‘They’re all capable.’ How Kentucky dominated Mississippi State and the challenges ahead.
Kentucky’s 91-69 victory over Mississippi State was a testament to Kenny Brooks’ belief that a high-powered performance against tough competition such as the Bulldogs isn’t a fluke for his inaugural roster, but “this is what they’re capable of doing.”
The wire-to-wire win over Mississippi State in Memorial Coliseum on Thursday night — which earned 13 nonconference victories and received Top 25 votes in the most recent Associated Press women’s college basketball rankings — was a record-breaking one.
Kentucky (12-1, 1-0 SEC) made 18 3-pointers, besting the program’s previous single-game record of 16, and graduate guards Georgia Amoore and Dazia Lawrence each drained seven from long-range — the first time two players had ever done so for the Wildcats. The 91 points also marked the highest point total ever recorded by UK in an SEC opener, and earned Kentucky another Quadrant 2 win for its résumé come March.
Brooks praised the team’s effort and communication throughout nonconference play, and how, good or bad, it prepared the Wildcats to step into a moment like Thursday’s league opener and shine.
“We trekked through the nonconference slate,” Brooks said. “And there were some times when we played well. Sometimes we know we could play better. We put this team together for opportunities like this, I thought they handled it very well. And right from the get go, we came out. We were executing on both ends of the floor, stepping up. Dazia hit a 3 to start the game, which is really good for us, but we were executing. We were talking. We weren’t always perfect, and you’re not going to shut out a talented group like that ... but we did a really good job of making it tough on them and then stepping up and executing on the offensive end.”
Amoore, Lawrence, junior forward Amelia Hassett and junior guard Saniah Tyler each made at least one 3-pointer in the victory, and Kentucky’s starting five had a strong showing against their first taste of SEC competition this season.
Sophomore center Clara Strack finished with seven points, 11 rebounds, one assist, one steal and a career-high five blocks. Hassett, on her birthday, contributed 14 points, nine rebounds, five assists and one block. Junior forward Teonni Key recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and a career-high-tying 13 rebounds, and added three assists, four blocks and one steal.
But, even on a night that featured tremendous play from UK’s beloved “C-A-T” trio, or the official introduction of 2025 signee Kaelyn Carroll or multiple game clock malfunctions that held up the start of the contest, it was the performance of Brooks’ 23-year-old, sharpshooting backcourt duo that will probably dominate the conversation for quite some time.
“Must have been old heads night in the club,” Brooks laughed. “Because two 23-year-olds were shooting the lights out.”
Amoore finished with 27 points, extending her streak of games with at least 20 points to five straight. She also recorded nine assists, one rebound and one steal. Lawrence, who’s made at least one 3-pointer in each of the Wildcats’ 13 games this season, led all scorers with 28 points, and added one rebound, four assists and one steal.
When asked what his response would’ve been if he’d been told before the game that his backcourt would combine for 55 of the team’s 91 points, Brooks said, “I would believe you, it’s what they’re capable of.”
“If you came in and said my frontcourt would have had 55 points, I would’ve believed you,” Brooks said. “And they’re all capable, and they just go with the flow and whatever is happening is happening. Obviously, putting together this team, Georgia was coming with me. And I remember the conversations I had with Dazia, and I said, ‘She’s gonna make you better. You come out here, you play with her, she’ll make you better. And so all you got to do is do what you do, and do it well.’
“So I know they’re capable of doing that. And if we go out to (Vanderbilt on Sunday), and they do something that’s going to be special to try to stop those two, they’ll be the first ones to step up and throw the ball inside and get Clara an opportunity, to get Amelia an opportunity. And so that’s the joy of being able to coach this group, it’s like ‘OK, you take that away. Well, we still have this over here.’ And it’s been a lot of fun to watch them grow.”
Against Mississippi State (13-2, 0-1), Kentucky shot 47.3% (25-of-55) from the field, including a staggering 54.5% (18-of-33) from beyond the arc. Lawrence said the comfort and ease in the Wildcats’ offense that was on display against Mississippi State stems from the team’s dedication to both learn something from each game and, “the main thing, which is playing for each other.”
“If you have it, you have it,” Lawrence said. “And finding their best play, not necessarily the play that’s right in front of you, but just finding the right play, the best play for the team. So I just think we love playing for each other. We love playing with each other. So every opportunity, every day in practice, we’re trying to get better.”
Brooks seconded Lawrence’s comments, and added that his players, “they’re students of the game,” who’ve worked hard to improve their shots and offensive confidence.
“They work diligently on their game,” Brooks said. “And because we spend a lot of our practice time with individual instruction, and we work on the shots, the opportunities, that they’re going to get, so that, when it comes to game time, it happens organically and they don’t have to second-guess themselves. They don’t have to think about it. And that’s the one thing that my teams have always done. I’m not like, ‘Hey, Dazia, this is your spot right here.’ We’ll work on ‘em. We’ll work on it, and all of a sudden it gets ingrained in her that, ‘OK, if I get this opportunity, don’t hesitate, step up and take it.’ And then I’ve been able to watch them flourish a little bit in the recent, probably in the last month or so. Because I’ve let them go in practice.”
Kentucky will next take a road trip down to Nashville for another difficult matchup against a team receiving Top 25 votes. This time, Vanderbilt (14-1, 1-0) awaits to give the Wildcats its best shot.
Vanderbilt opened SEC play with a 108-82 win over Georgia on Thursday night. Mikayla Blakes, star freshman guard and former top-10 prospect in the class of 2024, led all players in scoring with 36 points — a Vanderbilt single-game freshman record. Sophomore forward Khamil Pierre scored 28 points and senior guard Iyana Moore and graduate forward Jane Nwaba each scored 10.
Pierre, Blakes and Moore are each averaging double-figure scoring for the Commodores through 15 games.
“Obviously, every opportunity is going to be a different challenge,” Brooks said. “And I’ve seen Vandy play a couple times, just as a fan, so to speak. You know, we’ll dive into it, but they’re extremely talented. It’s going to probably mirror the opportunity like we had tonight, just on the road. And it’s going to be a challenge. They have some young players who are playing exceptionally well, the freshmen that they have, and so it’s going to be a challenge for us. And I told the kids, ‘From here on out, everything’s gonna be a challenge.’ And I said, ‘but the saving grace for us is that when people look at us, they’re gonna say, ‘OK, that’s a challenge too.’”
Next game
No. 16 Kentucky at Vanderbilt
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
TV: SEC Network+ (online only)
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Kentucky 12-1 (1-0 SEC), Vanderbilt 14-1 (1-0 SEC)
Series: Vanderbilt leads 39-27
Last meeting: Vanderbilt won 95-73 on Jan. 11, 2024, at Rupp Arena in Lexington
