LEXINGTON, Ky. - Forward Tierra Hawkins (Clinton, Md.) proved Saturday afternoon that this season would not result in a sophomore slump as she collected a career-high 28 points against a tough Kentucky squad on the Wildcats' home court in Memorial Coliseum. Despite her point total, the Hornets were routed, 50-90, in their season opener, to the nation's sixth ranked team.
The game also marked the debut of DSU head coach Tamika Louis and her coaching staff.
"I'm excited to be in this environment and finally have the jitters out of my system," Louis commented postgame. "Every head coach wants to go out and win in their first game. No head coach is ever going to think that I'm going to take a small school and play against the No. 6 team in the country. A lot of the time what will happen is you get blown out by 100 and it kills your spirit and there's nothing really to build upon. At the same time, you think you don't want that, but I'm okay with today's result. It allowed us to play in the most competitive environment that we'll play in this year and it allowed our team to show their true character. Our kids revealed that they were going to play hard and try to do the little things, to stay composed."
Hawkins went 9-for-20 from the floor in addition to 10-of-16 from the charity stripe to lead all scorers. She previously scored 25 points at Morgan State on Feb. 13, 2012. Her 10 free throws and 16 attempts also constitute career-highs. The sophomore added six rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal.
The Wildcats (1-0) put their signature pressure defense to work early and often, forcing 32 Hornet turnovers in the game. The Delaware State (0-1) defense also put in work, forcing 23 UK turnovers.
"[The Kentucky defense] is something that you really can't prepare for," remarked Louis. "You watch them on TV, and see a box score, but it is as intense on film as it is in person. I think Coach (Matthew) Mitchell does a great job of instilling pride of 'this is how we play and we're going to force teams to make good decisions and they're going to have to get out of our organized chaotic defense.' They are just as good, or even better, in person as they are in film."
Kentucky opened the game with a 7-0 lead before junior Deanna Harmon (Owings Mills, Md.) put the Hornets on the board with a layup at the 17:33 mark. The Wildcats then stretched the lead to 20-4, with seven different scorers in the book.
DSU couldn't get into any sort of rhythm, with UK eventually taking a 44-16 lead with just over a minute remaining in the first half. Within the final 30 seconds, the Hornets saw three points from Hawkins and a steal and layup from sophomore Jade Washington (Las Vegas, Nev.) to put the halftime score at 46-21.
Hawkins saw 17 of her points in the second half, including nine in the final four minutes.
A'dia Mathies, the Southeastern Conference's Preseason Player of the Year, finished with 16 points, six assists and four steals. Bria Goss and DeNesha Stallworth also added double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Harmon collected a team-high seven rebounds with 14 points, three steals and one assist. Washington added six points, three steals and three rebounds while freshman N'Kayah Kersey (Newark, N.J.) recorded two points and one steal.
Sophomore Keyanna Tate (Beltsville, Md.) posted four rebounds and two blocks for the Hornets.
The Hornets next travel to New York City to take on St. Francis (N.Y.) Friday at 7 p.m. and Fordham Sunday at 2 p.m.
---DSU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL---
