Photo by Keyli Chisesi (Go Big Blue Country)
The Kentucky Women’s basketball team hosted Southern Indiana at Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, their only exhibition game on the schedule. Kentucky shot 51% from the floor and 38% from three-point range to register an 87-56 victory.
Fourteen players saw the floor for Kentucky and ten of them found the scoring column, led by Maci Morris with 19, Taylor Murray 11, and Tatyana Wyatt 10 points.
The Wildcats trailed 12-9 at the first media timeout but used a 38-13 run to take a 47-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Early in the first half, both teams were loose with the basketball. The Wildcats were looking to make the extra pass, which resulted in a high amount of turnovers.
Junior guard Maci Morris settled the Wildcats in with two three-pointers in the opening quarter and scored 11 of her team-high 19 points in the first half. The 6-0 guard connected on 6-of-8 field goal attempts, including 3-of-4 from long range. Morris also got her teammates involved on offense, finishing second on the team with four assists.
Joining Morris in double figures was junior guard Taylor Murray and freshman Tatyana Wyatt. Murray posted an all-around game on offense, finishing with 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Wyatt, who saw her first action as a Wildcat, added 10 points and 5 rebounds.
Midway through the second half, Kentucky went on a scoring drought of nearly five minutes, resulting in their 22 point halftime lead being trimmed to 17 with 2:45 to go in the third quarter. The Wildcats responded with a 9-3 run to close the third quarter to push the lead to 67-44 going into the fourth quarter.
Kentucky wrapped up the game in the final quarter, outscoring Southern Indiana 20-12 to set the final score at 87-56.
The Wildcats shared the ball all game, assisting on 21 of 30 made shots. Turnovers were a major issue for Kentucky, as they finished with 22. That number will need to fall and it should as the younger players gain more experience.
Sunday nights exhibition is the only one the Wildcats will play, as they are set to open the season on Friday, November 10th vs. Sacramento State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. next Friday at Memorial Coliseum.
