The Good and Bad of UK Hoops' Dominating Win vs Colorado

Colorado coach Linda Lappe pleaded with officials to stop the game fifty seconds in during the Buffaloes Sunday matinee against the 13th ranked UK Hoops team.

Lappe was concerned about a thin layer of smoke left over from UK’s pregame introductions obscuring her team’s view of the basket. The officials granted Lappe’s request but when the smoke cleared her team’s shooting did not improve.

Kentucky held the visiting Buffalos to 14-percent shooting in the 1st quarter and jumped out to a 23-7 lead that they never relinquished on their way to a lopsided 86-51 win to improve to 4-0 on the season.

For the first time all season, Kentucky found a way to conquer their turnover problem while pressuring the Buffaloes into 16 first-half turnovers. Still, Matthew Mitchell said his team has a ways to go on defense and could have held Colorado to fewer points.

The Wildcats looked the best they have all season offensively according to Mitchell. 70-percent of UK’s baskets were assisted and they finished with a balanced scoring load, only one Wildcat (Ivana Jakubcova) finished with fewer than two baskets.

The Good

Janee Thompson

The senior guard played her second good game in a row. She scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and dished out a game-high seven assists. Coach Mitchell was impressed with Thompson’s play because she is learning to play off the ball for the first time in her career.

Maci Morris

The sharpshooter from Bell County finished with 13 points, including three beautiful shots from beyond the arc. Morris admitted in the post game press conference that she is struggling with defense but her hustle on the court is keeping her from being a liability thus far in her career.

Bench Play

The UK bench produced 29 of the team’s 86 points and found other ways to stuff the stat column. Freshmen Taylor Murray continues to bring tremendous energy off the bench. Murray had five assists and grabbed three rebounds while also scoring ten points. She was also 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

Ivana Jakubcova grabbed six rebounds and Batouly Camara scored eight points to go along with four rebounds.

After missing the Morehead State game with a concussion, Kyvin Goodin-Rogers hit three three-pointers to finish the game with nine points.

With precious little depth, Kentucky’s bench will need to keep coming up big in order to ensure that the starters will be able to rest.

Turnovers

Kentucky came into the game averaging 22 turnovers a contest but pruned that number in half against the Buffs by only giving the ball away 11 times. Mitchell said that cutting down on turnovers is crucial due to Kentucky’s lack of depth. UK in turn forced 21 turnovers, turning them into 22 points.

The Bad

Three-Point Defense

Colorado went 8-of-14 (63 percent) from three point range. So far this season that number is an anomaly but one can bet that Matthew Mitchell will stress perimeter defense in practice this week.

Alexis Jennings

Jennings finished the game ten points but spent the majority of the first half on the bench with two fouls. The talented forward is vital to the team’s success and cannot spend prolonged periods on the sidelines. She also struggled on the glass and finished with a single rebound.