UK women’s basketball scores its biggest win ever over Lady Vols in wire-to-wire romp
No. 15 Kentucky picked up a necessary women’s basketball victory with an 82-58, wire-to-wire rout of No. 11 Tennessee in front of a sold-out crowd in Memorial Coliseum on Thursday night.
The margin of victory was Kentucky’s largest ever over the Lady Vols, beating its previous record of 21 set on March 6, 2020.
The win also kept the Wildcats (22-5, 11-4 SEC) on track to claim one of the four double-byes in next week’s Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Sophomore center Clara Strack set the tone early for the Wildcats, delivering nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting before the first quarter media timeout. Despite the Lady Vols’ intense press and rapid-fire substitutions, Kentucky appeared prepared for the challenge; the Wildcats eased out to a double-digit lead in the first 10 minutes and held Tennessee to just nine points on 17.4% (4-of-23) shooting. The Wildcats also secured sole ownership of the Kentucky all-time record for total blocks in a single season (182) with their two blocked shots in the first period.
Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell was forced to use a timeout within the first minute of the second quarter after UK scored back-to-back baskets. The Wildcats, who were playing a nine-deep rotation, did not relent, and extended their lead to as many as 19 thanks to a dominant first half from a one-two punch of Strack, who scored 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting, and Teonni Key, who totaled 14 on 6-of-9. Through the second quarter, the Wildcats shot an efficient 52.6% (20-of-38) and outrebounded the Lady Vols 29-17.
Strack recorded her 67th block of the season in the third quarter, overtaking Victoria Dunlap’s all-time program record for most individual blocks in a single season set in 2009-10. Through three periods, four Wildcats — Key (18), Strack (17), Georgia Amoore (16) and Dazia Lawrence (13) — had achieved double-figure scoring. Only leading scorer Talaysia Cooper (19) had scored more than six points through three quarters.
Kentucky achieved a game-high lead of 35 points early in the fourth quarter. The game supplanted Tennessee’s 70-63 loss to South Carolina on Jan. 27 as the Lady Vols’ largest margin of loss this season, and moved the all-time series between Kentucky and Tennessee to 61-16 in UT’s favor.
Strack paced the Wildcats with 23 points on 11-for-11 shooting, including one 3-pointer. She also recorded 15 rebounds, two assists and three blocks. Key added 18 points, 10 rebounds, one assist, two blocks and two steals. Amoore contributed 18 points, one rebound, seven assists and one steal. Lawrence finished with 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and one block.
Cooper finished with a game-high 25 points, and added four rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal for Tennessee (21-7, 8-7).
The Wildcats will close regular-season play with a road trip to No. 6 South Carolina on Sunday afternoon.
Next game
No. 15 Kentucky at No. 6 South Carolina
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Kentucky 22-5 (11-4 SEC), South Carolina 25-3 (13-1)
Series: South Carolina leads 41-35
Last meeting: South Carolina won 103-55 on Feb. 25, 2024, at Rupp Arena in Lexington
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 9:04 PM.
