UK hoops wins on the road at Washington State
Matthew Mitchell took his no. 25 Kentucky Wildcats on a two-game road trip looking to see what his young team is made off.
Despite falling behind early on the road, and later blowing a ten-point lead in the second half, Kentucky (4-0) pulled out a 73-68 over the Washington State Cougars (1-3) Sunday afternoon in Pullman, Washington.
Coach Mitchell found out his team has a do-it-all point guard in Taylor Murray; she finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and four steals.
He found out that Makenzie Cann is capable of heating up and a moments notice, scoring most of her points during a 1st half flurry. She scored 15 overall and snatched ten rebounds for a double-double.
Mitchell also confirmed that Maci Morris is just as capable of erupting as Cann. She exploded in the 2nd half and scored a team-high 20 points.
Surprisingly, he also found out that reserve guard Amanda Paschal is cool in the clutch. She made several key plays late in the game, finishing with eight points, three rebounds, and three assists.
The Cats Struggled Early
Kentucky started the game ice-cold, 3-of-15 from the field, most of their misses from point-blank range. The Cats’ frosty start from the floor extended to the little details that they usually excel in as well.
The host Cougars hit the hardwood early and often for loose balls, extending positions and forcing Kentucky into their first slugfest of the young season.
Matthew Mitchell’s team did not back down, they responded by cleaning up on the glass, but failed to keep the Cougars from doing so in the first half. Washington State cleaned up in the paint and turned nine offensive boards into eight points.
Chanelle Molina and Borislava Hristova, the Cougars’ starting backcourt, torched the Cats in the first half, combining for 26 of the team’s 35 1st half points.
Makenzie Cann and Taylor Murray Came to the Rescue
The Cougars managed to extend their lead to double digits twice in the 2nd quarter.
Then Makenzie Cann got hot. The senior Lawrenceburg, Kentucky native netted immediate answers each time Washington State threatened to blow the game open. Her third triple with 2:09 to play got the lead back down to two possessions. Cann finished the half 11 points to lead the Cats.
Junior point guard Taylor Murray got in the act as well with two late steals that led to scores, one by her and the other to senior Alyssa Rice, to trim the margin to one by the end of the half, 35-34. Murray finished the half with 8 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Maci’s Magic
After struggling in the 1st half, junior guard Maci Morris drilled her first 3-pointer of the game to give the Cats their first lead. She added another and a jumper to help Kentucky build a six-point lead, 44-38, with 6:38 to play in the 3rd quarter.
The Cougars hunkered down on defense and slowly whittled the deficit to one-point over the next three minutes.
Morris ended the drought with another jumper and made another 3 to put Kentucky up by ten, 56-46 before a Washington State basket trimmed Kentucky’s lead to eight as the quarter came to an end.
The Bell County native’s 13-point explosion seemed to reverse the momentum in Kentucky’s favor.
The Cougars Final Stand
Washington State refused to give in to Kentucky’s surge. They used to a 12-4 run to gradually overtake the Wildcats 62-60 with 5:37 to play, setting up a photo finish.
An Alyssa Rice layup tied the game with 4:37 to play and a possession later JUCO transfer Amanda Paschal fed Taylor Murray in transition to put Kentucky back in front 64-62.
The Cougars did not break and rallied to take a 68-66 lead with 2:27 to play. Paschal even the game again with a huge jumper the next time Kentucky was on offense.
Kentucky held the Cougars scoreless over the next 2:07 and went 5-of-6 from the free throw line to clinch the victory.