Well, after taking care of business against Texas A&M, Kenny Brooks and Kentucky welcomed No. 14 Ole Miss to town in a game that meant a lot more than just a game.
If you were wondering about the pink uniforms, which are awesome by the way, it was the annual Play4Kay game, something near and dear to Kenny Brooks’ heart, as his wife fought and defeated breast cancer. Everyone reading this probably knows someone who has had cancer. This is a game to bring awareness to a fight that a lot of people are fighting.
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The first quarter was a bit back and forth, but the 2nd quarter started with a Kentucky blitz. The Cats were smothering Ole Miss, and Cotie McMahon in particular. McMahon is averaging nearly 20 points per game. She had 0 through the first 15, going 0-8 to start.
It was 20-15, then all of a sudden it was 36-15. We had an Asia Boone Bomb and one, and Amelia Hassett hit 2 3’s during the stretch that saw Tonie Morgan get her 2nd block, yes, Tonie Morgan. They were trying to break Ole Miss’s will, but the Rebels were fighting back. They had the lead down to 39-20 when an Asia Boone steal allowed the Cats to hold for the last shot, but Clara Strack was blocked to send the teams to the half.
Ole Miss fights back in the 3rd quarter
The second half opened up with a Kentucky turnover, and Cotie hit her first 3 of the game off an offensive rebound. Another turnover and a shot clock violation gave the Rebels a little 5-0 run before Clara Strack hit a nice layup to get the Cats on the board in the 3rd. But it was the foul calls that were really piling up for Kentucky. They had 4 team fouls with 6:49 to go. Tonie Morgan, Clara Strack, and Teonni Key all had 3 fouls, and the fouls they were calling were questionable at best. Somehow, Ole Miss had just 2 fouls despite being as physical as Kentucky
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But you knew the Rebels were going to make a run. How would the Cats handle it?
They would handle it with an Amelia Hassett corner 3 that pushed the lead back up to 18. But it was the Rebels who just kept attacking and going to the foul line. 2 more free throws from Cotie McMahon cut the lead back to 12 with 51 seconds to go in the 3rd. A huge Tonie Morgan and one put the lead back up to 15. Kentucky had the ball with a chance for the final shot, but Clara Strack missed it a little earlier than Brooks would have liked, which led to an Ole Miss break that had the Cats up 55-42 heading to the 4th.
Ole Miss uses 9-0 run to reel Kentucky back in
Teonni Key came back in the 4th after sitting most of the 3rd with foul trouble and hit a nice turnaround jumper to get the Cats on the board early. But it was the Rebels who owned the first half of the 4th with a 9-0 run by Ole Miss, fueled by Cotie McMahon. The 19-point halftime lead was suddenly down to just 6, and the momentum was all on the visitors’ side.
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Strack made a jumper to stem the tide, and Kentucky took a little time off the clock with a Strack pump fake and layup to get it back up to double digits, but she didn’t stop there. She scored 8 straight for Kentucky, and the lead was right back to 14.
Kentucky would slow it down even more, with Clara Strack scoring her 28th point of the game and the Rebels running out of momentum. Kentucky would close it out at home 74-57.
The ladies will have the week off as they will not be back on the court until next Sunday with a rematch against Vandy after dropping a tough one at home to the Dores 2 weeks ago.
Drew Holbrook has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time, he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion
