No. 22 Kentucky women’s basketball cruised past its competition on Monday night, opening its season with a 98-43 win over USC Upstate inside the newly renovated Historic Memorial Coliseum.
The Wildcats, hosting their first game on their own court in over a year, sparked off a match in a new era of Kentucky basketball.
Kentucky Head Coach Kenny Brooks kicked off the game with a starting five of Georgia Amoore, Dazia Lawrence, Teonni Key, Amelia Hassett and Clara Strack, the final of whom started her night off with the first four points of the game.
Upstate committed multiple fouls early, putting the Wildcats in the bonus halfway through the first quarter.
By the time of the first media timeout, Amoore, Strack and Clara Silva had accounted for 12 of UK’s first 15 points. Kentucky ended the first quarter on an 11-0 run out of the media timeout, leading by 15 points.
The Wildcats continued to pour the points on led by Hassett and Strack on the offensive side of the ball and Silva on the defensive side.
Silva and Strack were dominating the paint, blocking shots and jumping the ball handlers to get the ball back.
By halftime, the Wildcats led by 29 points, holding Upstate to only seven second-quarter points.
Strack opened up the second half with seven points in the first four minutes, allowing her teammates to get assists and open up on defense, where Kentucky had forced 14 turnovers at this point.
With a huge lead on the scoreboard, fans saw more Cats such as Cassidy Rowe, Tanah Becker and Saniah Tyler led the offense.
Brooks didn’t let the foot off of the gas pedal, allowing his team to build chemistry and test new offensive schemes with different personnel.
By the end of the third quarter, Silva became the fourth Wildcat to hit double-figures along with Amoore, Strack, and Key. Silva also had six blocks going into the last quarter.
Kentucky continued to apply pressure on Upstate, ending the third with a strong defensive possession.
With just 1:29 left in the fourth quarter, Brooks’ daughter, Gabby Brooks, who was redshirted her first season at Virginia Tech, drained a 3-point shot in front of her father and the Kentucky bench, gaining one final pop from the fans.
Kentucky will return to action at home on Thursday, Nov. 7, for a matchup with Northern Kentucky. Tipoff against the Norse is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network+.
