No. 14 Kentucky lights up the scoreboard in 93-78 win over No. 25 NC State

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - No. 14 Kentucky Women’s Basketball lit up the scoreboard, winning 93-78 over No. 25 N.C. State in the ‘Cats first ranked matchup of the season.

Kentucky (3-0) tied a school record with 18 three-point baskets. UK hit those 18 triples on 39 attempts (46.2 percent). Ajša Sivka led the charge, tying the school record of eight three-pointers made previously set by All-WNBA star Rhyne Howard. Sivka finished with 32 points, getting plenty of support from Clara Strack who had 24 points and eight rebounds.

Freshman Savvy Swords added 14 points for the Cats, while Asia Boone hit three triples on her way to nine points.

Kentucky raced out to an early lead by making its first eight shots of the contest. Sivka scored underneath, Strack hit a three and Me’Arah O’Neal added another three to give UK an 8-2 lead. Strack hit a jumper, then Sivka hit a three and Strack scored again to build the lead to 15-5.

Sivka hit another three and Boone added one of her own and UK led 21-15. After five straight N.C. State points, O’Neal hit another three to make it 24-10. The Wolfpack scored the next eight before Sivka connected from deep again to make it 27-18. The Cats would lead 29-24 after one quarter.

In the second quarter, N.C. State scored the first two points before Sivka hit another three to give UK a 32-26 lead. The Wolfpack would score the next eight points to lead for the first time, 34-32. However, Kentucky responded with an 18-4 run, including threes by Sivka, Swords and Boone.

After an N.C. State three, Swords connected from deep again to make it 53-41. The Wolfpack scored before Strack hit another three. Kentucky would take a 56-44 lead into the break after hitting 13 of 21 (61.9 percent) from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes.

The teams traded baskets to begin the second half, with Strack converting for the Cats. With UK leading 58-46, Sivka hit her sixth three-pointer of the game and Strack hit a baseline jumper to give Kentucky a 63-46 lead. However, N.C. State scored six in a row to get within 11.

Strack hit another three to build the lead to 66-52. After two N.C. State free throws, Sivka made one at the line before the Wolfpack scored to cut the UK lead to 67-56. Sivka hit another three and O’Neal added two free throws but the Wolfpack scored the final points of the period, which ended with Kentucky leading 72-58.

N.C. State scored first in the fourth quarter, but Strack answered to give UK a 74-60 lead. After two Wolfpack free throws, Diana Collins hit a pair for the Cats, who led 76-62. After the Wolfpack scored three in a row, Sivka scored in the lane and made a subsequent free throw to give UK a 79-65 advantage.

After an N.C. State basket, Sivka tied the school record with her eighth three-pointer of the game, giving Kentucky an 82-67 lead. The Wolfpack scored the next three before UK got layups from Collins and Sivka to lead 86-70. N.C. State made two free throws before Sivka found Swords for an open layup to stretch the lead to 16 again. From there, the Cats would hold a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest.

Kentucky returns to action on Wednesday, hosting Evansville at Historic Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.