Kentucky puts its all together in 98-37 win vs. Wofford on Sunday in Memorial Coliseump
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Dre’una Edwards scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Rhyne Howard had 18 points, four rebounds and four assists as the ninth-ranked Kentucky women’s basketball team cruised past Wofford 98-37 on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Coliseum.
Chasity Patterson had 17 points and four assists for the Cats, while Olivia Owens was also in double figures for UK with 10 points. Kentucky had 11 players score in the game.
Kentucky made 39 of its 77 shots (50.6 percent), while holding Wofford to just 13 of 46 (28.3 percent). The Cats forced 33 Wofford turnovers and turned those into a whopping 49 points. UK also held big advantages in second-chance points (21-4), bench points (32-8), points in the paint (56-18) and fast break points (25-6).
Kentucky opened the scoring on an Edwards steal and layup, but that was the only field goal in the game’s first three minutes. Each team got a pair of free throws and Kentucky led 4-2 early.
The Cats would eventually get the offense going, with a pair of baskets from Olivia Owens, to take a 10-2 lead early. Kentucky’s defense would force Wofford to miss its first 11 shots of the game before a three-pointer from Lilly Hatton broke the streak for the Terriers and cut the UK lead to 10-5. But the Cats would score the next 11, including the first UK points for Jazmine Massengill, to lead 21-5 after 10 minutes of play.
As the second quarter began, Kentucky’s attack continued. The Cats got baskets from Blair Green and Patterson to start the period, extending the lead to 25-5. After Wofford got a basket from Helen Matthews, Kentucky scored eight in a row on an Edwards layup, three-pointers from Howard and Robyn Benton and a Benton layup, to take a commanding 35-7 lead with 3:57 left in the half. In all, it was a 25-2 Kentucky run that turned a five-point lead into a 26 point advantage.
But the Cats were not done. In fact, Kentucky would close the period on a 13-2 run to take a 48-11 lead into the break. Altogether, Kentucky outscored Wofford 38-6 over the last 14:22 of the first half.
Eight Wildcats scored in the first half, with Howard scoring nine, while Benton and Patterson each had eight. Kentucky made half of its field goals (19-38), while holding Wofford to just three of 25 (12.0 percent) shooting in the first 20 minutes. UK also forced 18 Wofford turnovers and turned those into 24 points in the first half. The taller Cats also held a 24-4 advantage in points in the paint in the first half.
As the second half began, the onslaught continued. Kentucky scored four baskets, all off Wofford turnovers, in the first 54 seconds of the third quarter to lead 56-11. After Wofford scored five in a row, Kentucky answered by scoring the next 18 straight to lead 74-16 with 3:07 left in the third. Howard had a pair of threes in the run than ended on a Nyah Leveretter layup and free throw.
Wofford would have a run of its own near the end of the third, scoring eight in a row to make it 74-24. But Kentucky would lead 75-24 after three periods.
In the fourth quarter, Kentucky continued to stretch the lead, with the final margin being the biggest lead that UK had on the day.
Kentucky will return to action on Dec. 31, opening SEC play against Arkansas at Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff for the New Year’s Eve contest is set for 8:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
‑ GO CATS –
For more information contact:
Evan Crane; [email protected]; (859) 257-8431
Cami Moore; [email protected]; (859) 257-8431
UK ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
NO. 9 KENTUCKY VS. WOFFORD
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2020
MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
#15 Chasity Patterson, G, Sr.
On your mindset going up against opposing point guards, recording 10 steals…
“Like I said before, I’m just trying to bring energy to the team, and make the big plays on the defensive side of the ball. That’s mainly my mindset, is to try and make a big play on defense and get my team going.”
On what Coach Kyra Elzy told you after DePaul and before Wofford…
“She basically told us that we have to buckle down on defense, and really just focus on that. We didn’t bring the effort that we needed in the last game, so we just went back and worked on our defensive fundamentals, and just saying that everybody is going to commit to defense. So, that was the main message coming out of our last practice.”
On what you will work on in the next two weeks before you face Arkansas…
“We’re going to continue to focus on things that we need to get better on. Defense, working on our offense. We’re going to get shots up and stuff. We’re going to get a chance to go home and enjoy our families for a little bit, but then it’s back to work.”
On how different is the team with Jazmine Massengill on the floor…
“It’s definitely great to have Jazmine eligible to play. You now, she can play that wing. I can move to the wing and she can play point. So, it just really makes our team more versatile, and we can be more aggressive, too, with her.”
On starting slow and then taking off offensively…
“Definitely having a post presence really helped us. You know, shots weren’t falling, so we through it inside to see how the defense played, but our post does a great job of getting us the ball and feeding it to us, so we just take what the defense gives us.”
