‘On to the next one.’ UK women’s basketball to face Kansas St. after eking out NCAA opener
Ahead of Sunday’s second-round NCAA Tournament appearance against fifth-seeded Kansas State, the fourth-seeded Kentucky women’s basketball team (23-7) won’t watch much film.
In line with the one-game-at-a-time mentality embedded in the foundation of Kenny Brooks’ team, his message to his players is to simply “get ready for who we play Sunday.”
“This time of the year,” Brooks said, “you can have the feelings that you have right now, but as soon as I walk out of here, I’m going to be focused on the next game. And we won’t even watch film. We may watch a couple clips so the kids can understand what they need to do, but we need to be focusing our full attention on the next game.”
Friday’s first-round victory — a 79-78 nail-biter in which UK fended off a monster comeback from 13-seeded Liberty — featured 12 made 3-pointers, a program record-tying 34 points in an NCAA Tournament game by All-America point guard Georgia Amoore and a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double from the SEC’s defensive player of the year, Clara Strack.
But the win, UK’s first in the Big Dance since 2021, also included both Strack and junior forward Teonni Key fouling out; just two points from its bench, courtesy of freshman center Clara Silva; and a frustratingly unproductive fourth quarter — all things Brooks is hoping to improve on in Sunday’s game against a formidable Kansas State team (27-7) that has All-America center Ayoka Lee back in the fold just in time for the NCAA Tournament.
“We all got to be present in the moment,” Brooks said. “There are some things that I would do differently. I need to do differently. But you learn. This time of the year you are playing against so many new teams you are just going to — you want to — you have to adjust but you want to advance.”
In Kansas State’s 85-41 victory against 12-seeded Fairfield on Friday, Lee — dealing with lingering foot injuries — didn’t look much like a player who hadn’t clocked more than five minutes of playing time since Jan. 19. The projected 2025 WNBA draft pick finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and one steal in 15 minutes and 12 seconds against the Stags. She was joined in double figures in scoring by 2025 first-team All-Big 12 selection Serena Sundell (18 points and nine assists), All-Big 12 honorable mention, sophomore guard Taryn Sides (14 points) and senior guard Jaelyn Glenn (10 points).
Lee told media after the victory that she experienced no pain during the game, and that “I could have played more.” K-State head coach Jeff Mittie clarified that Lee is not on a minutes restriction.
Sunday’s game, then, will present a unique challenge for Kentucky’s post players — Strack, Key, Silva and junior forward Amelia Hassett — all of whom Brooks said “compromised under the circumstances a little bit” against Liberty and did not “play early defense.”
“You can attest some that to the fact that this is the first game out of the last 18 we played against a non-SEC team,” Brooks said. “A little bit different the way they run their offense. I will admit they probably surprised our kids a little bit with their strength and post up. And we have to be better on that end, all four of them, in order for us to be better and win.”
Strack’s stats sheet was filled — adding one assist, two blocks and two steals to her double-double in approximately 31 minutes of playing time — but Brooks said he felt that “Clara was a little bit off. I thought she played through some emotions and kind of took her out of her game a little bit.”
Against the Flames, Key recorded six points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal in roughly 32 minutes on the floor before fouling out. Silva added two rebounds, one block and one steal to her single field goal in just under eight minutes. Hassett scored more points than she had since the team’s Feb. 23 loss to LSU, finishing with six points. She also grabbed four rebounds, one steal and blocked three shots.
“Teonni, first time playing in an NCAA with a prominent role,” Brooks said. “Clara Silva, first time in an NCAA Tournament. It’s a different feel. So now when you go out there, Amelia Hassett, same thing. When you go out there, it’s not like, ‘OK, you lose today. Who do you have on Sunday?’ It’s, you lose today and you’re done. You’re done.”
Outside of Amoore, only fellow Virginia Tech transfer Strack (two games) and graduate guard Dazia Lawrence (one game) entered this year’s Big Dance with starting experience in the NCAA Tournament. Despite Brooks joking that “she came out like this was her 29th NCAA first round,” Amoore does have a significant edge over her teammates.
This year marks the projected first-round WNBA draft pick’s fifth NCAA Tournament, and the fourth time she’s advanced past the round of 64. Her postseason career is highlighted by the Hokies’ dominant 2023 run, which culminated in the program’s first Final Four appearance before falling to eventual national champion LSU.
Kansas State has now made the NCAA Tournament three times in the past four seasons, with its dancing coming to an end in the second round in 2022 and 2024.
In addition to her 34 points against Liberty, Amoore posted two rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks. Though this is her last dance, Amoore said the preparation remains the same as it’s been in each of her four previous NCAA tournaments.
“I think within the five I’ve had very different outcomes all five, so obviously want to make the push this last one and treat it as such,” Amoore said. “But the mentality has always just been the same, to just go out and put your best effort out.”
Mittie said Sunday would be “a very different game,” before noting that his team will benefit from opening the NCAA Tournament with 40 minutes of chemistry and communication against a team like Fairfield, which presents “things that we don’t necessarily see every practice.”
Mittie, Brooks and their teams will now have fewer than 48 hours to prepare for the Power Four battle, which will send its winner to the Sweet 16, to be played in Spokane, Washington.
“That’s why you hear coaches right now say survive and advance,” Brooks said. “When I walk out of here you guys probably won’t talk about this game forever. You know, we’ll be on to the next one. That’s what the tournament is all about. It wouldn’t be madness without stuff like this.”
Sunday
Kentucky vs. Kansas State
When: 2 p.m.
Where: Memorial Coliseum
TV: ESPN
Records: Kentucky 23-7, Kansas State 27-7
Series: Kentucky leads 1-0
Last meeting: Kentucky beat Kansas State 60-49 on Dec. 3, 2020, at Manhattan, Kansas
This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 6:00 PM.
