No. 14 Kentucky women’s basketball (7-0) defeated the No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini (6-1) 76-53 on Wednesday night as part of the Music City Classic.

The win served as the Wildcats’ second ranked win of the year after previously beating the No. 18 Louisville Cardinals on Nov. 16 in overtime. 

Kentucky brought out its usual starting lineup consisting of Georgia Amoore, Dazia Lawrence, Amelia Hassett, Teonni Key and Clara Strack. 

Stack hit a 3-pointer early for the Wildcats, picking up where she left off after her 24-point performance against the Arizona State Sun Devils. 

By the time of the first media timeout, Lawrence hit another 3-pointer for Kentucky, giving it a three-point lead. 

The Wildcats continued to feed Strack, who finished the first quarter with seven points and five rebounds. At one point in the second quarter, Strack was responsible for 11 of Kentucky’s 22 points.

The Fighting Illini continued to dribble and drive, however, forcing the Cats into foul trouble. At the half, Illinois shot 8-10 from the free-throw line. Lexi Blue, Cassidy Rowe, Key and Lawrence all had two fouls a piece.

Despite a poor half from Amoore, shooting 2-9 and only tallying one assist, the Wildcats were tied 28-28 at the break. 

Kentucky then opened up its third quarter on a 8-1 run, forcing Head Coach Shauna Green to call a timeout for the Fighting Illini. 

Before the timeout, Strack secured her double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Wildcats continued to struggle from deep after the timeout, shooting 2-16 at that point. Illinois continued to force itself to the line, cutting the Kentucky lead to four. The Cats had a 50-44 lead going into the final quarter. 

Despite shooting 13-45 from the field, Illinois continued to live at the free-throw line. It had shot 25 free-throws compared to Kentucky’s one before the beginning of the fourth.

Lawrence owned the start of the fourth quarter, picking off a pass and going coast-to-coast for an and-one and making a 3-pointer soon after to give the Wildcats a double-digit lead.

This sparked the Wildcats, who outscored Illinois 27-7 in the final quarter. 

Visually having fun, the Cats fed the ball to Hassett, who made back-to-back 3-pointers to fire up the Kentucky crowd in Nashville.

Head Coach Kenny Brooks called a timeout, receiving an uproar of cheers with a smile on his face. 

Strack finished the game with 25 points and 15 rebounds, earning her second straight double-double and her fourth of the season. 

Amoore, despite her poor shooting night, still managed to finish the game with eight assists, maintaining her average. She ranks third in the nation for assists per game with 8.3 a night. 

The Wildcats will next take the court next against the No. 16 North Carolina Tar Heels on Dec. 5 as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge, looking to remain undefeated and pick up their third ranked win of the season. The game is set to tip off at 5 p.m. and will be aired live on ESPN2.