Photo by Britney Howard | UK Athletics
The UK Women’s Basketball Team improved to 8-0 with an 87-57 win over Morehead State on Wednesday.
It was a big game for Maci Morris as the 25th ranked Wildcats continued their hot play to start the season. Here were some individual and team notes following the win.
Team Records and Series Notes
- Kentucky moves to 8-0 on the season while Morehead State is now 6-2.
- The Wildcats will return to action next Thursday at 7 or 9 p.m. ET vs. Rhode Island inside Memorial Coliseum. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+ while Darren Headrick will have the call on radio on the UK Sports Network.
- Kentucky is now 31-4 all-time against Morehead State.
- The Wildcats hold a 21-1 mark against the Eagles in Lexington.
- UK has won 14 straight meetings in the series.
- Matthew Mitchell is now 9-0 against his former team.
- UK is now 806-532 all-time in program history.
- Matthew Mitchell is in his 12th year with the Wildcats and holds a 264-117 record. Mitchell is 294-146 overall in 14 years as a head coach.
- Kentucky is ranked No. 25 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today/Coaches Top 25. The Wildcats entered the rankings this week for the first time since December of 2017.
- UK has started the season with 8-0 record, which is its best start to a season since beginning the 2015-16 season 10-0.
Team Notes
- Kentucky used the starting combination of senior guard Taylor Murray, senior guard Maci Morris, freshman guard Rhyne Howard, sophomore forward KeKe McKinney and sophomore forward Tatyana Wyatt.
- Kentucky is now 7-0 this season with this starting combination.
- It was a game of runs early as Kentucky started the game on a 7-0 run before five straight points from Morehead State. The Cats answered with a 11-0 run to take a double-digit lead early in the first quarter.
- The Wildcats hit seven of their first 12 shots, including 2-of-3 from long range.
- Kentucky shot 63 percent from the field in the first quarter, going 10-of-16.
- Ten of UK’s 26 first-quarter points were in the paint.
- The Wildcats had six turnovers in the first quarter, while forcing Morehead State into seven and scoring eight points off those miscues.
- Kentucky repeated its 26-point performance in the second quarter, limiting MSU to just nine points.
- It was the 10th time this season UK has limited a team to 10 points or less in a quarter.
- Maci Morris paced UK in the second quarter with 19 points, adding four 3-pointers.
- UK scored 16 points off seven MSU turnovers in the second quarter alone.
- MSU went just 2-of-12 from the field in the second quarter.
- UK went on two 10-0 runs or better during the game, including a 11-0 run in the first quarter and 10-0 run in the third quarter.
- Kentucky scored 20 or more points in every quarter but the fourth, which Morehead State won, 22-13.
- UK held Morehead State, the nation’s No. 3 scoring offense, to a season-low 57 points in the game.
- The Wildcats forced 25 turnovers and scored 38 points off those miscues.
- UK has now forced 212 turnovers in its eight games, scoring 247 points off turnovers.
- The Wildcats have forced 25 or more turnovers in five of their eight games.
- Kentucky had 18 steals in the game, which is the second most steals this season.
- The Wildcats have 15 or more steals in four games this season.
Player Notes
- Senior guard Maci Morris scored a season-high 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting with four 3-pointers. Morris also added four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
- Morris now has 1,337 career points, which ranks 18th most in program history. She needs 2 more to tie Belitta Croley for 17th all-time in school history in points scored.
- Morris has 199 career 3-pointers made which ranks second in program history. She needs 72 more 3s to tie Sara Potts for most all-time.
- Morris was impressive in the first half, scoring 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting including 4-of-6 from long range. Morris ended the first half on a personal 8-0 run, including a 3 at the buzzer.
- In the second quarter alone, Morris made each of her last five shots and scored 19 points. She was 7-for-10 overall in the quarter and 4-of-5 from long range.
- Morris’ 25 first-half points are the most for any UK player in the first half since at least 1982-83. Single-game, halftime statistics are incomplete past that season.
- This was the second career 30+ scoring game for Morris.
- Morris has led Kentucky in scoring twice this season and 27 times in her career.
- Her 31 points were the most for any UK player since she scored a career-best 35 against South Carolina last season.
- Senior guard Taylor Murray scored 13 points with a team-best six assists, five steals and three rebounds in the game.
- Murray now has 1,083 career points and ranks 27th all-time in points scored. She needs 52 more points to tie Karen Mosley for 26th all-time.
- Murray has 364 career assists which ranks 10th most in program history. She needs 3 more to tie Tracye Davis for ninth all time.
- Murray has scored in double figures in every game this season.
- Murray has led Kentucky in assists in five games this season and 47 times in her career.
- Freshman guard Rhyne Howard recorded her second consecutive double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, adding four steals and two assists.
- Howard has scored 10 or more points in every game this season.
- Howard is the first player since Makenzie Cann last season to record back-to-back double-doubles.
- This was the third time that Howard has led Kentucky in rebounding this season.
- Howard has hit at least one 3-pointer in every game this season.
- Junior guard Jaida Roper scored a career-high tying 14 points going 10-of-10 from the free-throw line in the game.
- Roper also scored 14 points last season at Montana.
- Her 10-for-10 mark from the charity stripe was the most makes and most attempts in her career.
- Roper is the first UK player since Taylor Murray vs. Missouri on Jan. 30, 2017 to hit 10 or more free throws in a game. Murray also went 10-for-10 that game.
- Freshman guard Blair Green scored eight points with five rebounds in the game.
- The five rebounds were a career-high rebounds for Green.
- Green also played a career-high 32 minutes in the game.
- Junior guard Amanda Paschal had a career-high six rebounds in the game.
