‘We’re learning how to use our length.’ Kentucky blocks 16 shots in win over NKU.
Following the 22nd-ranked Kentucky Wildcats’ 70-41 victory over Northern Kentucky in Memorial Coliseum on Thursday night, Kenny Brooks was clear with his team — don’t bring popcorn to Friday’s film session.
“It’s not going to be a popcorn, let’s watch a movie type deal,” Brooks said. “It’s like, ‘OK, we got to sit here. We got to get better. We got to get better because we got to look at the things we did wrong. How can we get better in those opportunities?’ And if we do, and we bring the energy, this team has a lot more life than what they showed tonight.”
Brooks’ bottom line? On his teams, he says “energy and effort is worth eight points a game.” Though Thursday’s box score detailed a 31-point victory, he doesn’t believe the team reached that goal.
“I think the potential is through the roof,” Brooks said. “It really is. We’ve got to get some more production from our bench, but I like the pieces that we have. And we’ve just got to continue to work together, and we can get better.”
The areas for improvement Brooks cited were obvious: A slow offensive start; foul trouble for Clara Strack and Amelia Hassett; only 23 bench points, and only nine points scored off 10 NKU turnovers; and shooting woes (5-of-25 on 3-point attempts and 30-of-69 overall).
“You have to play smart, obviously, when you have fouls,” Strack said. “But you still have to be aggressive and still be a presence out there.”
The Wildcats ended the first week of the Kenny Brooks era 2-0, but there’s plenty of work to be done, particularly with difficult tests fast approaching in No. 17 Louisville (Nov. 16), Illinois (Nov. 27) and No. 15 North Carolina (Dec. 5).
“This time of year is the most frustrating for me and the most exciting,” Brooks said. “Because you don’t know what you have, but you also want to be in full swing.”
Defense helped the Wildcats overcome their offensive shortcomings Thursday night.
Brooks called the Norse (0-2) “very methodical and patient in their offense. They make you work.” Kentucky aimed to closely guard the 3-point line, and ensure that frontcourt players moved their feet to combat any attempts to thwart the Wildcats’ size mismatch.
NKU head coach Jeff Hans complimented Strack, Hassett, Teonni Key and Silva for significant impact on the game.
“They just do such a good job of making up for mistakes,” Hans said. “And allow their guards to do what they need to to pressure and not get up 3s. Because if you get downhill, then you got those players to worry about inside, and then it can affect the whole game. We couldn’t get some of our backdoor cuts we like to get, and then any drives were just always contested. And we just got to work our butts off for everything, and I thought we did a pretty good job of it. And we did a good job of making it as ugly as possible for as long as possible.”
In addition to blocking 16 shots — three short of the school record set in 2006 — the Cats limited NKU to 26.2% shooting from the field (16-of-61), including 15.8% from 3-point distance (3-for-19).
“Well, we need to play to our strengths,” Brooks said. “And we’re not going to be faster than everyone might be; you might consider us as like tall turtles. You know, we don’t move very fast laterally, but we’re very tall, and so we have to play to our strength. There are some teams out there that can press and get in front of you and do lots of different things, but then they can’t do anything once you get there because they don’t have length. And so we’re learning how to use our length.”
Clara Silva, Kentucky’s 6-foot-7 center, led all players in scoring with 18 points, and finished with four rebounds, two assists and five blocks. Strack finished with a double-double, contributing 15 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, four blocks and one steal.
Graduate point guard Georgia Amoore added 13 points, five rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and one steal. Graduate guard Dazia Lawrence added 10 points, two rebounds, one block and three steals. Hassett led the Wildcats with 16 rebounds. Hassett also tacked on five points, one assist and three blocks.
The Wildcats will host Wofford (1-0) on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. The game will be available to stream on SEC Network+.
Next game
Wofford at No. 22 Kentucky
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
TV: SEC Network+
Records: Wofford 1-0, Kentucky 2-0
Series: Kentucky leads 2-0
Last meeting: Kentucky won 98-37 on Dec. 19, 2020, in Lexington
This story was originally published November 7, 2024 at 7:57 PM.
