No. 4 Kentucky hosted the Conference-USA champions No. 13 Liberty in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats fended off a late comeback attempt and came away with a 79-78 victory.

The Wildcats held a 17-point lead with 9:30 left in the game. Missed shots on offense and fouls on defense allowed Liberty to bring it down to the wire.

“The beauty of this part here is you can say survive and advance. That’s what we did today,” Head Coach Kenny Brooks said. “But thank goodness for Georgia’s Performance.”

Georgia Amoore was a dominant force from tip-off to the final buzzer. She ended the game with 34 points on 12-24 (50%) shooting and had a game-high eight assists. Amoore carried the team throughout the last minute with five points, including three free throws to ice the game.

Amoore is playing in her fifth tournament and that fact was apparent immediately.

“Georgia came out like this was her 29th NCAA first-round tournament (game),” Brooks said.

Amoore completely shouldered the offensive load in the first five minutes of the game as well. She scored the first eight points of the game for Kentucky.

Dazia Lawrence quickly joined with a 3-pointer before hitting both free throws on the next possession, sparking a 5-0 run heading into the media timeout.

Amoore continued the barrage following the timeout, adding seven more points and recording two assists. She scored or assisted on all Kentucky field goals in the first quarter.

The Wildcats finished the first quarter with a 23-14 lead. The defense held Liberty to 5-18 (27.8%) shooting in the first quarter, just 1-7 (14.3%) from beyond the arch. The Wildcats also recorded four blocks and two steals.

The Kentucky offense cooled off halfway through the second quarter. The Wildcats went scoreless for just under three minutes. The defense only allowed five points through this stretch to keep Liberty at a distance.

When the Wildcats’ shots started falling again, they made those five points up in two possessions.

Liberty found some rhythm on offense after a rough first quarter. The Flames shot a much improved 8-14 (57.1%) from the field in the second quarter. Liberty was still outscored by one in the quarter.

Kentucky headed into halftime holding a 44-34 lead. The Cats had some struggles in the second quarter, but managed to hold on to a healthy lead entering the break.

Amoore completely dominated in the first half; she scored 23 points on 9-13 (69.2%) shooting from the field including 5-6 (83%) from three.

Lawrence had an outstanding half as well; she was the leading scorer behind Amoore with nine points and recorded three assists.

“(Georgia) and Dazia really carried us from a mental standpoint,” Brooks said. “We have to have others step up if we want to continue on.”

The Wildcat offense was incredibly efficient in the first half: the Wildcats shot 16-28 (57.1%) from the field with an even more impressive 7-11 (63.6%) from three.

The defense did a great job at countering one of Liberty’s biggest offensive strengths: shooting the three. The Wildcats held Liberty to 2-11 (18.2%) in the first half. Kentucky also recorded five blocks and three steals.

After Kentucky and Liberty exchanged 3-pointers to begin the second half, the Wildcats then sparked off an 8-2 run that forced a timeout. This extended the Kentucky lead to 55-39.

Both offenses struggled following the media timeout as each team went without a field goal for over three minutes. This streak ended when Clara Silva made a shot from the low block for her first points in the game.

Liberty ran a more efficient offense in the third quarter. The Flames shot a higher percentage from the field and from three. Kentucky still outscored them 20-16, which extended the Wildcat lead to 64-50.

The first 30 seconds of the fourth quarter provided a perfect example of the level Amoore played at in this game. She blocked a 3-point attempt and immediately ripped it from the rebounder for a steal. In transition, she drove the rim with a full head of steam before stopping on a dime for an acrobatic no-look assist to a wide-open Amelia Hassett.

Liberty responded with a 12-5 run that it carried into the final media timeout. The Cats only made one basket in the four minutes between Hassett’s three and the timeout.

Kentucky ran into a cold streak and the worst possible time and saw its lead cut by seven points. Kentucky still held a 10-point lead with 4:30 remaining in the game, but the cold stretch was certainly cause for concern.

“They made shots, and we didn’t. That sounds very obvious, but we missed some shots… and it took our energy away,” Brooks said.

Lawrence finally scored with 2:02 remaining, ending a five-minute stretch without a Kentucky basket.

Liberty took full advantage and came back to within one point with just over a minute remaining. 

Both teams exchanged baskets, then the Wildcats took possession, holding a one-point lead with 12.5 seconds remaining. Liberty fouled three times in two seconds of game time, sending Amoore to the line. Amoore sunk both clutch free throws for points 32 and 33.

Liberty needed a 3-point shot to tie the game but, instead, the Flames inbounded to their center on the opposite block. Silva locked her up immediately and forced a turnover.

Amoore was sent back to the line and made one of two, extending to a two-possession lead.

Liberty put up a prayer on the next possession and it somehow found the bottom of the net. However, the Flames didn’t leave themselves enough time as Amoore ran out the remainder of the clock to secure a one-point victory.

“They (the team) need to be better. I need to be better… In the fourth quarter some of us stood around a little bit,” Brooks said. “I thought we were waiting for Georgia to bring us home.”

Kentucky will be back at Historic Memorial Coliseum Sunday to take on No. 5 Kansas State. Tip-off time is still TBD. Kentucky will look to make it out of the first weekend for the first time since 2016, the only year that Kentucky won both tournament home games.

“I think they’ll have a different mindset, different emotion, level, when it comes to Sunday,” Brooks said. “That’s the good part about this… it wouldn’t be madness without stuff like this.”