No. 9 seed Kentucky women’s basketball (23-9, 8-8 SEC) advanced to the SEC Tournament semifinals with a 76-61 win over No. 8 seed Georgia (22-9, 8-8 SEC).
In the first-round game, the Wildcats led for all but 20 seconds, leading by double-digits for most of that time. Although Kentucky led for over 30 minutes in this game, it looked completely different. Kentucky spent most of the game navigating a single-digit lead, not truly pulling away until late in the fourth quarter.
Clara Strack had arguably the best game of her career. She finished with 33 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Strack shot 12 for 22 (54.5%) from the field, and five for seven (71.4%) on 3-pointers.
This set career-high for Strack 3-pointers and field goal attempts, while tying her career high in points.
Her frontcourt partner, Teonni Key, also rose to the occasion. Key finished with her sixth double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 boards.
Strack and Key accounted for all of the Wildcats first 11 made field goals, being the only Cats to make a shot for the first 17 minutes.
Tonie Morgan finished with 14 points and 7 assists after scoring 12 points on 5 for 6 shooting in the second half.
Kentucky shot 50% from the field and 35.3% from three in the game. Georgia shot 41.7% from the field and 19.2% on 3-pointers.
The Wildcats outrebounded Georgia 35-26, holding a 10-4 edge in second-chance points.
This was the 68th all-time meeting between Kentucky and Georgia, the Bulldogs hold a 42-26 lead in the series. Georgia also holds a 7-4 lead over UK in SEC Tournament games.
The Wildcats made three straight shots to start the game, with all three coming from their frontcourt. Strack hit a mid-range jumper on the first possession, then Key got two layups on back-to-back possessions.
After Kentucky got out to a 6-5 lead, both teams went cold. Georgia missed four straight shots for a 2 and a half minute scoring drought, Kentucky missed five straight and was scoreless for three minutes.
Strack scored on back-to-back possessions to break Kentucky’s lull, her and-1 layup followed by a 3-pointer gave the Cats a 12-5 lead.
Georgia responded by breaking its scoring drought with scores on back-to-back possessions, cutting the Cats lead to three points.
Strack hit a post-fade before a 3-pointer on the following possession, giving Kentucky a 20-14 lead.
Georgia picked up the scoring towards the end of the quarter, but Kentucky held on to take a 20-16 lead into the second quarter.
Strack scored 13 of UK’s 20 first-quarter points, she shot 5 for 9 from the field and blocked two shots.
The Cats frontcourt accounted for all but one point in the first quarter, as Key had six.
UK shot 7 of 14 (50%) from the field in the quarter, Georgia shot 7 for 19 (36.8%).
Continuing the trend, Key scored the Cats first four second-quarter points as the Cats pulled ahead 24-21.
Georgia responded with a 3-pointer on the next possession to tie the game.
Another 3-pointer from Strack put Kentucky ahead 29-26. To this point, Strack and Key had still accounted for all but one of Kentucky’s points.
Jordan Obi hit a jump shot with 3:23 left in the half to give UK a 31-29 lead, this was the first made field goal by a UK player other than Strack and Key.
The Bulldogs made three of their last four shots of the first half to take a 36-35 lead into halftime.
Georgia shot 14 for 31 (45.2%) from the field and 3 of 14 (21.4%) from the 3-point line in the first half. Kentucky shot 14 for 28 (50%) from the field and 3 for 8 (37.5%) on 3-pointers.
Kentucky had three blocks and a steal in the first half, Georgia failed to record either.
The Bulldogs held a narrow 17-14 edge on the glass in the first half.
Key and Strack dominated the first half, the pair combined for 28 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks on 11 of 16 (68.8%) shooting.
Morgan and Obi were the only other Wildcats with a made field goal in the first half.
Trinity Turner and Dani Carnegie led the Bulldogs in the first half. Turner had 12 points on 5 for 7 (71.4%) shooting, Carnegie had 12 points and four rebounds in the half.
On the first possession of the second half, Strack regained the Wildcats lead with a spin-fade through contact then hit the free throw.
The Wildcats then proceeded to go on a two and a half minute scoring drought, allowing Georgia to tie the game.
Strack broke the drought with her fourth 3-pointer of the game, then Key made a layup on the following possession, putting Kentucky ahead 43-40.
A few minutes later, Strack hit a fifth 3-pointer to put Kentucky ahead by six points.
Morgan made a reverse layup on the next possession, this was Kentucky’s sixth straight make and forced a timeout from Georgia.
The Wildcats shot seven for 10 to close the third quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 19-13, this gave Kentucky a 54-49 lead ahead of the fourth quarter.
Kentucky shot 8 for 13 (61.5%) from the field in the third quarter, Georgia shot 6 for 17 (35.3%).
The Wildcats held an 11-5 edge on the glass in the third quarter.
Kentucky began the fourth quarter with three straight makes, pulling out to a seven-point lead.
Hassett hit two free throws to cap off a 6-0 Kentucky run, this gave the Wildcats their first double-digit lead of the game at 66-56.
A 3-pointer from Hassett pushed Kentucky’s lead to 13 points with just under three minutes to play.
Kentucky closed out the game, picking up a 15 point win in the second round.
The Wildcats will take on No. 1 seed South Carolina in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday, March 6, at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, tip off is scheduled for noon ET.
