By Jaden Basham, Nov 4 2024
The Kenny Brooks era has officially tipped off in Lexington with the Cats securing a 98-43 win
against the Spartans of USC Upstate. The game included firsts not only for Kenny Brooks and
his team, but also for the newly renovated Historic Memorial Coliseum. While attendance was
certainly impacted by the men’s game down the road, those that made it were enthusiastic in
showing their excitement for the first game in the new arena. Fortunately, everyone gets to
celebrate on this night of firsts due to a couple of key factors that helped Kentucky prevail in the
season opener.
Newcomers Start Hot
Kentucky opted to start five transfers over some of the high-level freshman talent in the first
game of the season, and they looked like they had the experience and preparation they needed.
Clara Strack, Dazia Lawrence, and Georgia Amoore filled in ten points in less than three minutes
to start the game. The early lead extended to as much as seventeen by the end of the first quarter,
with Amoore having nine of her eleven points in this opening period. Clara Silva filled in six
first quarter points off the bench with a couple of nice post fades from the 6’7 freshman from
Portugal. USC Upstate couldn’t match the size or ability of Kentucky in the first quarter, and this
opening run set the tempo for the rest of the game.
Kenny Brooks Relies on Familiar Faces
When Kenny Brooks made the surprise decision to leave Virginia Tech for Lexington this
offseason, his first priority was to bring some of his star players with him from Blacksburg.
Georgia Amoore (11 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds) and Clara Strack (22 points and 6
rebounds) were both excellent in their first games in blue and white.
“She’s special… it just wows us” Brooks had to say about Clara Strack’s impact in his post-game
press conference.
Amoore entered the year as a member of the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College
Player of the Year list and was a Preseason First Team All-SEC Team selection, while Strack was
huge for Brooks in last years NCAA tournament run averaging 17.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per
game stepping in for injury. It shouldn’t come as a surprise the new coach turned to some
familiar faces to carry the team in the first game, and it wouldn’t be surprising if this duo ran the
show for this team all season.
Stifling Defense
The difference in size and athleticism really showed itself when Kentucky was on defense. USC
Upstate wasn’t able to get anything going on offense shooting 29.3% from the field and 20%
from three. Starting on the perimeter, Dazia Lawrence played excellent defense and jumped the
passing lanes a couple times to wreck plays. Kentucky scored 34 points off 18 Spartan turnovers.
In the second quarter alone, Kentucky had four blocks, five steals, and only allowed seven
points. On the interior, Kentucky’s size dominated with (UK blocks) and a host of shots affected
by their length. When they weren’t getting the block, Kentucky was often able to wall up and
make the smaller opponents attempt to shoot over them, where USC Upstate found little success.
Kentucky never gave USC Upstate a chance to breathe and ultimately put the game away with
their suffocating defense.
What Did We Learn?
The size of this roster is a clear point of emphasis and strength of the team. The frontcourt was
frequently found on mismatches down low and were able to convert on their opportunities for
easy looks around the rim. The only real concern from game one is the shooting from three-point
range (29.6%), but they’ll have an opportunity to right this ship this Thursday night, November
6 th , as the Cats host the Northern Kentucky Norse at Historic Memorial
