Time to ‘stop and smell the roses’: UK women’s basketball celebrating Senior Day on Sunday
Nearly one year ago, Kenny Brooks approached the construction of his inaugural Kentucky roster with a laser focus. He was searching for the type of veteran leadership that wouldn’t just translate to much-needed experience on a talented team, but also help lay the foundation for the entirety of his UK tenure.
Brooks knew All-America point guard Georgia Amoore, an instrumental playmaker during the historic rise of Virginia Tech under Brooks, would be moving with him to Lexington. But Amoore — even with her WNBA-level skill set and mountain of experience — couldn’t do it alone.
Enter transfer guards Jordan Obi, a three-year Penn standout who is expected to return next year after an unspecified lower-leg injury sustained during the offseason kept her off the floor all season, and Dazia Lawrence, an accomplished leader with NCAA Tournament experience who later led Charlotte in scoring during her junior and senior seasons. Both are 1,000-point scorers with distinct leadership styles who just happen to fit perfectly into Brooks’ system.
And now, as the No. 14 Wildcats (21-4, 10-3 SEC) continue to inch toward the end of a monumental regular season — just three games remain — it’s time for Sunday’s highly anticipated, sold-out Senior Day showdown against No. 7 LSU. The game, of utmost importance as Kentucky tries to prove its standing as a top-four team in the Southeastern Conference and a top-16 overall seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, will present another emotional opportunity — celebrating Amoore and Lawrence, and all they’ve brought and meant to UK in just one season.
“These two young ladies are here,” Brooks said. “They’re here for one year. I didn’t just want them to come in and help us build a super team. I wanted them to help us build culture. And what they have established, Clara Strack, Teonni Key, Amelia Hassett, all of them will learn from their leadership styles, and they’ll carry it on and put their own spin and twist on it.”
It’s well documented that Brooks believes in the power of approaching things “one game at a time,” but when addressing media members on Friday for a special Senior Day availability, Brooks described how, during Virginia Tech’s 2023 Final Four run, he and his staff and players adopted the motto of “stop and smell the roses.”
“I used to look ahead,” Brooks said. “‘What, we get two out of three, or if we win these last three games, if we do this, this can happen. This can happen.’ And you waste so much time thinking about it, and sometimes you lose focus of what you really need to do in that moment. And part of stopping and smelling roses is enjoying what you’re doing today. And today we watch film with the staff, and enjoy that. You know, enjoy. Put to rest what we did against Missouri and let’s get ready for LSU. And I find that you’re much better basketball team, you’re much better focused, if you just look at everything one day at a time.”
He explained how, a couple of weeks ago, Amoore sent him a quote about not looking past what you’re going through because everything you encounter in the moment “is what you prayed for.” This year, with all its changes, triumphs and mistakes, has brought together Brooks, his staff, Amoore, Lawrence and every other member of the program.
And, particularly with Amoore, his “mini-me,” Brooks said “this year has been special.”
“We spend probably a lot more time together,” Brooks said. “Whether it’s watching film, drinking coffee, you know, just doing whatever, talking about her future, talking about the present. Because she took a leap of faith to come follow me here, you know. She came here not knowing that Dazia was going to come here and be a great running mate with her.”
When it comes to Lawrence, Brooks said that while recruiting her during the offseason, his only question was, ‘Why didn’t I coach her earlier?’ And he described a photo Lawrence sent him recently from her high school playing days in North Carolina. In the photo, Lawrence and her Mallard Creek teammates were facing former Virginia Tech standouts Cayla King and Liz Kitley.
“And I just started reminiscing, or just, you know, kind of fantasizing,” Brooks said. “‘What if she was with us during those runs? What if she was with us earlier?’ Because not only is she my type player on the floor, but she’s my type person. And she comes in and she sacrificed a lot … She sacrificed to come to this level, and sacrificed a little bit of herself so she could play at a high level.”
Brooks joked about Lawrence averaging “100 points a game?” for the 49ers, but said he knew right way that Lawrence was exactly who he wanted to join them in Lexington, and that he appreciates the leap of faith and trust she put in him, especially when “she had overtures from a lot of different people.”
“It kind of goes back to when we talk about, you know,” Brooks said, “sometimes, kids can average 30, 40 points a game or, I’m exaggerating a little bit, but they’re not the right fit for your program. And she was the right fit. When I when I talked to her on the phone for the very first time, I knew she was who we wanted. And we went after her pretty hard. And when she decided to come to Kentucky, we knew we got somebody who was gonna be special, was gonna help us a lot of ways to help build a culture.”
