LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kyvin Goodin-Rogers scored 19 points, pulled down four rebounds and collected three steals to lead No. 13 Kentucky to an 82-64 victory over Northern Kentucky University on Wednesday night in Memorial Coliseum.
 
Goodin-Rogers went 7-for-12 from the field and connected on 3-of-4 free-throw attempts.  She scored 10 of Kentucky's first 13 points and led four double-digit scorers.  Bria Goss finished with 16 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor and seven free throws, while Linnae Harper added 13 points and four assists.  Makayla Epps rounded out the double-figure contributors with 11 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds for the Wildcats (7-1).
 
Kentucky jumped out to a quick 7-0 advantage, but a 3-point field goal by Christine Roush and a driving layup from Shar'Rae Davis ended the Wildcats run and brought NKU to within two (7-5) in the first three minutes of the game.
 
Melody Doss later pulled the Norse to within three (13-10) with a jumper from the free-throw line before Kentucky went on a 6-0 run, capped by a Goodin-Rogers 3-pointer, to stretch its advantage to 19-10 with 12:29 remaining in the first half.  NKU (4-4) then forced the Wildcats into four consecutive turnovers but were unable to effectively capitalize on the opportunities, with only Kelley Wiegman converting on a two attempts from the charity stripe during that span.
 
The 19-12 Kentucky advantage would stand until the Wildcats went on a 5-0 spurt, behind four points from Bria Goss, to take a 12-point (24-12) lead at the 7:43 mark.  NKU responded with a jumper in the lane from Molly Franson and Roush's second trey of the game to come to within 24-17, and four-straight Franson points later cut the Kentucky advantage to 28-23 with 4:59 left in the opening stanza.
 
After one free throw from Goss, Franson struck again converting on a pair of free throws followed by a jumper in the paint, and the Norse trailed just 29-27 just over 30 seconds later.
 
A 12-5 Wildcats run ended the first half, giving Kentucky a 45-34 lead at the halftime break.  The Wildcats shot 51.7 percent (15-for-29) in the opening 20 minutes, while NKU went 10-for-23 (.435) from the field.
 
Doss scored the first five points of the second half to cut the Norse deficit to 45-39, but Kentucky responded with an 8-0 run, highlighted by four points from Linnae Harper, for a 53-39 lead with 15:26 remaining in the game.  Roush drained a 3-point field goal to end the spurt, but the Wildcats answered by scoring 10 of the next 12 points for a 63-44 advantage with 11:23 left.
 
Kentucky eventually stretched its lead to as much as 20, and the Norse were unable to get any closer than 15 the rest of the way.
 
"I thought our kids did a good job of competing overall," NKU head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said.  "I think they played really hard, but we obviously need to take care of the ball a little better and keep them off the free-throw line.  We do that if we rebound a little better, but we were challenged tonight with their size, athleticism and speed, but that is a scenario we are going to continue to work and get better at.  Overall, I was really proud of their effort, and it was a great opportunity to play Kentucky on their home court."
 
The Wildcats finished with a slight 38-36 edge in rebounds, but they pulled down 18 offensive boards.  Kentucky, which connected on 46.7 percent of its shots from the field, forced NKU into 26 turnovers and outscored the Norse, 29-9, off miscues.
 
The Norse, who went 21-for-50 (.420) from the floor against Kentucky, also placed four players in double-figures, led by Kaitlyn Gerrety's 13 points and a game-high seven rebounds.  Gerrety went 6-for-10 from the field, blocked one shot and recorded one steal.  Roush also added 13 points and knocked down a trio of treys, while Franson scored 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting and a perfect 4-for-4 performance from the charity stripe.  Doss finished with 11 points, three steals and two assists.
 
"I thought Kaitlyn Gerrety played really well, and she kind of grew up a little bit in this game," Plitzuweit said of NKU's inside game.  "She recognized that she was getting to the basket and making some good things happen.  Molly Franson came into the game early for us and really attacked the rim, and Melody Doss had some good looks when Epps was guarding her, which were created by her size advantage.  But it was hard to even get it to a player on the post with time on the clock and recognize what to do with it because of their defense."
 
NKU plays its fourth-consecutive game on the road on Saturday as the Norse head to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to take on IPFW.  Links to live stats and an audio and video broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.  Be sure to follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter for live updates as every game progresses this season as well.