Happy UK players celebrated after outlasting Oklahoma Sunday. (Vicky Graff Photo)
He’s been part of some inspirational wins during his coaching career at James Madison, Virginia Tech and then even his first season at Kentucky.
However, Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks had never been part of a win quite like the 63-57 victory over No. 5 Oklahoma Sunday in Memorial Coliseum.
“I don’t like to continue using hyperboles all the time, but it’s the most gutsiest performance that I’ve ever seen from a group of kids knowing what they were facing,” said Brooks. “We couldn’t buy a basket early on but we just continued to fight and battle. We made some shots, did some stuff and played through the physicality.
“I am just so proud of these kids and they did a fantastic job throughout the football game. I mean basketball game.”
It was a physical war battling the Sooners who entered the nation second in the nation in scoring offense at 92.9 points per game and had bullied most opponents they had played. They tried to bully Kentucky, which was without injured senior forward Teonni Key, but Brooks’ team refused to back down.
“Oklahoma does a tremendous job. They are the fastest team in the country. They get the ball up and down the floor, they have the most possessions, and it took us a little while to figure out that they were going to be that aggressive,” Brooks said. “And then once we settled in, then it became a very physical basketball game. Our kids were resilient throughout the whole basketball game.”
Point guard Tonie Morgan scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had four assists for No. 6 Kentucky. Several times in the second half she was in obvious pain/exhaustion but still played all but 15 seconds.
“She wasn’t perfect, but what she did tonight was a heck of a performance. She really willed us to a win,” the Kentucky coach said. “I can’t be more proud of her. She and I are spending a lot of time together. We’re doing a lot of things to try to get her ready for the next level. Games like this will get her ready for the next level and have the mentality to be able to battle through a lot because it was a very physical basketball game.”
Notice the repeated references to physical because it did almost resemble a football game at times with bodies crashing into each other and the floor. Kentucky was overwhelmed early and trailed 24-11 early in the second quarter before a flurry of 3-pointers got UK back into the game for good.
“As bad as we played, all of a sudden, we were down by four. Us and Oklahoma almost mirror each other. We shoot a lot of 3’s, and we have really good 3-point shooters. We just stayed the course and we hit some shots. Crowd got into it and then we were able to play off of that,” Brooks said.
The crowd really got into the game over Oklahoma’s physical play. Centre Clara Strack had her ninth double-double of the season and the 25th of her career with 18 points and 12 rebounds. She also blocked three shots.
Strack took several big hits from Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers, a mammoth 6-foot-4 All-American who had 14 points and nine rebounds. Oklahoma also features the nation’s No. 1 freshman, guard Aaliyah Chavez. She had 18 points but was only 7-for-23 from the field in large part because of Morgan’s constant defensive pressure.
“Oklahoma is the most physical basketball team in the country. Their guards are physical. Payton Verhulst is one of my favorite players in the league. She does all the dirty work and when she hits you with a screen it hurts. Sahara Williams is one of the most high energy players in the country.
“That’s the No. 5 ranked basketball team in the country and we went out there shorthanded and handled our business. We didn’t have our best performance on Thursday (in a loss at Alabama). They did some things that just really took us out of it. We regrouped and tonight we gutted it out.”
Strack was ready for what the Sooners dealt out physically.
“We can’t just take it over and over again. We have to give it back and still use our strengths to our advantage,” Strack said.
Kentucky took a 49-44 lead into the fourth quarter despite being down 24-11 early but Oklahoma tied the game at 55-55 and again at 57-57.
Kentucky got consecutive scores from Jordan Obi, including one after a brilliant pass from Asia Boone. Next came a spectacular block of Beers’ inside gimme by Morgan. That was followed by an empty possession by UK but it featured three straight offensive rebounds that helped run significant time off the clock that helped Kentucky seal the win.
Obi had 11 points, six rebounds and one assist but do not underestimate the role she played in the win.
“Jordan was really big. We put the assignment of guarding Beers on her so that Clara could kind of stay free and do some stuff on the offensive end,” Brooks said. “Jordan came up with huge rebounds down the stretch to give us extra possessions.
“And then kudos to Amelia (Hassett). She gave up a lot of pounds, and she did a really good job of guarding Beers down there, too. It’s a tall order to ask them to fight an All-American who is big and strong and physical, and then try to come down the other end and make a shot. Might be the difference of shooting short.”
No matter where the shots went, one thing never changed for Kentucky in the win.
“They played their hearts out, and we had a really good win,” Brooks said.
2 Responses
It was telling that three offensive fouls in a row were called on Oklahoma, and honestly, they could have called a lot more, especially when Beers was posting up/wrestling. Jordan Obi didn’t have the best offensive performance early on, but with her two baskets and more importantly, two offensive rebounds on the same possession, she really carried the day. And Tonie Morgan is just a warrior. Great team win.
Let me say this in the nicest way. The women's basketball team is tougher than the mens basketball team. They have kids hurt that still play through the pain. If that was the boys team Morgan wouldn't haven't played the rest of the game. Maybe she should practice with the boys team and toughen then up. Jordan Obi is getting better and better as the season goes on. Clara Strack is Clara Strack. Hassett needs to find he rhythm. Hopefully Key will be back soon and we will have our full roster. I think this team will do some special things this season as long as they continue to play hard and together. Great job COACH BROOKS!
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