By Boyd Hayes

bhayes@kykernel.com

Opening the regular season in Memorial Coliseum, No. 6 UK Hoops registered a commanding 90-50 victory over the Hornets of Delaware State Saturday.

The meeting was the first between the two schools, as sixth-year UK head coach Matthew Mitchell put his team up against the Hornets’ first-year head coach, Tamika Louis.

Starting for the Cats were sophomore Bria Goss, senior A’dia Mathies, and juniors Maegan Conwright, DeNesha Stallworth and Samarie Walker. Mathies, Goss, and Stallworth lead UK in scoring with 16, 14, and 11 points, respectively.

Conwright was back for Mitchell’s squad after missing Monday’s exhibition against Bellarmine with an ankle injury. She tallied seven points and four rebounds, as well as dishing a behind-the-back assist to redshirt sophomore Jennifer O’Neill on the fast break to much applause from the 4,637 fans in attendance.

“I think you see she was not at full speed, but [with] her mentality, her pace, I though we were better when she was in the game,” Mitchell said of Conwright’s return.

UK ran a very deep rotation, with 12 of 13 players putting points on the board, and 10 players seeing at least 10 minutes of playing time each. Mathies led the team in minutes with 28 and Goss played 23 minutes for the second-most.

“We do want a deep rotation, but they really have to earn that playing time in practice,” Mitchell said. “I was happy everybody got a chance to play. Wish every game was like that.”

The Cats were accurate from the field, shooting 54 percent overall and 45.5 percent from three-point range. On the other side of the court, DSU ran into a very focused UK defense, as they shot 37 percent from the field and did not attempt any three-pointers. Only four DSU players were able to score, with sophomore preseason All-MEAC first-team selection Tierra Hawkins leading her team with 28 points.

“The first part of building our team and our defensive identity starts with [a high level of intensity],” Mitchell said.

Louis also praised UK’s defense.

“Our second string, or lack there of, cannot simulate Kentucky,” she said. “They’re just as good, even better, in person than they are on film. And they’ve gotten better from last year.”

Mathies was happy with the final result of her team’s effort.

“We just tried to play Kentucky basketball. [We] tried to play 40 minutes of our best, and we felt like if we do that, we should have a great victory, and we did tonight,” she said.

Mathies also talked about staying focused on Delaware State, despite having an away game against No. 1 Baylor around the corner.

“We know if we don’t focus on every game and play defense and play offense like we’re supposed to, then anybody is capable of beating us, and anybody is capable of beating up anybody,” she said. “We take each game at a time and our focus tonight was Delaware State, and I think we went out there and handle business tonight.”

The Cats play next on the road in Waco, Texas, against No. 1 Baylor on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m. EST. That game will be broadcast on ESPN2.