UK women’s basketball nearly rallied at South Carolina, but then ‘the flow really changed’
Kenny Brooks and the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats pulled within one point for the third time at the 6:12 mark of the fourth quarter in their 78-66 loss at No. 6 South Carolina. Then, “the flow really changed.”
From that point on, the Wildcats (22-6, 11-5 SEC) found themselves on the wrong end of a 10-point scoring run, and only made one layup in the final 5 minutes and 42 seconds. During that time, the Wildcats also committed seven of their 14 turnovers — their only turnovers of the second half.
Kentucky’s unsuccessful comeback attempt ended with South Carolina hoisting its fourth consecutive Southeastern Conference regular-season title — shared this season with No. 1 Texas — and ninth overall. But Brooks was proud of his team’s effort, despite his thinking that “we didn’t always play the best, we didn’t always execute when we needed to.”
Kentucky entered Sunday’s matchup having already clinched fourth place in the SEC standings, solidified as the recipient of the fourth and final double-bye in this week’s SEC Tournament.
“We did a really good job,” Brooks said. “The last four minutes of the game, the flow really changed, and we just, we weren’t able to recover. And they got a little bit more aggressive, and the flow just really was changed.”
The Gamecocks (27-3, 15-1) led for more than 38 minutes of the regular-season finale, and they closed the door on the Wildcats with their largest lead of the contest (12 points) on a 3-pointer from junior forward Chloe Kitts with just under one minute to play.
But it wasn’t all bad for the Wildcats, as the aforementioned comeback attempts were fueled by hard play from their starting five, particularly sophomore center Clara Strack, who Brooks said almost didn’t play due to a thigh bruise.
Strack led all players in scoring with 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting, including two of her four 3-point attempts. Nineteen of her points came in the second half. Strack added eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. That performance followed her perfect-from-the-field outing in the Wildcats’ rout of No. 11 Tennessee on Thursday, and it made her the first player to record at least 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal against South Carolina since Connecticut’s Gabby Williams on Feb. 13, 2017.
Strack was joined in double figures in scoring by All-America point guard Georgia Amoore, who finished with 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. Junior forward Teonni Key added 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks, and graduate guard Dazia Lawrence finished with 10 points.
“Clara Strack was unbelievable,” Brooks said. “She’s playing on one leg. She had a thigh bruise, and we didn’t even know if she was gonna play today. And, obviously, with the 4 seed wrapped up, you know, there was thought of maybe even just sitting her, maybe sitting Georgia. There’s nothing we really could have gained from this situation. But she wanted to play, and she came out and she played exceptionally well. Very, very proud of her.”
Sophomore guard Tessa Johnson led the Gamecocks in scoring with 16 points. Senior guard Te-Hina Paopao contributed 13. Junior forward Kitts added 12. Sophomore guard MiLaysia Fulwiley finished with 10.
The Wildcats, outscored by eight in the first half, won the third period 20-17 before ultimately falling due to South Carolina’s lockdown defense late in the fourth.
“(Johnson’s) defense was on point,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. “She actually played Amoore the way we needed to play her — the discipline it took for the way we needed to play her because we didn’t get it in the third quarter. We made adjustments at halftime that we couldn’t quite execute. And then, when we put Tessa in the game, I think her defense, as well as Lay’s defense, really, really just gave us a boost. And I actually wasn’t planning on playing ‘em the rest of the quarter, but they were doing so well that, on both sides of the basketball, we just let ‘em finish the game.”
Brooks said that the missteps and not playing perfect is just “what happens when you’re playing one of the best teams in the country.” Where the team was at the start of the regular season — a dominant 55-point victory over South Carolina Upstate to open Brooks’ first year at the helm, and the coach’s lone exception to denouncing moral victories — is, per Brooks, leagues away from where the Wildcats are now. While it’s true that there were doubts at the start of the year, especially, he said, in the wake of the unforeseen, preseason injuries to transfer guards Jordan Obi and Dominika Paurová, his roster has still found a way to achieve high highs.
“It’s been the smoothest year that I’ve had,” Brooks said. “The kids are, they’re great. They came together organically to form a chemistry that we do have, and to, you know, finish top four in this league. That’s a tall order, because it’s the best league in the country, so I think it’s been a lot of fun, it’s been very successful. But the great thing is, we feel like we still have a lot of basketball left to play, and we’re excited about that.”
The Wildcats shot 43% (27-for-63) from the field, including 26% (6-for-23) from long range, and narrowly outrebounded the Gamecocks 34-33, including 14-11 on the offensive glass — a particular point of emphasis for Kentucky during league play. South Carolina entered Sunday’s game ranked third in the the SEC in rebounding.
“He’s got a really talented squad,” Staley said. “They’ve got chemistry, they work well together and they’ve got a really good point guard. … Super happy for Kenny, and for making our league a better league. Because it’s not easy, like, it’s not easy at all. And it’s only getting harder and harder to win basketball games in our league.”
Next game
Kentucky in the 2025 SEC Tournament
Who: Kentucky’s first game will be against the winner of Thursday’s game between Oklahoma and the winner of Wednesday’s game between Arkansas and Georgia.
When: 2:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 9:10 AM.
