No. 23 Kentucky women’s basketball (5-0) remains undefeated through five games with a 76-44 win over Marshall (2-2).
The Wildcats defense made up for offensive inconsistencies once again. The Wildcats had a few scoreless stretches but defensive dominance allowed them to keep the game out of reach.
The Thundering Herd were playing incredibly aggressive defense, full court presses and active zone defense caused struggles for Kentucky. The Wildcats offense looked out of character for much of the game.
The Wildcats had a rough shooting night, ending the game 25-64 (39.1%) from the field, 9-32 (28.1%) from 3-point range.
The defense didn’t allow Marshall to shoot well either. The Thundering Herd shot 14-50 (28%) from the field and 3-16 (18.8%) from three.
The Wildcats also won the battle on the glass comfortably, out-rebounding Marshall 54-28
Clara Strack recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 15 points, 13 rebounds and one block while shooting 5-10 (50%) from the field.
Jordan Obi led the team in scoring with 17 points on 5-12 (41.6%) shooting. The Wildcats have had a different player lead in scoring every game this season, Obi became the fifth.
Kentucky Started 0-6 from the field, Marshall was playing aggressive zone defense and Kentucky had issues getting the offense going.
Asia Boone ended the cold stretch with a 3-pointer 3:24 into the game
Marshall couldn’t find anything on the offensive end either, the Thundering Herd was held scoreless for 3:50 before getting on the board with a made free throw.
After her first bucket of the game, Strack went down holding her ankle. She was able to limp off the court and back to the locker room. Luckily for the Wildcats, She returned for the start of the second quarter and was available for the rest of the game.
The Thundering Herd didn’t make its first field goal until 6:35 into the game, when they made a 3-pointer to cut UK’s lead to 7-4.
UK held a 9-6 lead after one quarter, it was a defensive start to the game. Kentucky shot 3-17 (17.6%) from the field while Marshall shot 2-11 (18.1%). Suffocating defense resulted in a lack of shotmaking from both teams.
Kentucky scored on back-to-back possessions for the first time early in the second quarter. Strack hit a mid-range jumper before Obi converted an and one. This gave Kentucky a 16-8 lead with 7:44 left in the half.
Teonni Key made a layup 4:59 into the second quarter to give the Wildcats their 11th point of the quarter, surpassing their first quarter total of nine in half a quarter.
Kentucky mounted a 14-3 run in the last 3:17 of the first half to take a 36-17 lead into halftime.
The Wildcats scored three times as many points in the second quarter as they did in the first. This came from a big improvement in efficiency, UK shot 9-16 (56.3%) from the field and 3-7 (42.9%) from 3-point range in the quarter.
Marshall wasn’t able to get it going on the offensive end at all in the first half. The Thundering Herd entered the break shooting 6-22 (27.3%) from the field and 2-6 (33.3%) from 3-point range.
Kentucky was dominant on the glass in the first half, holding a 25-14 lead in the rebounding category. UK had 13 defensive boards and 12 on offense.
Strack led the Wildcats first-half scoring with nine points in just 13 minutes, she also grabbed seven rebounds.
Tonie Morgan had seven of the Wildcats eight assists in the first half, coming off of her record performance against USC Upstate.
The Wildcats mounted an 8-1 run in the first two minutes of the second half, seeming to have found an answer for the Thundering Herd’s defensive aggression. This extended UK’s lead to 46-18.
After that run Kentucky went scoreless for 3:22, shooting 0-6 in that stretch. Clara Strack put an end to the drought with a mid-range jumper for her 13th point of the game.
Marshall was held without a field goal in the last 4:30 of the third quarter, Kentucky also finished the quarter without a field goal in 3:29. The Wildcats held a 52-27 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Kentucky’s stretch without a field goal continued into the fourth quarter, Kentucky didn’t see its first made basket until 3:23 into the final quarter.
Boone made a 3-pointer to put an end to the Wildcats field goal drought after almost seven minutes.
Kentucky responded with a 16-7 run over the next five minutes.
Boone scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats next game will be back in Historic Memorial Coliseum to take on Purdue on Tuesday, Nov. 18, tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Kentucky beat the Boilermakers 82-52 in the first ever meeting between the two teams last season.
