UK women roll in lone exhibition. See how they dominated the Railsplitters.

A stingy defense and a stellar night from a homegrown freshman proved to be a winning formula for the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team on Friday night. In their only exhibition tune-up before the regular season begins, the Wildcats overpowered Lincoln Memorial, 101-64, in Memorial Coliseum.

Freshman forward Blair Green looks like a star in the making. She was one of five Wildcats to score in double figures, coming off the bench to pour in a team-high 17 points on 8-for-17 shooting. Green, who starred in high school at Harlan County, also chipped in four assists and turned the ball over just once.

Lincoln Memorial, a Division II school located just across the Kentucky border in northeast Tennessee, was overwhelmed by Kentucky’s defense. The Wildcats forced 31 turnovers and converted them into 41 points.

“I do not care who you are playing, to force 31 turnovers in 40 minutes is impressive and the type of effort that we have to have this year,” UK Coach Matthew Mitchell said.

Leading by six in the second quarter, the Wildcats ended the half on an 11-2 run to take a 50-35 lead into the locker room. They opened the second half on a 22-5 run to go up 32 and put the game away.

Kentucky shot 49 percent from the field but hit just six of 23 shots from three-point range and 13 of 22 free throws. The Wildcats both shared the ball and protected it all night, combining for 26 assists and just seven turnovers.

Sophomore forward Tatyana Wyatt nearly had a double-double, hitting six of 10 shots for 16 points and grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.

“I was really impressed with (Wyatt) and how she flew to the glass tonight,” Mitchell said.

Senior guard Taylor Murray hit five of six shots for 14 points and dished out a team-high six assists with no turnovers. Freshman guard Rhyne Howard had 15 points and five rebounds and Maci Morris had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Despite her coach’s praise for UK’s defense, Howard saw room for improvement.

“I think we need to work on our defense a little more, especially me,” Howard said. “The speed from high school to college is a lot different, so I need to work on that.”

Season opener

Alabama State at Kentucky

7 p.m. Wednesday (SEC Plus)

This story was originally published November 2, 2018 at 9:58 PM.