No. 15 Kentucky women’s basketball (14-1, 3-0 SEC) defeated the Florida Gators (10-7, 1-2 SEC) 71-55 on Thursday, Jan. 9, in the Wildcats’ second consecutive road matchup, tying the best 15-game start in program history.
The win marked the first time since the 2014-15 season that the Wildcats have begun conference play 3-0.
The Wildcats, per usual, rolled out the same starting five consisting of Georgia Amoore, Dazia Lawrence, Amelia Hassett, Teonni Key and Clara Strack.
By the time of the first media timeout, the Wildcats were already up 14-5 and were shooting 60% from the field. A trend that continued all night, the Wildcats already had forced four Florida turnovers as well.
The Wildcats held a double-digit lead at the end of the first quarter despite both teams combining for 13 turnovers. Florida shot just 3-11 from the field.
From then on, Kentucky began to run away with the game, outscoring the Gators 21-9 in the quarter. At halftime, Amoore led all scorers with 14 points, tallying the same amount of field goals that Florida did as a team.
Liv McGill, the highest ranked recruit in Florida program history and the team’s leading scorer, was shooting just 1-9 from the field. Ra Shaya Kyle, who averaged 15.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game coming into the matchup, had only taken one shot and had not tallied a single point or rebound.
Coming out of the half, it was clear that Florida had a shift in attitude and brought the energy. With little fans in attendance and the damage already done, the Gators outscored the Wildcats 18-15 in the third, though it meant little to nothing. Kentucky led 56-37 going into the final quarter.
Florida began the final 10 minutes on a quick 10-2 run, but it was quickly shut down by a Lawrence 3-pointer and a smart timeout by Head Coach Kenny Brooks.
Although it only shot 8-27 from deep and scored the least amount of points since its loss to No. 16 North Carolina, Kentucky still managed to win by 16 and leave the Stephen C. O’Connell Center with its 14th win of the season.
Amoore finished the game with 18 points and four steals, followed by 14 points from Lawrence and 12 points from Strack.
The Wildcats will take court next against the Auburn Tigers on Jan. 12 in their return to Historic Memorial Coliseum, looking to continue their win streak and remain undefeated at home. The game is set to tip-off at 3 p.m. and will air live on the SEC Network.
