Clara Strack’s double-double leads Kentucky women’s basketball over Missouri
Kenny Brooks’ 14th-ranked Kentucky women’s basketball team added another win to its postseason résumé with a 73-65 Southeastern Conference victory over Missouri in Columbia on Thursday night.
The Wildcats (21-4, 10-3 SEC) played from behind for the majority of the first quarter, as the Tigers shot 47.1% (8-of-17) while holding Kentucky scoreless for nearly two-and-a-half minutes. The period, which ended 18-18, marked the first time on the road during conference play this season that Kentucky did not lead after the first quarter. The first 10 minutes were also longer than expected due to a review that resulted in an intentional foul assessed to Missouri graduate forward Angelique Ngalakulondi, who got into it with UK sophomore center Clara Strack with about two minutes to play.
Missouri (13-15, 2-11 SEC) relied on 25 combined first-half points on 11-of-17 shooting from sophomore guard Grace Slaughter and senior forward Laniah Randle to increase its edge to as many as four in the second period; the rest of the Tigers combined for nine total points on 3-of-16 shooting. Though neither program could generate much offensive production, Kentucky did manage to hold Missouri scoreless for more than three minutes, but still could not steal a substantial lead, and trailed 34-31 at the half.
The Wildcats caught a break at the start of the third quarter, when Ngalakulondi was called for her fourth foul and had to return to the bench. The Tigers’ foul trouble compounded when redshirt sophomore guard Averi Kroenke picked up her second and third fouls before the four-minute mark, and Kentucky took advantage of the opportunity to create its largest lead of the game to that point — a nine-point advantage built on the back of a 7-0 scoring run that overlapped with a Missouri scoring drought lasting over five minutes. UK notably held Slaughter and Randle to just five combined points in the third quarter, and carried a 54-47 edge into the fourth.
Georgia Amoore opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, pushing the Wildcats’ lead to 10. The Tigers would not quit, pulling within a single possession with just over four minutes to play on a layup from Randle. However, a key offensive foul against Missouri sent Amoore to the floor, and set Strack up to add another bucket in the paint for breathing room. Amoore, Strack and graduate guard Dazia Lawrence combined for all of Kentucky’s 19 points in the final period as the Wildcats closed the game on a 6-0 scoring run, thus ensuring a victory against their final unranked opponent of the regular season.
Four of Kentucky’s five starters finished in double-figure scoring to continue Missouri’s losing streak against ranked opponents. Strack led all players in scoring with 22 points, and added 12 rebounds, one assist and two blocks. Amoore added 19 points, three rebounds, five assists and one steal; Amoore scored 15 second-half points after totaling just four in the first 20 minutes. Junior forward Teonni Key finished with 13 points, five rebounds and one block. Lawrence contributed 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Randle led the Tigers with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Slaughter scored 18 points.
Next game
No. 7 LSU at No. 14 Kentucky
What: Senior Day
When: 4 p.m. Sunday
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: LSU 25-2 (10-2 SEC), Kentucky 21-4 (10-3)
Series: LSU leads 37-18
Last meeting: LSU won 77-56 on March 3, 2024, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
This story was originally published February 20, 2025 at 10:01 PM.
