Kentucky women’s basketball fends off Florida comeback attempt, moves to 3-0 in SEC play
Georgia Amoore and the Kentucky Wildcats improved to 14-1 (3-0 SEC) with a 71-55 defeat of Florida on Thursday evening, UK’s fifth straight victory over the Gators in Gainesville.
The No. 15 Wildcats got out to a double-digit lead after the first quarter for the second consecutive game, and utilized a combination of 50% (8-of-16) shooting from the field and lockdown defense to establish its footing in the opening 10 minutes. Kentucky made its first five field goal attempts and put a quick seven points on the board before the Gators scored.
Kentucky continued exercising its control, holding Florida (10-7, 1-2 SEC) to just nine points in the second quarter while ballooning its own lead to 22 at the half. All-America point guard Amoore led the charge for UK, contributing 14 points in the first 20 minutes as Florida’s scorers put up a combined 19. Kentucky grabbed nine steals and held the Gators to 24% (6-of-25) shooting while limiting second-leading scorer Ra Shaya Kyle to zero points on just one field goal attempt through the first half.
The Gators made five straight field goal attempts early in the third quarter, and not only outscored Kentucky in the period, but scored almost as many points as they had in the entire first half. However, the Wildcats still put up 15 points and shot an efficient 53.8% (7-of-13) to maintain their commanding lead.
Florida cut UK’s lead to as few as 11 in the fourth quarter, pushing to make up for its lackluster first half. Ultimately, that effort would prove futile in the face of three double-figure scorers for Kentucky, and a dominant, 18-point differential in points off turnovers. This marked the Wildcats’ first 3-0 start to league play in a decade.
Amoore led all players in scoring with 18 points, ending what was a six-game streak of scoring at least 20 points. She added five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Fellow graduate guard Dazia Lawrence contributed 14 points (including four 3-pointers), two assists and two steals. Sophomore center Clara Strack added 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal.
2024 All-SEC Freshman Teamer Laila Reynolds led the Gators in scoring with 15 points. Senior guard Jeriah Warren scored 13 points. Freshman Liv McGill added 10.
Next game
Auburn at No. 15 Kentucky
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Kentucky 14-1 (3-0 SEC), Auburn 9-7 (0-3)
Series: Auburn leads 28-27
Last meeting: Auburn won 78-50 on Feb. 15, 2024, at Auburn, Ala.
This story was originally published January 9, 2025 at 6:56 PM.
