Georgia Amoore tied a UK record with 34 points Friday. (UK Athletics Photo)
If you are looking for a complete stat-stuffing game, Kentucky All-American guard Georgia Amoore had one Friday in a 79-78 NCAA Tournament win over Kansas State.
The only zeroes on her stat sheet were under offensive rebounds and fouls. The rest of the numbers were brilliant — 34 points on 12-for-24 shooting, including 6-for-10 from 3 and 4-for-5 at the foul line, along with eight assists, two rebounds, two steals, two blocks and two turnovers while playing all 40 minutes.
Kentucky blew most of a 15-point lead in the final seven minutes when both Clara Strack and Teonni Key fouled out. Liberty cut the deficit to 74-73 with 1 minute, 10 seconds to play. Amoore got through the Liberty defense for a layup and hit three of four free throws in the final 11 seconds to help ice the win.
Amoore was unstoppable in the first quarter when she had 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting. She had 23 points at halftime and Liberty coach Carey Green felt fortunate that his team held her to 11 points in the second half.
“She was on fire,” Green said. “She had an outstanding game against us, and she’ll be one that unless there is an injury or something like that, she’ll be playing at the next level. She’s a high quality All-American candidate and will be playing in the WNBA.”
Green joked that maybe Amoore remembered the last time she played against Liberty when she was at Virginia Tech that Liberty won.
“I’m sure she can remember that. She just had her A game going, and shot the 3 very well. I mean, it’s above her shooting percentage, and everything that she did today, shooting percentages, was above her norm, okay? She got her norm, she got 20 points, we win by 13, okay?” the Liberty coach said. “But she had an A game. She was playing very, very well.
“We didn’t do a whole lot more (in the second half) other than we changed our defense up a little bit and tried to keep them off balance. When she came off screens, we tried to double and get the ball out of her hands. She was very good at finding open people, too. So I think that changed it up a little bit.”
How good was Amoore?
She is the only NCAA DI women’s basketball player to have at least 34 points, eight assists, two blocks and two steals in an NCAA Tournament game since 2003 and joined Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Plum and Candice Wiggins as the only women to have at least 34 points and eight assists in an NCAA Tournament game. Her 34 points tied A’Dia Mathies (vs. Dayton on March 23, 2013) for the most points by a UK player in an NCAA tourney game.
Amoore said she took only two days off since UK lost to Oklahoma in the SEC Tournament two weeks ago.
“Haven’t stopped since trying to get back in a flow, find shots and create shots, create shots for everyone else, too. It’s just the confidence that I have in myself but it’s the preparation as well,” Amoore said. “They definitely turned up the intensity and the pressure (in the second half). We can’t get stagnant. We have to keep moving and creating for each other and just be confident. Move to want to shoot. Move to want to be open. I don’t think we had the mindset like we did in the first half.”
Amoore’s mindset was just fine from start to finish. She pulled off an acrobatic shot just before the shot clock expired at the end of the third quarter and the high arching shot in traffic went in. She was also fouled on the play.
Fairfield assistant coach Blake Dudonis was scouting the team before his team played Kansas State. He shook his head and smiled in amazement as Memorial Coliseum fans erupted on Amoore’s play.
“It’s my first time to see her in person and I just texted a friend to say you had to see her in person to fully appreciate her,” he said. “I just love watching her play. She’s so much fun and special.”
Okay. If that wasn’t enough for you. Consider this sequence to start the fourth period: She blocked a 3-point shot, stole the ball after Liberty got the offensive rebound, and then hit Amelia Hassett for an assist on the 3-point goal.
This is Amoore’s fifth NCAA Tournament, including 2023 when she helped Virginia Tech reach the Final Four.
“It’s the same mentality every tournament. I think within the five I’ve had very different outcomes all five, so obviously want to make the push this last one and treat it as such,” Amoore said. “But the mentality has always just been the same, to just go out and put your best effort out.”
Amoore did admit she was maybe a bit “alarmed” when the game went from looking like a potential 20-point win to a near loss.
“I don’t want to use that excuse, but a new group, first tournament for a lot of the girls. It’s a situation where, yeah, we might be the higher seed, but Liberty had nothing to lose. They wanted to come out and win and had all the energy,” Amoore said.
“So I think in a positive light to recognize that, oh, like everyone wants that spot. Everyone wants to advance. It’s not the non-conference from conference where it’s up 20 and ride it out. We have to keep the pedal down.”
Kentucky will get the chance to “keep the pedal down” again Sunday when it hosts Kansas State.
