Edwards leads No. 11 UK to 70-50 rout of Belmont

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Dre’una Edwards set profession highs with 27 factors and 15 rebounds as No. 11 Kentucky topped Belmont 70-50 on Sunday afternoon at Memorial Coliseum.

KeKe McKinney and Chasity Patterson every had 10 factors for Kentucky, whereas Robyn Benton and Blair Inexperienced had 9 factors apiece.

Kentucky (2-Zero) was with out defending SEC Participant of the 12 months Rhyne Howard, in addition to Tatyana Wyatt, as every served the second sport of their suspensions.

Kentucky scored first within the sport, on a Inexperienced putback, however then fell behind as Belmont closed a 7-2 run on a quick break layup by Maddie Cook dinner to take a 7-Four lead.

Nonetheless, the Cats would then rating 10 in a row, with Patterson and Olivia Owens every scoring 4 within the run, to take a 14-7 lead with 1:16 to play within the first interval. Kentucky would lead 15-10 after one quarter of play.

Within the second quarter, Belmont scored first on a Cook dinner jumper to get inside three, 15-12. The Cats would rating the following three factors to guide by six earlier than Belmont answered with three of its personal, making it 18-15 with 6:20 to play within the half.

That is when Kentucky went on one other run, this one a 9-2 spurt. It began with a Robyn Benton jumper, then continued with two Edwards baskets. After Belmont obtained their solely two factors within the run, Inexperienced drilled a 3 to offer the Cats their first double-digit lead of the sport, 27-17.

Kentucky would take a 32-23 lead into the break behind 12 factors and 6 rebounds from Edwards. Inexperienced and Owens every had 5 for the Cats within the first 20 minutes.

Edwards stayed scorching because the third quarter obtained underway. She scored the primary 4 factors of the second half on a pair of layups, rising the UK result in 36-23. The groups would commerce baskets, preserving the lead at 13, till Benton nailed a three-pointer to increase the UK result in 43-27.

Belmont wouldn’t go away, scoring 4 in a row to get again inside 43-31 with three:21 left within the third quarter. Edwards would rating the Cats’ last six factors of the interval and Kentucky would take a 49-36 lead into the ultimate interval.

Once more within the fourth quarter, Belmont would rally. The Bruins outscored the Cats 11-6 to start out the ultimate stanza, chopping the UK result in 55-47 with 5:51 to play.

However Kentucky once more had the reply. An 11-Zero run, keyed by Edwards and McKinney, sealed the sport for the Cats, who held their largest lead as the ultimate horn sounded.

Kentucky returns to motion on Thursday, visiting Manhattan, Kansas, to face Kansas State. Tipoff is ready for 7:30 p.m. ET.