Vicky Graff photo
It’s hard to imagine how Kentucky could have started Thursday night’s game any better.
Asia Boone was inserted into the starting lineup and hit two 3-pointers immediately to spark a 14-0 run to open the game that eventually led to a 75-55 win over visiting Texas A&M.
Kentucky was 11-for-18 from the field in the first quarter, including 4-for-5 from 3. The Cats had 10 assists — five by point guard Tonie Morgan who broke Georgia Amoore’s single season assist record set last season — on 11 field goals. Kentucky outrebounded the Aggies 16-3.
But after leading 27-5 after one quarter, UK was outscored 50-48 the rest of the way and was only 15 of 54 from the field the final three periods. The Cats also ended the game with 15 turnovers — less than the previous two games but still more than coach Kenny Brooks likes.
Boone and Morgan both finished with 19 points. Morgan also had eight assists. Center Clara Strack got beat on again and went 8-for-21 from the field but finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds — her 13th double-double this season. Teonni Key only had seven points on 2-for-8 shooting but pulled off 11 rebounds.
“Obviously at this juncture, and especially with the way things have been going, it’s always good to get a win. Our goal right now is to continue fighting and get better and put ourselves in a position to be playing our best basketball when it really, really matters,” Brooks said.
“We have to keep continuing fighting, and I thought in the first quarter we came out and we looked really good. We had a lot of energy, and that’s something that we’ve been striving for. The energy and them feeding off of their energy.”
The coach was also honest with what happened after the first quarter.
“I think we put it on cruise control the rest of the game and give Texas A&M credit. They really got into us, and they never quit,” Brooks said. “(Coach) Joni (Taylor) does a fantastic job. She’s one of the best coaches in this league and one of the most respected coaches in this league, and her kids play extremely hard throughout. We knew they were going to come in with a lot of confidence from their win against Alabama.”
Brooks praised Morgan, a Georgia Tech transfer, who broke the UK assists record that had stood for 40 years before Georgia Amoore broke it last year.
“I actually talked to Georgia for a long time today, and it never came up that you were about to break a record, but I will call her again tonight and tell her,” Brooks said. “Tonie and I were as connected tonight as we have been all year, and that’s something that we’ve been talking about.
“I’m very proud of her and her efforts to do that. It’s not just her coming in saying, ‘Hey, can we work on a jump shot or this or that?’ She is working on all the aspects of being a great point.”
Morgan said it was a “surreal experience” to break the record and correctly thanked her teammates for making shots to enable her to set the record.
“It makes it easy on the court when we’re on the same page. He knows what I’m thinking and makes the game go a lot better,” Morgan said about her connection with Brooks.
