Morris, Howard lift No. 18 Kentucky women past Sacred Heart

Dec 30, 2018, 12:38 am

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Maci Morris scored 17 points, freshman guard Rhyne Howard grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and No. 18 Kentucky coasted in its final turneup before conference play, beating Sacred Heart 71-43 on Saturday.

Jaida Roper added 12 points and Taylor Murray 11 for the Wildcats (13-1), who used a 10-0 run to close the first half for a 33-20 lead. A 14-0 run early in the third quarter, when McKinney scored seven, pushed the lead to 25.

Kentucky, which is home against Vanderbilt on Thursday to open Southeastern Conference play, only shot 35 percent, ending a string of three-straight games of making more than half its shots. Howard, the leading scorer at 18 points, went 2 for 15, missing all six 3-pointers, and scored seven.

Erin Storck led the Pioneers (4-7) with 19 points. Adrianne Hagood added 14 points and Katherine Haines had 12 rebounds. Sacred Heart shot just 27 percent, was 10 of 21 from the foul line, had 17 turnovers and was outrebounded 57-35.