By Josh Huff

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UK eased all doubts of a letdown on Wednesday when it shot out to a 14-0 run to open the game against Morehead State and carried that momentum to a convincing 91-62 win that concluded its stretch of three games in six days.

“It’s a very tough stretch we’ve just come out of,” said head coach Matthew Mitchell. “And (I’m) just very, very happy we were able to get the victory today. I want to compliment Morehead State. I thought they played very hard, really hung in there and kept playing.”

The game was never in question as No. 13 UK carried over its suffocating defense from Monday’s victory against No. 8 Baylor. Morehead struggled to find any rhythm against the taller, faster and more talented roster of the Cats.

Senior guard Bria Goss got things rolling for UK, draining her first three-pointer of the game after the Cats won the tip-off. The combination of fellow guards Jennifer O’Neill and Linnae Harper sealed the deal after that, and did so before the Eagles could even break a sweat.

The Cats used a 17-1 run to stretch their lead to 40-12 in the first half, but Morehead’s Casey Ryans’ nine points helped cut UK’s lead to 45-24 just before halftime.

Despite the 21-point lead, the Cats struggled to shoot the ball in the first half, going 16-45 from the field. But their 31 rebounds helped separate themselves from the Eagles, who experienced their own struggles by going 0-for-3 from beyond the arc while committing 12 turnovers in the first half.

Fortunately for UK, the lead was close to insurmountable. The Cats continued to struggle from the field and the charity stripe in the second half as the Eagles narrowed the lead to 13 points with six minutes remaining. But UK maintained its lead because of its 20-rebound advantage and Morehead’s 24 turnovers.

Until the Cats can find a rhythm on offense, they are going to have to live and die by their “40 minutes of dread” defense that, so far, has wreaked havoc upon opponents. Against Morehead State, UK scored 35 points off of opposing turnovers, and scored 30 more points off of second-chance opportunities.

“We had a hard time keeping them off the glass,” said Eagles head coach Greg Todd.

It’s apparent that Mitchell’s preseason goal of winning games using pressure defense and up-tempo offense is coming to fruition. UK’s subpar shooting performance Wednesday doesn’t belay the talent that is evident on this team. Some teams will run their opponents out of the gym while others will use a constant combination of offense and defense to break opponents down and force them to make mistakes.

This UK team falls in the latter.

“We found out a few things about our team,” Mitchell said. “And now it’s going to be great to have a couple days to practice. We need it badly right now.”