#13 Jazmine Massengill, G, Jr.
On getting back to the floor since March…
“It was difficult trying to work the kinks out, trying to regain chemistry with a new team, but it was definitely a fun experience and I’m glad to be here.”
On how you feel you performed overall…
“For the first game back. I feel like I did a pretty good job. I was trying to be poised, trying to not be nervous. You know, the first game jitters, but I feel like I did pretty well overall.”
On getting this win after a road loss last Wednesday…
“Yeah, that was very much drilled in. Coach (Kyra) Elzy said we’re not really worried about Wofford, we’re worried about us as a team. So, be good with each other. Don’t focus on how bad the score is, focus on what we can do to get better as a team.”
On what part of the game you feel like Kentucky did best tonight…
“Definitely the defensive intensity. I feel like from the DePaul game to this game, we definitely increased that and went back to Kentucky basketball.”
On the main thing that you can bring to this team as a 6-foot point guard…
“Just to remain poised and bring the team together. We have so much talent. We have plenty of leadership on the team, so just trying to be a facilitator on the team, not trying to outplay my role and do too much. We have plenty of scorers, so just giving my team the ball.”
Head Coach Kyra Elzy
On overall outcomes today after losing to DePaul on Wednesday…
“Well, that looks like the Kentucky team that we are accustom to seeing. One of the things that I talked to them about, along with this staff, we are going to lay our hearts on the floor today. When you are in between the lines, you are going to leave your heart there. I thought he intensity was much better. We talked about, if you are tired, we will sub you out, but when you’re out there, we’re going to give it our all. I thought the level in intensity raised because of that.”
On if you were impressed with the margin of the win, or what was most impressive…
“Obviously, we wanted to win. That was the goal. But, there were different things that we were looking for defensively. I wanted to make sure that we were in our press, and that we made them play fast, and that we got them into traps, we were rotating up, and we wern’t just sitting back on our heels. We wanted to force 25 or more turnovers. I challenged them at halftime, we had 18 at that time, that we were not going to let up, see if we can get 18 more. So, I think we were really locked into the goals that we were trying to achieve defensively. One of the things that we talked about, if you don’t step up and take a charge, you will come out of the game, so if you all could not tell, I was very excited on the sideline. We had four charges today, which is a big step forward in our defense. Olivia Owens had two, KeKe McKinney had one, and Rhyne Howard had one, so that was a big day for us defensively.”
On half of Kentucky’s points being scored off turnovers…
“Well, today I am very happy. I do think, you know, we’re going to have to generate points off of our defense to create easy scoring opportunities, as well as sprint int transition. I thought we missed some opportunities at DePaul so, pushing the pace to score easy, then you don’t put so much pressure on your half-court offense. But, I love that we are sharing the basketball. One thing I love about this team, they play team basketball offensively, they know how to set each other up, and we have so many people that can score in different positions, which makes us hard to guard.”
On Chasity Patterson at point…
“No, we never want her to back off. Our mindset is we want her to push the tempo, be aggressive offensively, obviously she can score. But, we really challenge her on the defensive end, stay locked in. She’s getting her hands on basketballs, she is getting steals every game, multiple. And, that just makes her even better defensively, because then she can take it down and score easy points. But, I want her to be as aggressive as she can be on both sides of the floor.”
On how Jazmine Massengill played and what she can bring to the floor this year…
“Well, Jazmine has a high basketball IQ. She is a seasoned vet. She is athletic. And, she fits our style of play. She knows how to push and score in transition when we need. She also knows how to slow up and get us in an offense. Then defensively, I mean she is a 6-foot point guard, so her athleticism and her strength is definitely and advantage for us defensively.”
On 10 days off before the next game and can you elaborate on your ugly sweater…
“Well, two things, we will keep them sharp because we will go back to practice. We will get on the practice floor and continue to work on the things that we need to in order to get better before we head into the SEC season. They will go home for the Christmas break, and my prayers are already going up that everyone is safe and can remain COVID free. As far as the ugly sweater, I have to admit that last night on the way home I forgot today was our ugly sweater game, so I’m riding down Richmond Road and Coach Niya Butts said, uh do you have your ugly sweater, and I had to make a U-turn to Walmart, so this is what I came up with.”
On Nyah Leveretter separating herself from the other two freshmen…
“Well, the thing about Nyah, she has a high motor. I mean, she naturally just plays hard on both ends of the floor. I talk to her a lot about slowing down offensively, and defensively, even if she’s not in the proper position, or even if she doesn’t know what’s happening all the time, she plays so hard that she just makes things happen. And, her athleticism and her length, like today, she has a great knack for the ball, she knows how to go get it, we’re going to continue to work with her on the finishing around the rim. but you cannot teach go hard and high moto.”
