No. 15 Kentucky pulls away in 4th quarter to beat Purdue Fort Wayne

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Georgia Amoore had 23 points, Dazia Lawrence scored 21, and the pair combined for nine 3-pointers as No. 15 Kentucky pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Purdue Fort Wayne 79-67 on Monday night.

Lawrence made 8 of 15 shots — 5 of 8 from beyond the arc — for the Wildcats (5-0), who trailed for 28:21 in the game. Amoore hit 7 of 18 shots — 4 of 9 from distance — and 5 of 6 free throws. She added seven assists.

Lauren Ross sank four 3-pointers and scored 14 of her 21 points in the first quarter, to lead Purdue Fort Wayne to a 23-19 lead. The Mastodons (2-2) never trailed in taking a 38-33 lead into halftime.

Kentucky fell behind by nine before rallying, using back-to-back 3-pointers from Lawrence and Amoore to tie the game at 46 with 4:02 left in the third quarter. The Wildcats took their first lead at 52-51 with 1:46 to go on two free throws by Clara Strack and led by a point heading to the fourth.

Ross began with a 3-pointer to give PFW its last lead. Strack and Teonni Key scored back-to-back baskets, and Lawrence turned a Mastodons turnover into a 3-pointer to give Kentucky a 62-57 lead with 8:37 remaining. Amoore followed with two free throws and a jumper to finish off an 11-0 run for a nine-point advantage, and the Wildcats maintained a two-possession lead from there.

Strack missed 10 of 13 shots but hit 8 of 9 at the foul line to score 14 for the Wildcats. Key totaled 12 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

Freeman finished with 18 points and five assists for the Mastodons. Morgan scored 11.

Kentucky is idle until Nov. 26 when the Wildcats play Arizona State in the Music City Classic.

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