UK Hoops actually trailed 26-25 at halftime, but the tide turned on Navy as Kentucky wins 61-41 and moved on to the 2nd round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament.
Matthew Mitchell’s squad held the Midshipwomen to only 15 points in the second half.
Denesha Stallworth scored a game high 18 points and 11 rebounds. Samarie Walker had 14 points and 6 rebounds and Jennifer O’Neill had a nice homecoming with 12 points, 4 assists and 5 steals.
UK Hoops Postgame Notes
Carnesecca Arena
Queens, N.Y.
NCAA Tournament – First Round
March 24, 2013
Final Score: No. 7/7 Kentucky 61 – Navy 41
Team Records and Series Notes
Kentucky improves to 28-5, while Navy ends its season at 21-12.
The 28 wins tie the school record set last season.
UK advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for a program-record fourth consecutive season.
Kentucky is in its 39th year of varsity play and owns an overall record of 684-476 (.590).
This is the Cats’ 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and now own a 12-9 (.571) record in postseason play.
UK is 7-3 in the first round and has won five consecutive NCAA Tournament first-round games.
This was the first all-time meeting between the two schools.
Kentucky is now 4-0 vs. teams from the Patriot League.
Team/Game Notes
UK’s starting lineup featured A’dia Mathies, Kastine Evans, Jennifer O’Neill, Samarie Walker and DeNesha Stallworth. This lineup is 8-2.
Kentucky took its first lead of the game, 25-24 with 2:50 remaining in the first half on a jumper by Stallworth.
UK opened the second half on a 12-2 run to take a 37-28 advantage.
The Wildcats used an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 49-35 with 6:37 to play in the game.
The 20-point win is the largest margin of victory for Kentucky in a NCAA Tournament game.
The 41 points surrendered by UK is the lowest total for an NCAA Tournament game in school history.
UK’s 16 steals ties the school record for an NCAA Tournament game. The Cats also had 16 steals vs. Liberty (3/20/10).
Kentucky forced 25 turnovers and is now 11-1 when forcing 25 or more this season. The Cats have now forced double-digit miscues in 150 consecutive games. The Cats are 113-37 during that span.
The 25 forced turnovers gives UK 793 on the year, which is the fifth-most in a single season in UK Hoops history.
With three made 3-pointers, the Cats added to their single-season record with 221.
· Kentucky recorded four blocks, upping its single-season record total to 172.
The Wildcats extended their streak of consecutive games with a triple to 325.
· UK had 16 steals, totaling 398 on the season, which ranks third on the single-season list.
Individual Notes
Junior center Denesha Stallworth recorded her team-high ninth double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
With three blocks, she moves into a tie for third on the single-season list.
Has scored in double figures in 26-of-32 games.
Redshirt sophomore point guard Jennifer O’Neill scored 12 points and had a career-high five steals.
O’Neill’s five steals ties the UK record for steals in a NCAA Tournament game. Victoria Dunlap also had five steals against Liberty (3/20/10).
Has reached double figures in 16 games this season, including two straight.
Junior Samarie Walker scored 14 points in the game, marking her highest point total since scoring 15 points vs. Auburn on Jan. 20.
Has reached double figures in 16 games this year.
With one block in the game, she has 51 on the year, the fifth-most in a single season in school history.
