No. 16 Kentucky uses school-record shooting performance to blowout Mississippi State, 91-69
One of the SEC’s worst 3-point shooting teams caught fire on Thursday night and Mississippi State was the victim.
No. 16 Kentucky came into the ball game 13th in the league with 30% makes from long range on the year and the Wildcats would burn the Bulldogs with a 18-for-33 showing. The school record for makes gave State no chance in a 91-69 beatdown in Lexington.
“You have to tip your hat – they haven’t shot threes well all year. Tonight was their night,” coach Sam Purcell said. “(Georgia Amoore) is one of the best in the country and she took advantage when she got out in the open court.”
Wildcat duo blister Bulldog defense
Amoore and Dazia Lawrence dominated State’s defense with their shooting. Lawrence had 28 points on 7-of-11 from three and Amoore finished with 27 points on 7-of-10 from long range while dishing out nine assists.
While the Wildcats burned up the nets, the Bulldogs couldn’t answer with their own offense.
State shot 36% (26-of-73) and made just 4-of-15 from 3-point range. Jerkaila Jordan and Eniya Russell were a combined 12-of-36 from the field in the loss. Jordan did have a team-high 17 points but was 7-of-21 from the field. Russell had 13 points and was 5-of-15 with six rebounds in her return back to play her former team.
UK’s length and shooting ability were an issue for State’s stingy defense all night. Despite entering with one of the nation’s most effective defenses this year, the Bulldogs couldn’t slow down the Wildcats.
A 25-18 lead in the first quarter set the tone and UK continued to build that lead in the second quarter as it took a 49-35 lead into the break. The start of the third quarter would virtually end the Bulldogs’ chances of making any kind of noise in the second half as UK went on a 10-0 run to take a 59-35 advantage.
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MSU would fight to claw back to make it a 13-point game late in the third, but UK’s hot shooting pushed the lead right back out. State gave up 24 or more points in three quarters.
Quanirah Montague had 13 points off the bench with five rebounds on 5-of-6. Destiney McPhaul had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists. Madina Okot played just 12 minutes thanks to four fouls.
The Bulldogs actually cut down on their turnovers in the loss with 10 and had just six in the final three quarters. Unfortunately, the Wildcats made the most of those with 15 points off of turnovers. State was outrebounded 40-36 but had 42 points in the paint.
Up Next
The loss was just the second of the season for State (13-2, 0-1 SEC) but the road is only getting tougher in conference play. The Bulldogs are returning home on Sunday to take on No. 2 and defending national champions South Carolina before hosting No. 9 Oklahoma. Game time on Sunday is set for 1 p.m. and will be on SEC Network.
“Top to bottom, this league is a beast,” Purcell said. “It’s the defending national champion coming in and there’s nothing better than playing a tough game like this on the road and then coming back home to have a great home crowd.”
