third quarter, Kentucky really put the stamp on its season-opening victory. Clara Strack, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, finished with 15 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and three steals on the night. Tonie Morgan and Amelia Hassett combined for 26 points on the night as well.

This team has a long way to go on both ends of the floor, but at the end of the day, a win is a win, right? Regardless, it’s good to see this group back in action. It’s a long season, and they have a lot of time to improve before March.

Next up on the schedule for Kentucky is Monmouth, who went 16-15 overall a year ago. The Cats take on the Hawks at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6 in Historic Memorial Coliseum on SEC Network+.