LEXINGTON (Interstat) — Kentucky opened its women’s NCAA Division I basketball season with a decisive 85-42 victory over Morehead State on Monday at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., before 4,099. The Wildcats improved to 1-0. The Eagles fell to 0-1. The game was the season opener for both programs.

Kentucky built its lead with 24 points in the first quarter, 21 in the second, 22 in the third and 18 in the fourth. Morehead State scored 11, 13, 14 and 4 by quarter. The Wildcats outscored the Eagles in every quarter.

The decisive stretch came at the start, when Kentucky scored the first 13 points. Clara Strack began it with a tip-in layup at the 8:15 mark, Ajsa Sivka followed with a 3-pointer, Savannah Swords hit a turnaround jumper, Sivka added a jump shot, Asia Boone made a pullup jumper and Swords capped the run with a layup at 3:57. Morehead State got on the board on Alonna Poole’s pullup jumper at 3:36. Strack later made a turnaround jumper and a free throw, and after Poole scored again for the Eagles, Strack closed the first-quarter scoring with a layup. The early run gave Kentucky a double-digit lead it did not relinquish.

Kentucky kept pulling away in the second. Me’Arah O’Neal made a jumper and a layup, Diana Collins made a layup, Sivka hit a 3-point jump shot, Strack made two layups, Swords made a tip-in layup and Maddyn Greenway made a layup. Morehead State answered with Kensley Feltner’s 3-pointer, two free throws from Lanae Riley and a 3-pointer from Riley. Emily McDonald made a layup for Kentucky, Heidi Smith made one free throw for Morehead State, Strack made a pullup jumper, Collins made a 3-pointer and Strack added another layup before the break. O’Neal’s jumper came at 9:25, and his layup came at 7:51.

Strack opened the third quarter with a layup, and Lanae Riley answered with a layup for Morehead State. Collins made two layups, Feltner made a layup, Sivka made two free throws and Strack made another layup. O’Neal made a layup, Feltner made a free throw, Ayanna Patterson made a layup and Alonna Poole made a layup. Emily McDonald made a tip-in layup and a free throw, Kamora Morgan made a layup, Feltner made a layup and Greenway made a layup. Breayah Jefferson made a jump shot, and Sivka made two free throws to close the quarter. Sivka’s free throws came at 6:04 and 0:30.80.

In the fourth, Kentucky’s lead reached 37 points early after O’Neal made two free throws to make it 65-28. O’Neal also made a turnaround jumper, Feltner hit a 3-pointer, Collins made a 3-point jump shot, Feltner made a jump shot and McDonald made a layup. Samaria Taylor made a layup for Morehead State, Greenway made two free throws, Feltner hit another 3-pointer, Greenway made a layup, McDonald made a 3-pointer, Patterson made a layup and Riley made a layup. Greenway added a layup, Riley made another layup and Greenway made two free throws to finish the scoring.

Kentucky scored 85 points from 78 possessions for an offensive rating of 108.8. Morehead State scored 42 points from 70 possessions for an offensive rating of 59.8. The Wildcats shot 34 of 76 from the floor, while the Eagles were 17 of 55. Kentucky made 5 of 23 from 3-point range and Morehead State made 4 of 12. Kentucky made 12 of 15 free throws, and Morehead State made 4 of 9. Kentucky had 13 offensive rebounds to Morehead State’s 5, 6 assists to 2, 11 blocks and 8 turnovers to Morehead State’s 16. Kentucky’s 11 blocks and Morehead State’s 16 turnovers were part of the final stat line.

Clara Strack, a 6-foot-5 center from Buffalo, N.Y., who previously played at Hamburg, led Kentucky with 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and six blocks in 21 minutes. Ajsa Sivka, a 6-foot-5 guard who previously played at International School, added 12 points, three rebounds, eight assists and one block in 27 minutes. Savannah Swords, a 6-foot-2 forward who previously played at Long Island Lutheran Middle-hs, had six points, 11 rebounds, one assist and one block in 22 minutes. Maddyn Greenway, a 5-foot-8 guard who previously played at Providence Academy, scored 12 points with three rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes. Strack’s six blocks led all players. Sivka’s eight assists led the Wildcats. Swords’ 11 rebounds led Kentucky.

Kensley Feltner, a 5-foot-11 guard who previously played at Lawrence County HS, led Morehead State with 16 points and two rebounds in 28 minutes. Diana Collins, a 5-foot-10 guard who previously played at Brookwood, scored 12 points with two rebounds in 22 minutes. Me’Arah O’Neal, a 6-foot-5 forward who previously played at Episcopal High School, had 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one block in 22 minutes. Lanae Riley, a 6-foot forward who previously played at Archbishop Hoban, added 11 points, five rebounds and one assist in 28 minutes. Emily McDonald, a 6-foot guard who previously played at Long Island Lutheran Middle-hs, scored 10 points with two rebounds, one assist and one block in 18 minutes. Alonna Poole, a 5-foot-11 guard who previously played at Oakland High School, had eight points, one rebound and one assist in 16 minutes. Riley led the Eagles on the glass with five rebounds.

Morehead State’s upcoming schedule includes a home game against Eastern Kentucky, road games at Vanderbilt and Murray State, home games against IU Indy and Tusculum, a road game at Western Carolina, games against Buffalo and Western Kentucky in Boca Raton, Fla., a home game against Louisiana-Lafayette and a road game at East Tennessee State. Kentucky will next host Northern Kentucky, visit North Carolina State, host Evansville, Eastern Michigan, Marshall, Clemson, Bellarmine and Louisville, and face Maine and South Dakota State in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Kentucky 69, Morehead State 58. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Kentucky with a 99.6 percent probability to win.