By Boyd Hayes

bhayes@kykernel.com

All but one of 12 available players on UKs roster scored, as the Cats rolled to a 113-33 victory over Bellarmine in the first and only exhibition of the season Monday.

Despite the prolific performance, hoops head coach Matthew Mitchell believes his team still has work to do.

“We were looking for some great attitude, great effort and great energy from our players tonight. I think we had a good night at that,” he said. “We are not where we need to be, but we will keep working towards that. But I was happy with what we got tonight.”

The 113 points were the most scored by a UK team since 1990, and the third-most scored in a single game in school history. The win puts Mitchell at 114 wins as the Cats head coach and third-most all-time with the program.

“I guess there’s going to be a lot of dead chickens,” said sophomore guard Bria Goss in response to a Raising Cane’s promotion that gives fans free chicken when UK scores 35 or more points in the first half.

The points came quickly, and seemingly easily for UK, as the Cats had size and depth over the Knights. Junior forward Samarie Walker, the Cats’ top scorer (19 points, 9-of-9 field goals), dominated the post, along with junior center DeNesha Stallworth (11 points).

Also scoring in double figures were senior guard A’dia Mathies (13 points), Goss (16 points), junior guard Bernisha Pinkett (15 points) and sophomore center Azia Bishop (13 points).

With Mitchell’s 12-deep rotation, the starting five were not on the court long to start the game. Of the 12 Kentucky players, 10 played at least 12 minutes each, with no player logging more than 24 minutes on the court.

The Cats’ defense was stifling, forcing Bellarmine to turn the ball over 27 times in the first half and 46 times on the game. The imposing post play of Walker, Stallworth, Bishop, sophomore forward Jelleah Sidney and senior forward Brittany Henderson left the Cats with seven blocks on the stat sheet.

UK also charted 66 points in the paint and 67 points off of turnovers.

Freshman guard Janee Thompson, a 2012 McDonald’s All-American, logged her first minutes as a Cat, scratching out nine points, four assists, and four rebounds.

No Bellarmine player reached double figures, as senior Lauren Jones led the Knights with nine points.

The hoops squad’s next game is Saturday, Nov. 10, against Delaware State. The game will begin at 1 p.m. in Memorial Coliseum.