‘We just didn’t answer the bell.’ No. 8 Kentucky lacks aggression in loss to No. 3 Texas
Following the No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats’ 67-49 loss to No. 3 Texas on Thursday night — the team’s second consecutive loss and first loss at home this season — Kenny Brooks told his team that, “on February 13, Texas was better than us in all phases of the game tonight.”
From stem to stern, Kentucky (19-4, 8-3 SEC) looked to be out of rhythm and searching for answers on both ends of the floor. Texas, now having defeated two top-10 opponents back-to-back in South Carolina and Kentucky, used its depth and physicality to disrupt the Wildcats’ often unstoppable offense, keep UK in foul trouble and take advantage of miscommunications. Apart from a cold-shooting first quarter, after which the Longhorns still held a two-point lead, the Wildcats were largely several steps behind Texas.
Second-leading scorer Clara Strack was held to zero points on just one field goal attempt, plus four rebounds, one assist, two blocks and one steal in 18 minutes on the floor before fouling out in the first minute of the fourth quarter. Through three quarters, only graduate guards Georgia Amoore and Dazia Lawrence, junior forward Teonni Key and junior guard Saniah Tyler had scored any points. Though Brooks went deeper into his rotation than he usually does, bringing in Tyler and fellow reserves Lexi Blue, Clara Silva and Cassidy Rowe for additional production, there was no one distinct “flow.”
“(Texas was) very, very physical throughout the basketball game on the perimeter,” Brooks said. “But also on the offensive end, they got really good touches, compromised our rotations, and we just didn’t play well. Didn’t play well the whole night, and it’s really hard. This is our 11th conference game. And, you know, we’re still trying to figure out the flow. It seems like the flow has been different every game.”
Ultimately, three Wildcats finished in double-figure scoring. Amoore finished with 14 points, one rebound and three assists. Lawrence added 11 points, three rebounds and one assist. Key recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Longhorns (25-2, 11-1 SEC) were led in scoring by SEC Co-Preseason Player of the Year Madison Booker and backup center Kyla Oldacre, each of whom contributed 19 points. Starting post Taylor Jones added 15.
UK suffered through several minutes-long scoring droughts, including a near-eight minute spell in the fourth quarter that drove the final nail into the coffin. Ironically, that dry spell came after the Wildcats’ best stretch of the night — 10 consecutive points to open the fourth quarter and force a Texas timeout to stop the bleeding.
Amoore said it was aggression that allowed for Kentucky to string the run together; the quick burst of energy brought stop after stop for the Wildcats, who harnessed that slight momentum to get downhill and attack. However, Texas wasn’t discouraged by its once-22-point lead dwindling to 12, and, Amoore said, it’s not enough to “just trade buckets.”
“That’s a team that’s composed and knows how to attack when we get on runs, you know?” Amoore said. “I think as soon as we got on runs, we needed to continue that energy and that momentum and translate it defensively. I’ve been on teams before when Coach Brooks has said we need to be aggressive on defense and aggressive on offense, like we need to initiate a lot of the contact. I just don’t think we had that, like it was like, we expected it on one end and not the other a lot of the times.”
For the third straight game, Kentucky lost the battle of the boards. Texas outrebounded the Wildcats 45-28, and, just as was the case in UK’s loss to Ole Miss on Monday night, the offensive rebounding discrepancy was overwhelming; Kentucky grabbed just five offensive rebounds to the Longhorns’ 20, and scored eight second-chance points while Texas posted 21.
Brooks said the Wildcats are a better team when they’re able to rebound, get the ball out and get easy opportunities, as opposed to working against set defenses, but that they aren’t “getting the clean rebounds like we need to,” especially against Texas and Ole Miss.
“Our strength is not just sitting, going toe to toe with you on our offensive end for the whole game,” Brooks said. “You know, we can do it in spurts and we can do it, but if we have to do it for the whole game then it’s not our strength. And we need to be able to get rebounds cleanly, get it out and go and get easy opportunities in transition.”
Kentucky is now firmly in fourth place in the SEC standings with three conference losses, while Texas hosts No. 6 LSU (25-1, 10-1 SEC) on Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats will welcome over 60 program alumnae for Alumni Day on Sunday for Kentucky’s rematch with Georgia (10-15, 2-9 SEC).
Brooks did note that he had viewed Ole Miss as “the best defensive team in the conference on Monday night” and, after a quick turnaround, he now believes that title belongs to Texas. The challenges will only continue, as three out of the top four rebounding teams in the league — LSU (47.3), South Carolina (42.6) and Tennessee (42.0) — still lay ahead for the Wildcats.
“That’s what they’re known for,” Brooks said. “And we just didn’t answer the bell, and we’ll have an opportunity to get better at it. Obviously, Georgia comes in here, and they hang their hat on defense. So we’ve got a lot to learn in a couple of days about ourselves. But we’re fine. We really are. We’re fine in that locker room, and we understand that we’re playing in the best league in the country.”
When asked how she, as a leader of the team, talks to her teammates when times get tough, Amoore emphasized the importance of maintaining a positive attitude and not letting the disappointments carry over into future games. She also noted how there are “select few games left where we can really go out and show some things.”
“We’re in a point of the year where we can’t hang our head,” Amoore said. “Like, we know what we’re doing wrong. It’s very clear what we’re doing wrong. And we can’t let this energy ball up and snowball into the next game. ... A very present mindset. Like, it’s not like we’re scratching our heads thinking, ‘what’s going wrong?’ It’s very obvious that, you know, our aggression, our rebounding, our physicality needs to be fixed, but also just reminding them there’s something we can do. You know, it’s not out of reach. It’s not something that we have to wish to go our way.”
Next game
Georgia at No. 8 Kentucky
What: Alumni Day
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
TV: SEC Network+
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: Kentucky 19-4 (8-3 SEC), Georgia 10-15 (2-9 SEC)
Series: Georgia leads 41-24
Last meeting: Kentucky won 78-64 on Jan. 19, 2025, in Athens, Ga.
This story was originally published February 14, 2025 at 11:14 AM.
