Georgia Amoore had another double-double with 21 points and 11 assists. (UK Athletics Photo)
Kentucky’s women are off to an impressive start in the Southeastern Conference.
The Wildcats (15-1, 4-0) notched their eighth-straight victory with an 80-61 rout of Auburn on Sunday. Although the team’s current winning streak is impressive, Kentucky has beaten its first four conference foes by double figures and is a perfect 10-0 at home.
The 15th-ranked Wildcats have won eight straight since suffering their lone loss of the year, a 72-53 setback at North Carolina on Dec. 5 in Chapel Hill. Kentucky is off to its best start in the league since the 2012-13 season.
“It was a really good win for us and obviously when you are playing an SEC opponent, especially one like Auburn, who thrives on the defensive end and tries to muddy the game up,” Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks said.
Kentucky guard Georgia Amoore led the Wildcats, scoring 21 points and dishing out 11 assists, a season-high, to lead four players in double figures. Amoore said her first and only tour of duty in the SEC has “been great so far.”
“I think we’ve been doing our job getting some really solid wins and starting SEC play,” she said. “We can be picky and point out the things that we did badly but to have consecutive games of nearly 20-point wins is phenomenal for SEC play, considering someone like Auburn played LSU last week and only won by 10. I think we’re putting on a show.”
Dazia Lawrence matched Amoore’s scoring effort with 21 points of her own, while Clara Strack scored 16 points and Teonni Key poured in 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Strack added four blocks for the hosts.
“We got great production from Georgia,” Brooks said. “I think Dazia was tremendous and took some really great shots. Teonni Key was really good for us, relieving some pressure and getting some baskets into the hole. I thought Clara Strack performed really well on ‘Clara Strack Day.'”
Brooks said “Clara Strack Day” is “really big around our program.”
“We celebrate it like we do Christmas,” Brooks said. “It was special, really fun, and a good win for us.”
Brooks and his squad will get a week off before taking on Georgia on Sunday in Athens. Brooks said the Wildcats will spend time in the gym improving on both sides of the ball during the rare week off.
“We’ll use this week for much-needed rest and some much-needed practice time,” Brooks said. “We haven’t had much practice time in the last couple of weeks.”
2 Responses
The Lady Cats are on a roll. They will finish better than expected. Fun to watch.
What a great passing team. And the coaching is standing out. Great spacing and movement throughout. Always fun to watch games where your team is technically sound
and disciplined.