No. 8 Kentucky forces 26 turnovers, punish MTSU

Murfreesboro, TN -- The Wildcats, coming off an awesome win over Louisville, look to keep their undefeated record alive. The Raiders got off to a good start, having a 7-4 lead, but that wouldn't last long. The Wildcats took over to get their ninth straight win 68-52.

The Wildcats started the game with 12 turnovers which got the Blue Raiders off to a great start. With help from Ty Petty, who received the title of player of the game, the Blue Raiders kept it close in the first half only trailing by four points. However, it didn't take too long for the Wildcats, looking for their ninth straight win, to show why they are number eight in the country.

Kentucky's Makayla Epps and Taylor Murray helped the Wildcats pull away with a nine-point lead going into the fourth period.

Middle Tennessee's offense played extremely well in the first half but couldn't keep it together for the rest of the game. Turnovers and foul trouble put the Raiders behind to a point where they couldn't come back. The Blue Raiders had 26 turnovers which resulted in 21 points for the Wildcats.

Blocking shots left and right, Kentucky's Maci Morris played an outstanding game for the Wildcats, ending the game with 10 points and 4 rebounds. Makayla Epps was the best asset for the Wildcats, having 17 points.

Middle Tennessee's Brea Edwards led the Blue Raiders in a with 15 points followed by Ty Petty, who had 14 points. Rebecca Reuter helped out the Raiders with 8 rebounds, and Oliva Jones had 10 points.

Middle Tennessee's coach, Rick Insell, knew it was going to be a tough game, "Every time we got them into the shot clock they were able to get open shots, and that's the sign of a good basketball team. You just can't win a big game like this when you miss layups and free throws."

Ty Petty said, "They made us have 26 turnovers and turned those into points, and that's the game right there. We have to learn from it. Most of our turnovers came from panicking, and we need to learn from this game."

Winning only 4 of 7 previous games in Murfreesboro, Kentucky's head coach, Matthew Mitchell, knew it wasn't going to be an easy win. "We always know it's tough up here, it was a tough game. I'm really proud of our team to come out and beat a really really good Middle Tennessee team," said Mitchell.