Vicky Graff Photo
By LARRY VAUGHT
Kentucky shot 32.8 percent (22 of 67) from the field in Sunday’s 65-58 loss to LSU — and that was with 6-7 freshman Clara Silva going 6-for-6 from the field. If not for Silva, UK would have been well under 30 percent shooting.
Silva had 12 points, a career-high eight rebounds, and three blocks in just over 30 minutes of play. She went 6-for-6 from the field for the second time this season.
Her three blocks moved her into seventh place on the freshman records list for blocks with 29.
Silva was the SEC Freshman of the Week in early November after she had 14 points, seven rebounds, and six blocks against USC Upstate and 18 points, four rebounds, and five blocks against Northern Kentucky. Those were UK’s first two games of the season and she did not hit double figures again until she did it against LSU on Sunday.
“Very pleased with what she did,” Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks said after the LSU game. “We have been harping on her a lot because we need that production from her and I thought she was as tough as she has been all season. Very happy for her because the message is getting through.
“Her value to our team and what she can bring to us, so this is something we can build on. We have some very important games left for the rest of the season. We have two regular season games left that mean a lot, the SEC Tournament which means a lot, and the NCAA Tournament which means a lot.
“This is good for her and hopefully she can build off of this. We are excited for her because we know her value and what she can do for us, and I am happy for her about her production tonight.”
Point guard Georgia Amoore knows adjusting to the physicality of college basketball, especially in the SEC, has been a challenge for the freshman from Portugal.
“It’s a different beast. She’s had her ups and downs, but the way that she produced today was good,” Amoore said after the game. “It was needed. I found especially when I was driving the bigs were over-rotating. [Aneesah] Marrow would come over or [Sa’Myah] Smith would come over, so it led to a lot of opportunities for her to put some sort of baskets for us.”