From the players’ arrival over the summer, to opening day on Nov. 4, to Feb. 21 — the day after Brooks and the Wildcats set the Kentucky women’s basketball record for the most SEC wins (10) by a head coach in their first season with a road win over Missouri, and two days before Senior Day — and the sharpshooting backcourt duo have done more than built a culture. Brooks said Amoore and Lawrence are leaving a legacy that will impact each of their teammates, and he’s “very proud of them for what they’ve done. They both took leaps of faith and trusted in me and what we could accomplish here if we put our minds to it, and I’m forever grateful for them for that.”
Through 25 games, the Wildcats rank fourth in the Southeastern Conference standings, plus stood as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee’s preview of the top-16 overall seeds announced on Feb. 16. The program’s 21 wins mark the highest total since the 2019-20 season, during which the Wildcats assembled an overall record of 22-8 (10-6 SEC). It’s Brooks’ fourth consecutive season of at least 20 wins and 19th overall.
“Really proud of these two and what they’ve accomplished in a short amount of time,” Brooks said. “The chemistry that they’ve created, not only with each other, but with the rest of the group. Their leadership has been phenomenal, which has given us an opportunity to be successful. But I think the best thing is, when you reflect back on their season, and for them, it’s unusual because they’ve only been here for a year, but just them as people, and how they touch your lives as people.”
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While Brooks leaned on Amoore and Lawrence to lead and set the tone, the pair also found ways to grow together, learning from one another.
Amoore, who is on the watch list for several national awards, including the 2025 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year Midseason Team, leads the Wildcats with 19.0 points and 7.1 assists in a team-high 36.1 minutes per game.
Her path to becoming a nationally renowned point guard was a long one. The Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, native grew up on a horse farm, learned the value of hard work from those toiling around her, and, as she put it, ”I don’t think I had a star, like I wasn’t recruited like that.” Amoore said she’s benefited greatly from working alongside Lawrence, including accessing a brand-new dimension to her leadership.
“I can 100% say, Dazia’s brought a different side of leadership out in me,” Amoore said. “Like, she’s the more vocal kind. I think I was always a by-example type of person, and never necessarily had as big of a voice as I wish I wanted earlier, but she does. And she brought it out in me, for sure. So it’s been a pleasure just to watch her in how she leads with what she says, how she says it. She’s very articulate, very intelligent, and she just, I don’t see her not get along with anyone. So I think that’s really special about her, and something that I’ve learned from her.”
While Lawrence didn’t actually average 100 points per game at Charlotte, she certainly was the go-to scoring option for the 49ers the past two seasons. Lawrence is as important — starting as the off-ball guard in each of the Wildcats’ 25 games and averaging 13.0 points and a killer 44.3% from beyond the arc — yet her role just looks a little bit different. When asked what she has learned from Amoore, Lawrence highlighted the importance of giving your all, regardless of the time or circumstance.
“I can say the main thing I’ve really learned from G is just showing up every day and giving your best,” Lawrence said. “No matter what you’re going through. She has done a phenomenal job of just showing up and being the best version of herself every day. So that’s something that I can definitely take with me for the rest of my life, and just use that as an example that I can take down to whatever I do next.”
As far as Senior Day festivities go, fans can certainly expect to to see a tear or two from the duo. However, before either takes a moment to sit with their feelings and fully appreciate the emotions that come with giving your all to a program for one, truly meaningful, season, stopping and smelling the roses on Sunday just so happens to look a lot like locking in.
“Dazia and I,” Amoore said, “we are, and not just to throw it out there, we’re both Aries. So we’re both, I would say, we put on a strong front. And I see it with Dazia, she’s so strong, and I see a lot of her in myself. And, you know, I think when we really sit down and reflect and let the emotions come, they’ll come. But I think we’re both competitive, and I think on a day like Sunday, it’s going to be perfect for us because I think that we’re capable to kind of put things aside and get to business and celebrate after.”
“For sure, I agree with everything she said,” Lawrence said. “I think we have a very vulnerable side to us, and, when it’s time, it’s going to come out. And I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a lot of tears, tissues, just ugly cries.”
Per UK Athletics, Senior Day festivities will begin at 3:40 p.m., 20 minutes before tipoff.
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 26-2 (11-2 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
