Cats Have a Lot to Correct Before Hosting No. 3 Texas

Teonni Key had 18 points and 10 rebounds at Ole Miss. (UK Athletics Photo)

Kenny Brooks did not try to sugarcoat what happened to Kentucky in its 66-57 loss at Ole Miss Monday night.

Just a few hours after Kentucky moved into the top 10 in the Associated Press rankings at No. 8, Kentucky (19-3, 8-2 SEC) was brutalized on the boards as Ole Miss out rebounded UK 54-33 and pulled off 27 offensive rebounds that led to 22 more field goal attempts for the Rebels.

“We got out-toughed,” Brooks said in his postgame press conference. “And when you get out-toughed and you don’t play to that level, you’re not going to rebound the basketball.

“But I think the most disappointing part was that, when you’re in a fight, you have to know you’re in a fight. You have to adjust. And we really didn’t adjust throughout, especially in the second half.

Kentucky had an eight-point lead late in the third period before the offense shut down. Kentucky managed only 10 points in both the third and fourth quarters against Ole Miss (16-7, 7-4 SEC).

“When somebody gets 27 offensive rebounds and they get 21 more shots than you get, it’s going to be really hard to win a basketball game. And we just didn’t do enough to win, and the mentality just wasn’t good enough,” Brooks said.

Brooks knew his team made way too many mental mistakes late in the game when it had chances to win despite being hammered on the boards.

“We didn’t have it. And, you know, we had a couple kids who really performed under par, and some other kids almost tried to make up for that. And it wasn’t our night. And they just out-toughed us the whole game,” Brooks said.

Teonni Key led UK with 18 points and 10 rebounds —her eighth double-double. She also had four blocks, three steals and two assists.

Clara Strack flirted with a triple-double before finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds and a school-record eight blocks. She also had three assists and one steal. Strack leads the SEC with 57 blocks.

“Clara Strack and Teonni Key played really, really hard,” Brooks said. “But they had to overcome too much. We had a couple people that just really didn’t show up tonight, and therefore we were just a little bit off. And I thought those two, in particular, battled, and they came up with 12 blocks, you know, themselves, but they, I think they got tired. They played hard but not always smart.”

Brooks obviously was not happy with junior Amelia Hassett, who was averaging about a double-double per game but in her 29 minutes of play did not take a shot. She had five rebounds, two blocks and three turnovers.

Brooks said he had “no clue” what happened with her.

“We didn’t tell her not to shoot. That’s all I got to say about that,” Brooks said.

On his postgame radio show Brooks said he had some players “just standing around watching the whole game.”

Kentucky scored 22 points the first quarter and Brooks felt his team missed chances to build a substantial lead.

“We were up after the first quarter but we let opportunities slip away (to build the lead). Same thing second quarter,” the UK coach said. “We missed opportunities in the first half to get in a rhythm and as a result we did not win.”

Kentucky was just 4-for-14 from 3-point range — Key went 2-for-2 but Georgia Amoore was 1-for-5 and Dazia Lawrence 0-for-3 — and also only got to the foul line four times compared to 21 for the Rebels.

“They are very handsy (on defense). I have no idea how they do it. They play that style and only get nine fouls in the game. That is remarkable,” Brooks said more than a touch of sarcasm.

However, he readily admitted Ole Miss was the “aggressor” most of the game.

It won’t get easier as UK will host No. 3 Texas, which has just one SEC loss, on Thursday. Texas handed South Carolina its only loss this season on Sunday and first regular-season loss since 2021.

“They are all tough. This league is very tough,” Brooks said. “Our next opponent is one of the best in the country. We just have to regroup. I said a few weeks ago that I didn’t think anyone in this league could go undefeated. Any given night anyone can beat anybody.

“We have to protect home court and have a slight case of amnesia. We will see things that got us in this predicament (at Ole Miss) and we have to address them.”