Thirty seconds into the fourth quarter, Kentucky women’s basketball put up the largest lead of the day against Liberty in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 

The packed stands of Historic Memorial Coliseum seemed confident that the 17-point lead would secure an easy win against the Lady Flames.

What they didn’t know was that the Wildcats were about to play possibly their worst seven minutes of basketball the entire season and would be forced into survival mode as Liberty successfully cut the lead down to a single possession.

With 6:55 left on the clock, Kentucky was holding onto a hefty 15-point lead; however, that would also be when everything started falling apart. 

It wouldn’t be until four minutes later that the Cats would find the basket and, in the meantime, Liberty went on an 11-0 scoring run to cut the lead down to one possession before Dazia Lawrence could get UK back on the board again.

If that wasn’t enough to kill Kentucky’s energy, Clara Strack, the SEC Defensive of the Year, and Teonni Key, UK’s other star defender and rebounder, would both foul out.

“They all had to be better. We need Teonni (Key) and Clara (Strack) on the floor. I didn’t think either of them played particularly well from an emotional standpoint,” Brooks said following the game. 

Luckily for Kentucky, Georgia Amoore’s monster offensive performance, with 34 points, eight assists and shooting 4-5 from the three, was enough for Kentucky to edge out the Lady Flames 79-78.

Unsurprisingly, Kenny Brooks and his team were not standing on their high horses moments after the game, which went from an easy blowout to near survival.

“The beauty of this part here is you can say survive and advance. That’s what we did today,” Brooks stated. “It’s got to be the next play mentality. Obviously, momentum was not in our favor, and so I had to figure out what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it.”

Although Kentucky entered the tournament as a top-five seed, the majority of its roster had yet to play in March Madness, and the emotions were present in how the younger teammates had played. 

“Teonni, first time playing in an NCAA with a prominent role. Clara Silva, first time in an NCAA Tournament. It’s a different feeling. So now when you go out there, Amelia Hassett, same thing”, Brooks said. 

One of the more unexpected letdowns of the game on Friday was Strack, as her NCAA Tournament experience has earned her some of the highest marks. 

Strack took her first-ever collegiate start last year in the tournament’s first round and put up a shocking 17 points while shooting a perfect 7-7. She marked her first-ever career double-double in the next round with 18 points and 10 rebounds. 

Unfortunately, Friday did not play out the same for her. Even with the experience, she is still only a sophomore and just recently turned 19 in November.

Although she was able to put in her 15th season double-double, it was clear she was not playing with her best foot forward. 

“Clara (Strack) was a bit off. I thought she played through some emotions and kind of took her out of the game a little bit,” Brooks said.

The veteran players felt the same way, particularly Amoore, who is playing in her fifth-straight NCAA Tournament. 

“I don’t want to use that as an excuse, but a new group, the first tournament for a lot of the girls,” Amoore said. “It’s a situation where, yeah, we might be the higher seed, but Liberty had nothing to lose. They wanted to come out and win and had all the energy.”

For senior Lawrence, the key to NCAA jitters came far more straightforward than expected. 

“Just stay calm, poised, focused, it’s March. Anything can happen. So just staying true to ourselves and not letting anything else make us make mental mistakes like that,” she said.

“The mentality has always been the same, to just go out and put your best effort out,” Amoore added.

When asked about the team’s mentality, coach Brooks didn’t seem worried and anticipated a better game from the Wildcats on Sunday.

 “I think they’ll have a different mindset, different emotion level, when it comes to Sunday. So that’s the good part about it,” he explained.

It seemed Brooks knew his team to a tee.

A day later, the Cats are back and ready to leave everything out on the court this Sunday, with a clear message and mindset heading into the matchup against Kansas State.

Amoore explained that presence matters most in high-pressure moments — the kind where one player’s composure can shape the entire team’s confidence.

The name of the phenomenon Brooks has harped on the team about all year? Energy vampires.

“Sometimes in clutch situations or a game like yesterday where it was a couple of seconds, and we’re only up one, two, I want my teammates to be able to look at me and be like, ‘Oh, G seems fine. Like, okay, we’re good,’” she said.  “Like as soon as you have that panic or that negative energy, it’s very easy to spread. And Coach Brooks has been big on energy vampires. You never want to have that one person you look at them and you’re like, ‘Oh, we lost her,’ or, ‘Oh, she’s not feeling it today.’”

Lawrence found herself reflecting on a different message of her own.

“Also, just staying present and just showing up as the best version of yourself,” she said. “The message has been you don’t have to be a superhero; just be yourself and be your best self.”

While all eyes seem to be on Kentucky with its new head coaches — for both the men’s and women’s teams — to continue with a successful March Madness run, the women’s squad will look to have its last game in Historic Memorial Coliseum to end on a high note. 

“I think that going into tomorrow’s game, hopefully, we’ve woken up,” Amoore said. “Hopefully, a lesson has been learned. But we have to do nothing but just revert to what we’ve been doing for the past three, four months.”

Kentucky women’s basketball will face off against one of the best offenses in the country this Sunday with Kansas State in its biggest mental test of the season.

The battle of the two Wildcats will tip off at 2 p.m. ET and be aired live on ESPN.