UK Hoops win 72-34 against Gardner-Webb

[caption id="attachment_231601" align="alignnone" width="674"] (Via @KentuckyWBB)[/caption]   It was a rough start for UK Hoops this afternoon at Memorial Coliseum. Five minutes in to the game, the Cats offense had shot 2-of-5 from the field, giving Gardner-Webb an early lead of 6-2. Kentucky responded by turning up the defense early, forcing four early turnovers from GWU and going on an 8-0 run to secure their first lead of the game at 10-9. With No. 32 Jaida Roper hitting two big shots, the Cats increased this lead to 17-12 by the end of the first quarter. Roper continued to be a powerful force for UK Hoops, scoring 3-of-3 from the field in the early minutes of the second quarter. The Cats defense allowed GWU only four points in the second quarter, with No. 4 Maci Morrison ending the half as the lead scorer with eight points and three rebounds. Kentucky held a 19-point lead at halftime, with the score 35-16. UK Hoops slowed offensively in the third quarter, but still held a 31-point lead over GWU. The score at the end of the third quarter was 51-30. The Cats only increased this lead with a 13-0 during the fourth quarter, ending the game with a final score of 72-34. No. 22 Makenzie Cann, Roper, and Morris contributed 10 points each. Morris had her first career double-double, scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds. Rice was the lead scorer for Kentucky with 11 points total. 10 of the 11 UK Hoops players who took the court scored in today’s game. “Today was a day of improvement and I am really proud of our players for working hard this weekend to get two wins,” Coach Mitchell said in a post game press conference. UK Hoops is undefeated this season at 2-0. The Cats play the Montana Grizzlies on November 16, at 9 pm. UK Hoops will be back in Memorial on November 22 to play Morehead State at 2 pm.