‘That’s how you become great.’ Why Kenny Brooks keeps asking UK’s sophomore star for more
Ardent supporters of Kentucky women’s basketball probably loved Clara Strack’s 12th double-double of the season, which helped push the Wildcats past Missouri in their 73-65 victory on Thursday night, but head coach Kenny Brooks only “thought she was OK” — with the added context that he believes her potential to be much greater than her performance in Columbia showed.
“It’s because I work with her every day,” Brooks said. “We watch film every day, and I know what she’s capable of doing. So I know some of the plays that she probably wishes that she had back, and that is just the expectation is very high. And, you know, I had a great center (Liz Kitley) at Virginia Tech, and it was the same way. Sometimes you had to pinch yourself because she would come out and she would get 25 and 12, and you’d be like, ‘Oh, it’s a ho-hum 25 and 12.’ Clara Strack has a ho-hum 22 and 12, and I know she can be better. She knows she can be better, and that’s what we’ll continue to push her to. And that’s how you become great.”
Strack, who spent the majority of last season as Kitley’s primary backup at Virginia Tech, delivered a game-high 22 points, plus 12 rebounds, one assist and two blocks in Thursday’s Southeastern Conference win. It marked the sixth game in which Strack has scored at least 20 points, and the 13th game in which she’s grabbed at least 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-5 Strack is also just three blocks away from breaking the UK single-season record (66).
After a 12-point first half — which included a chippy moment between the sophomore and Missouri graduate forward Angelique Ngalakulondi and resulted in an intentional foul assessed to Ngalakulondi — Strack had no problem asserting herself in the second, and joined fellow Virginia Tech transfer Georgia Amoore (15 points) in scoring at least 10 points in the final 20 minutes of action.
“I’m very proud of her and what she did on both ends of the floor,” Brooks said. “She caught a couple of cheap shots to the neck area early, but she didn’t back down, and she did a really good job.”
Strack was one of four Wildcats to score at least 10 points in the win; Amoore finished with 19 points, three rebounds, five assists and one steal. Teonni Key contributed 13 points, five rebounds and one block. Dazia Lawrence added 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Strack, whom Brooks calls “the anchor of our defense,” set the tone defensively, but the Wildcats benefited from a well-rounded effort on the other end of the floor. Kentucky’s prowess was on full display in the second half, as the team came from behind to secure the win while holding Missouri nearly five points beneath its season scoring average. UK also held sophomore guard Grace Slaughter and senior forward Laniah Randle to just 14 combined points in the second half, after the duo had scored a collective 25 of the Tigers’ 34 points in the first half.
When asked how he’s seen the team grow defensively over the course of the season, Brooks said, “Some things we don’t do well, but some things we do exceptionally well” and “the proof is in the numbers.”
“We’re just a ‘bend, don’t break’ type-defense,” Brooks said. “And we understand the philosophy. We understand our assignments. They do a really good job of listening to the scout. And we don’t always execute it to perfection, but we do enough, and we try to funnel people into areas that we feel strongest at, and contest shots, and they understand that, and they do a really good job with it.”
Kentucky limited Missouri to 40 percent shooting (26-of-65), including 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from long range. The Wildcats blocked seven shots, matching their second-in-the-nation season average, and forced the Tigers (13-15, 2-11) into 12 turnovers.
The Wildcats scored 22 points off Missouri’s 12 turnovers and scored 38 of their points in the paint.
However, Missouri did outrebound Kentucky by 12, including a 14-board deficit on the offensive glass, an area in which the Wildcats have struggled throughout SEC play. Brooks joked that was due to the fact that “we’re an efficient basketball team,” and that “sometimes I would like a little bit more margin of error.”
“We can’t just rely on two people to rebound the basketball,” Brooks said. “We have to almost, like, you know, the expression is ‘gang rebound,’ and so everybody’s gotta be a part of it. We just had, tonight, we were trying to rely too much on Clara, but, overall, at this point in the year, to get a win on the road in the SEC is very valuable, and we’ll take it.”
With just three games remaining in his first regular season at Kentucky (21-4, 10-3), Brooks has set the program record for conference wins by a head coach in their inaugural season.
Each of the 14th-ranked Wildcats’ three upcoming contests will be played against ranked opponents, with No. 7 LSU (26-2, 11-2 SEC) coming to town on Sunday. The top-15 matchup will also serve as Kentucky’s Senior Day, at which Amoore and Lawrence will both be honored.
After the Tigers, No. 15 Tennessee travels to Memorial Coliseum ahead of the Wildcats’ regular-season finale at No. 6 South Carolina. The Wildcats are two games back from first place in the league and stand fourth, behind Texas, South Carolina and LSU. The top four finishers receive the coveted double-bye in the SEC Tournament.
“We feel like we’ve got a great LSU team coming into Memorial,” Brooks said. “And we feel like we’ve got a great basketball team, as well. And yeah, I like my chances when we get to play at home, just like anybody in the SEC. Some people will look at that situation as a gauntlet, but we’re looking at it as an opportunity. And we’re going to go out, we’re going to play. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. And this is a great opportunity for us to play in front of a sold-out crowd.”
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 21, 2025 at 11:23 AM.
