Tonie Morgan (Vicky Graff Photo)
Tonie Morgan was a three-time all-conference selection at Georgia Tech but transferred to Kentucky for her senior season to play for coach Kenny Brooks because of his reputation as a point guard guru.
That magic certainly showed up Wednesday night when Morgan tied a school record with 16 assists in a 90-30 win over USC Upstate. Patty Jo Hedges had 16 assists against Cincinnati on Jan. 15, 1982. No Kentucky player had as many as 12 assists since Makayla Epps in 2015. Morgan boosted her career assists total to 506 and has 38 assists in three games.
She also went 4-for-7 from the field and had 11 points — her first double-double of the season and the 16th of her college career.
“Tonie, very proud of the way that she’s come along. It’s been a lot of fun watching her develop into our system, and her willingness to just really recreate herself, so to speak, she’s played one way for three years,” Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks said after the win. “She’s come here, and she’s been very accepting of anything that we’ve been throwing at her.
“She’s always wanting to watch film, trying to get better. Tonight was kind of like the fruit of her labor because she worked hard to get there. And then tonight, she was really on point with understanding where her teammates were, how to get it to them, when to get it to them. They were able to capitalize on it.”
Morgan did not have a turnover in her 33 minutes of play. She also hit her first 3-pointer of the season, blocked two shots and grabbed two rebounds.
Morgan said Brooks is developing her game like she anticipated.
“I came here because I wanted to be a great point guard. I think that is starting to come true, so developing and trusting what he is telling me and trusting what he has done before us,” Morgan said. “I feel like I’m starting to get more comfortable with my teammates and trusting the process. Coach Brooks said this team has some amazing shot makers, so it was a great night.”
Junior center Clara Strack was her normal double-double self. She went 8-for-12 from the field and had 18 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks, three steals and one assist in 25 1/2 minutes.
“Clara did a really good job. I think she has had a career high in rebounds. She just has a nose for the ball, but also proud of her, you know, stepping up and shooting a 3 other than that first one that she shot,” Brooks said. “You’re seeing kids develop into what we want them to be, and so tonight was a really good step in that direction.”
Señor Amelia Hassett went 7-for-12 from the field and 4-for-9 from 3 to lead UK with 20 points along with five rebounds and a season-high three assists. She also had a blocked shot, something she’s done every game this season.
“I thought we had better energy tonight and that’s something we’ve been searching for and trying to be consistent with that,” Brooks said. “We have a new team that you’re trying to get integrated with each other. That’s something that we’ve been searching for. I thought we were better at that tonight and like throughout games like this.
“We considered the process, and you get an opportunity to get better, and whether it’s communication or guarding a play the way you’re supposed to guard it. Just little things we’ve been looking for to improve upon, and I thought we got a little bit better tonight.”
Brooks told his players “don’t play the score” anticipating a one-sided contest but he was looking for improvement in subtle areas.
“We’re trying to be on point with our communication, understanding each other, getting the chemistry down pat. We were about the energy, the effort, and our attitude, and not really what the score was,” he said. Obviously, you want the result to be in your favor, but we’re not playing the score. We’re not.
“We try not to let up in certain situations. And games like this are good to help us develop as we continue on and we’re going to play stiffer competition, but this was a good opportunity for us tonight.”
