UK Hoops forced a program-record 49 turnovers en route to a 101-43 victory over the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions at Memorial Coliseum Sunday afternoon.

The Cats completely dominated the game from the start, holding the Golden Lions without a field goal for the first five minutes during an 11-1 start.

The Cats’ signature defense was augmented by a greater focus on taking care of the basketball themselves.

“Today we were really focused on our turnover margin. Turnovers are great but really the main focus is margin,” said UK head coach Matthew Mitchell. “The margin today is really unbelievable. That is the players focusing on both ends.”

The Cats turned the ball over 10 times, giving them a positive 39 turnover margin.

“That was the key point of today’s game,” said senior guard Keyla Snowden. “Our defense is what we focus on so we want to be the best at turnover margin in the country.”

The Cats had balanced scoring, with five players netting double-digits. They were led by freshman Bria Goss and senior Keyla Snowden, with 19 each.

A’dia Mathies sat out after suffering a sprained ankle in practice Saturday. Mitchell said the doctor was encouraged but that x-rays will be conducted Monday as a precautionary measure.

“We are hopeful it is not too severe. Those are tricky and funny and you just never know how quickly a player (can recover),” said Mitchell. “Sometimes a player can bounce back in a couple days and sometimes not.”

Senior Crystal Riley played her first minutes of the season, returning from a nagging foot injury.

“Crystal isn’t going to get to practice a whole lot this year because of the troubles she has had with her feet,” said Mitchell. “She is a good weapon for us and she can keep the tempo going and I thought that she played pretty good defense.”

“I was very winded,” said Riley of her return to action. “All together it felt good. It is way better than sitting on the sideline.”

The win completed a series of nine consecutive home games, all wins, for the Cats. Next up for the Cats (10-0) is the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1) in South Bend Sunday.