Vicky Graff Photo
Ready or not, it’s now time for Kentucky women’s basketball to start its first Southeastern Conference season under new coach Kenny Brooks.
The Wildcats got 21 points and 12 rebounds from sophomore center Clara Strack to beat Western Kentucky 88-70 Saturday at Memorial Coliseum. The 16th-ranked Cats are 11-1 and will host Mississippi State Thursday night to begin conference play.
Kentucky shot 52.9 percent (36 of 68) from the field and went 8-for-27 from 3-point range. The Cats got a big lift from sophomore Saniah Tyler who was 3-for-4 from 3 and had a season-high 11 points in only 16 minutes off the bench to provide some needed bench scoring that Brooks has been seeking.
Kentucky also dominated the rebounding 41-26 and had 25 assists, including nine by Georgia Amoore and six by Dezia Lawrence, on its 36 field goals.
Strack had her sixth double-double of the season and also had an assist and blocked shot.
Amoore just missed another double-double as she finished with 21 points, her fourth straight game of 20 or more points. She was 3-for-6 from 3-point range, her fifth game this season with at least three 3’s.
Teonni Key continued her stat-stuffing role with 15 points — her 10th double-figure scoring game — along with six rebounds, three assists and one steal.
Amelia Hassett, a junior forward, had nine points and a team-high-tying 12 rebounds. It was her fifth game with at least 10 rebounds this season. She added three assists, two steals and one block.
Lawrence had a season-high seven rebounds to go with six assists and seven points.
UK-WKU WBB
Photos by Vicky Graff
