Tonie Morgan does a postgame interview on the SEC Network after scoring 18 points and handing out 14 assists in a win over Missouri Sunday. (Colby Vaught Photo)
Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks worried so much about Sunday’s home game with Missouri that he admitted he didn’t get much sleep Saturday night.
“I think we had to implore our kids to play with more energy a little bit today. It’s not an excuse, but you know the emotional game on Thursday (when UK won at No. 5 LSU), travel delays, didn’t get back here until Friday, and then one day prepared for a very tough team,” said Brooks.
“I’m proud of the kids, coming away with a victory in this league is not going to be easy, and we went 2-0 this week, so it was really good.”
Brooks worried too much. Clara Strack had 19 points and 10 rebounds — her eighth double-double of the season — for No. 11 Kentucky in the 74-52 win. Point guard Tonie Morgan, who hit the buzzer-beating game-winning shot at LSU, added 18 points and 14 assists to go over the 600 career assists mark.
Kentucky had a 38-28 halftime lead and never let Missouri dramatically cut into the lead in the second half before breaking the game open.
“We knew going in we didn’t want to be one-hit wonders. We know that we have a goal in mind and we have to keep going every game in the SEC,” Morgan said about not having a letdown after the win at No. 5 LSU. “We got the job done. We celebrated Thursday, but after that it’s onto the next mission. After this W, we go to the next weekend.”
Brooks respects first-year Missouri coach Kellie Harper, a former Tennessee player and head coach, and knew her familiarity with the SEC would assure her team was ready to go.
“They play a very methodical style, waiting for you to make a mistake and usually when you make a mistake, they try to capitalize with a three-point shot,” the Kentucky coach said.
Harper was “disappointed” the final score was not closer.
“Kentucky, statistically, their defense is so good and then you get to see it first hand,” Harper said. “Their length and the difference they make when they are guarding … we did not get a lot of easy looks and the ones we did we didn’t make.”
She has coached against Brooks before and says his teams always have certain characteristics.
“They have a ball dominant guard. They have shooters, size and a dynamic scorer on the block. That is what they are,” Harper said.
Harper knew it would be a physical game. Missouri opened SEC play losing to Texas, one of the league’s most dominant teams.
“Every single game is a battle in the paint. We don’t go into any game with a plan that we have to be more physical. It’s every game,” the Missouri coach said. “It’s the nature of the game. You are seeing bigger, strong and more athletic players lending to the physicality we are seeing. We have a lot more skilled players on the perimeter, too. If you are undersized you have got to be more physical and when you are big you are naturally physical.”
Brooks said his team has “done well” with physicality in wins over LSU and Missouri. He still remembers the “whispers” when he left Virginia Tech for UK that his finesse style would not work in the SEC. Last year in his first season Kentucky finished fourth in the league.
“We do finesse stuff but we can play physically. The best thing we have done is embrace physicality. We want to be part of it. We are not scared of it. We embrace it.”
Teonni Key Injured
Senior forward Teonni Key left the game in the third quarter after getting undercut in a loose ball scramble by the Missouri bench. She landed hard on the floor and did not get up. Harper was the first person to get to Key before UK personnel arrived.
Key was able to walk off the court with her right arm in obvious pain.
“As far as Teonni is concerned, I don’t have any updates right now. I will go and talk to her as soon as this (press conference) is all over with, but we just hope and pray for her. She’s a big part of our team,” Brooks said.
However, he said on the UK Radio Network postgame show that she had “dislocated her elbow.”
He said the one thing he hates the most about coaching is when a player gets hurt.
“It makes my stomach hurt,” he said. “The hardest thing I had to do is not think about Teonni. I know how hard she works and how much this means to her. But I have got this group I have to continue to coach.”
Brooks said when he got to the locker room after the game the players were praying for Key.
“We hope to get her back as soon as possible,” the coach said.
Kentucky plays at Alabama Thursday night and then returns home to host Oklahoma on Sunday.
2 Responses
Ky is becoming a Girls basketball school. Brooks is a great coach.
Brooks will lead the woman's team to a championship before Stein or Pope. That's my prediction. The women's sports are better than the mens sports now. The sad thing is they are even tougher. Way less injuries in women's sports. There used to be more injuries in women's sports now it's men's sports. That's how soft the men have gotten.
Comments are closed.