FINAL: Kentucky Women’s Basketball dominate Lee in 95-51 victory

As expected, Kentucky Women’s Basketball had its way with the Lee University Lady Flames during Thursday night’s exhibition. The ‘Cats used its athletic advantages to handily defeat Lee 95-51. Dre’Una Edwards led the ‘Cats with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Meanwhile, Olivia Owens and Rhyne Howard trailed slightly behind with a combined 33 points.

Though the contest was only an exhibition, there was plenty of exciting action. If you weren’t able to make it out to Memorial Coliseum, we’ve got you covered.

Kentucky Women’s Basketball claw out first quarter lead

Kentucky starters for tonight’s exhibition against Lee:

G Jazmine Massengill
G Emma King
F Rhyne Howar
F Dre’Una Edwards
C Olivia Owens

— Grant Grubbs (@grant_grubbs_) November 4, 2021

The ‘Cats didn’t start the game looking like the dominant force they were expected to be. While Kentucky wasn’t struggling to put points on the board, neither was the Lady Flames. Halfway through the first quarter, the game was tied at 12 points.

With the pressure on, the ‘Cats responded. Going into a full-court press, the Wildcats started to find their rhythm. Howard was in every passing lane, Jada Walker was taking charges and Lee was panicking. In three minutes, the ‘Cats went on a 10-0 run and caused four Lee turnovers.

The Wildcats kept their momentum going and closed out the quarter on a nice stop-and-pop by Jazmine Massengill to take a commanding 29-12 lead.

Sped-up second quarter

If Lee was hoping the break would slow down this nightmare, they were in for a rude awakening. The ‘Cats continued their impressive display of defense throughout the period. Not to mention, Howard was starting to heat up. Just three minutes into the second period, the star Wildcat already had 15 points.

Kentucky’s guards weren’t the only ‘Cats catching fire. Halfway through the period, Edwards and Owens had a combined 19 points. Freshman Jada Walker did her fair share as well, adding seven points and a steal.

To close out the half, the Wildcats made four of their final five shots and forced a two-minute Lee scoring drought. Furthermore, Lee University had 14 turnovers compared to Kentucky’s mere three. When the dust settled, Kentucky Women’s Basketball headed into the locker room with a dominant 56-27 lead.

Up by 29 at halftime with a whole lot more game left to play. 😼#CommitToIt pic.twitter.com/mZPvu3wXxj

— Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) November 4, 2021

Kentucky Women’s Basketball stay steady in the third

Kentucky Women’s Basketball wasn’t only outshining Lee in skill, but pure athleticism, too. Heading into the second half, the ‘Cats had 11 offensive rebounds and they weren’t slowing down. To score Kentucky’s first points of the half, Owens grabbed her own missed shot and finished through contact.

Though the ‘Cats were finding success offensively, they were still struggling to defend DII All-American Haley Schubert. The 5-foot-7 guard had 24 points at the close of the third frame.

Lee’s star was glowing, but Kentucky’s stars were shining. Howard, Owens and Edwards had a combined 48 points. The ‘Cats strolled into the final 10 minutes of the contest ahead 76-47.

Finishing strong in the fourth

The game may have been out of reach for the Lady Flames, but they never showed any signs of quitting. The final period was a battle of pride between the two teams. The Wildcats continued to get each player touches and Lee stuck with Schubert’s stunning skills.

By the conclusion of the contest, every Wildcat other than walk-on Kristen Crenshaw-Gill had scored. To parallel this stat, Schubert finished the game with 28 points and was the only Lady Flame to reach double digits. The game was truly a tale of two teams.

Closing out the game on a 9-0 run, the ‘Cats triumphed 95-51 over the Lee Lady Flames. At the end of the day, Kentucky Women’s Basketball’s rebounding and tenacious defense proved to be too much for the DII program. The ‘Cats next contest will be on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. against Presbyterian College.