UK Women "Survive and Advance," Beats UNC-Asheville 85-31.
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(@UKPhotogs)[/caption]
Kentucky started their march to the Final Four in the friendly confines of Memorial Coliseum this afternoon against 14 seeded UNC-Asheville. Kentucky took control of the game early and never looked back, getting the 85-31 victory.
The Cats started the game on a high note with a layup by Evelyn Akhator to take the quick lead. Epps scored shortly after to extend Kentucky’s lead to 4. Asheville finally scored with 6:51 left in the first quarter to cut into the Wildcat lead, but Bell County’s own Maci Morris hit her first three pointer on the next possession with Makayla Epps following up shortly after with a breakaway layup. Kentucky continued to roll, extending their lead all the way to thirteen with two minutes left in the first quarter. At the end of the first period, the Cats led by 13, 24-11.
Kentucky continued to be too much for the Bulldogs to handle in the second quarter. The Wildcats went on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 19, before Ashville was able to finally make a shot 6:30 left in the half. Makayla Epps got the Cats a 22 point lead with a massive three pointer, but UNC-Asheville answered soon after, cutting it back down to 19. In the closing minutes of the first half, Asheville only made 1 of their last 9 shots, going on a 2:42 scoring drought. At the end of the first half, Kentucky led by 21, 37-16. Epps led all scorers with a stellar 16 points and Akhator had 5 rebounds. Kentucky was out-rebounding the Bulldogs 42-14 and had forced UNC-A into 8 turnovers.
UK started off the second half with back to back threes from Epps and Morris, extending the lead to 25. UNC-Asheville wasn’t helping themselves any, committing 3 turnovers in two minutes and only making 1 of their last 7 FGs with 5 minutes left in the third period. The Cats went on a 20-4 run to end the third quarter, leading by 36 with thirteen minutes still left in the game. At the end of the third quarter, Cats led big, 63-26.
The final ten minutes of the game was much like the other 30 minutes, Kentucky kept control and continued to extend their lead. UNC-Asheville only made 1 of their last 14 shots in the game, while the Cats went on a 15-0 run. Kentucky came out with a 54 point victory (85-31) and the opportunity to see 6 seeded Oklahoma in Memorial on Monday.
“We are really proud of this victory and proud to move forward in this tournament,” Coach Mitchell said after the game. “What we wanted today was to win and we did that. We are happy with how today went.”
To say Kentucky performed well in front of the home crowd is an understatement. The Cats shot 50% from the field, while holding the Bulldogs to 21%. The Cats shot 50% from the three point arc as well. UNC-Asheville committed 15 turnovers. Kentucky had 50 rebounds to UNC-A’s 31, and tallied 17 assists. Three Wildcats ended in double-digit scoring: Makayla Epps with 24 points and 5 assists, Evelyn Akhator with 10 points and 7 rebounds, and Janee Thompson with 13 points. Batouly Camara had 11 rebounds.
Here’s today’s box score:
Kentucky will be back in Memorial for the second round game vs. 6th seed Oklahoma on Monday. Tip time to be announced. Oklahoma beat Purdue by 16 earlier this afternoon.
Here’s an updated bracket (as of 6:30pm):
See you Monday in Memorial, #BBN. Go Cats.
(@UKPhotogs)[/caption]
Kentucky started their march to the Final Four in the friendly confines of Memorial Coliseum this afternoon against 14 seeded UNC-Asheville. Kentucky took control of the game early and never looked back, getting the 85-31 victory.
The Cats started the game on a high note with a layup by Evelyn Akhator to take the quick lead. Epps scored shortly after to extend Kentucky’s lead to 4. Asheville finally scored with 6:51 left in the first quarter to cut into the Wildcat lead, but Bell County’s own Maci Morris hit her first three pointer on the next possession with Makayla Epps following up shortly after with a breakaway layup. Kentucky continued to roll, extending their lead all the way to thirteen with two minutes left in the first quarter. At the end of the first period, the Cats led by 13, 24-11.
Kentucky continued to be too much for the Bulldogs to handle in the second quarter. The Wildcats went on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 19, before Ashville was able to finally make a shot 6:30 left in the half. Makayla Epps got the Cats a 22 point lead with a massive three pointer, but UNC-Asheville answered soon after, cutting it back down to 19. In the closing minutes of the first half, Asheville only made 1 of their last 9 shots, going on a 2:42 scoring drought. At the end of the first half, Kentucky led by 21, 37-16. Epps led all scorers with a stellar 16 points and Akhator had 5 rebounds. Kentucky was out-rebounding the Bulldogs 42-14 and had forced UNC-A into 8 turnovers.
UK started off the second half with back to back threes from Epps and Morris, extending the lead to 25. UNC-Asheville wasn’t helping themselves any, committing 3 turnovers in two minutes and only making 1 of their last 7 FGs with 5 minutes left in the third period. The Cats went on a 20-4 run to end the third quarter, leading by 36 with thirteen minutes still left in the game. At the end of the third quarter, Cats led big, 63-26.
The final ten minutes of the game was much like the other 30 minutes, Kentucky kept control and continued to extend their lead. UNC-Asheville only made 1 of their last 14 shots in the game, while the Cats went on a 15-0 run. Kentucky came out with a 54 point victory (85-31) and the opportunity to see 6 seeded Oklahoma in Memorial on Monday.
“We are really proud of this victory and proud to move forward in this tournament,” Coach Mitchell said after the game. “What we wanted today was to win and we did that. We are happy with how today went.”
To say Kentucky performed well in front of the home crowd is an understatement. The Cats shot 50% from the field, while holding the Bulldogs to 21%. The Cats shot 50% from the three point arc as well. UNC-Asheville committed 15 turnovers. Kentucky had 50 rebounds to UNC-A’s 31, and tallied 17 assists. Three Wildcats ended in double-digit scoring: Makayla Epps with 24 points and 5 assists, Evelyn Akhator with 10 points and 7 rebounds, and Janee Thompson with 13 points. Batouly Camara had 11 rebounds.
Here’s today’s box score:
Kentucky will be back in Memorial for the second round game vs. 6th seed Oklahoma on Monday. Tip time to be announced. Oklahoma beat Purdue by 16 earlier this afternoon.
Here’s an updated bracket (as of 6:30pm):
See you Monday in Memorial, #BBN. Go Cats.
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