Kentucky women’s basketball’s third-straight sold-out home crowd was brought to its feet in celebration as the No. 14 Kentucky Wildcats (22-4, 11-4 SEC) downed the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers (21-7, 8-7 SEC) 82-58 in a near-perfect performance for their final home matchup of the season.
The Wildcats were coming off a disappointing loss to No. 7 LSU. They blew a 14-point halftime lead and lost to the Tigers 65-58, leaving the sea of blue inside Historic Memorial Coliseum in total silence and shock.
It was a night of dominance for the Wildcats. They left no room for doubt as they outplayed the Vols in every aspect of the game, breaking Tennessee’s four-game win streak and securing their first win against their rival inside HMC since 2020.
The Cats started hot thanks to Clara Strack, who shot for nine points in the first five minutes of play. The early points gave Kentucky the early momentum, and UK quickly found itself on top 14-6 heading into the first media timeout.
Kentucky’s defense was a force to be reckoned with, totaling 19 rebounds compared to UT’s 11. Dazia Lawrence’s second block of the game broke the single-season team block record, with 182 blocks in the year.
While Tennessee made efforts to find momentum, whether forcing shots or subbing its lineup in groups of four, it simply could not find the basket and shot 1-13 in the first period.
Less than a minute into the second period, Tennessee was forced to take a timeout following a Georgia Amoore steal-and-score, putting the Vols down by 15 points.
Even with some offensive success, the Vols could not get within double digits as Kentucky’s dominant scoring drive, led by Strack’s perfect 8-8 shooting, had the two teams exchanging shots in the remaining minutes of the half.
As the second period ended, the history and rivalry between the two teams slowly revealed themselves. The Cats remained unphased while Tennessee began opting for a more aggressive and pushy playstyle. An Amoore jumper shot sent them into the half up 45-26.
While most fanbases would be overjoyed to lead their rival by nearly twenty points and give Tennessee its most significant halftime deficit since Dec. 2016, there was an overwhelming sense of nerves as the halftime period began.
Time after time, the Wildcats have shown weakness and struggled during second halves. Following an absolutely disastrous second-half performance against LSU only four days prior, it felt impossible to assume that Kentucky would walk out with a win tonight, even with such a dominant lead.
Nerves slowly settled as Kentucky took the first points of the half again and shot eight points in the first two minutes, forcing another Tennessee timeout. Unfortunately for the Vols, the LSU curse was broken.
The Wildcats continued their historic performance halfway through the third period. Strack’s 67th season block broke the program’s 15-year-old single-season block record, a testament to the team’s exceptional performance.
While UT found itself in a small scoring drive during the third quarter, there was no chance for a comeback when the quarter ended, with Kentucky shooting 10-15 and 2-6 from the three, extending its lead by scoring 29 points.
The fourth quarter was no different than the rest. The point deficit reached an astonishing 35, and, with seven minutes left, it finally seemed safe to say the Cats would take the win. As time ran out, Kentucky had four players scoring in double digits.
The team was led by Strack, who scored a monstrous 23 points while shooting 11-11 and grabbing 15 rebounds. Amoore also led with seven assists on the night. The game marked Kentucky’s largest margin of victory against Tennessee in program history.
The Wildcats will return to action this Sunday, March 2, for their final conference game. In a crucial match determining SEC Championship seeding, they will travel to Columbia, South Carolina, to face the No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.
