‘A great shift in perspective.’ Key returns to KY lineup with renewed mindset
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Teonni Key returned from a right elbow dislocation, posting 15 points and 10 rebounds to snap Kentucky’s three-game losing streak.
- Clara Strack scored a career-high 33 points with 15 rebounds as the duo combined for 25 boards against Arkansas.
- Kentucky, 18-5 (5-4 SEC), faces a tough stretch including Vanderbilt and Texas as it pursues remaining seven games.
As much as Kentucky women’s basketball (18-5, 5-4 SEC) missed Teonni Key during her weeks-long absence from the court, the senior forward may have missed being on the court with them even more.
After nearly a month, Key made her long-awaited return in style; in the No. 16 Wildcats’ 93-73 victory at Arkansas Sunday — snapping a three-game losing streak, UK’s longest under Kenny Brooks — she posted 15 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season, plus 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in 32 minutes on the floor.
“It was amazing finally being out there with the girls,” Key said. “It was great. I mean, I worked so hard to get back, so it was just nice to finally be out there and get back in the win column.”
Key, who sustained a heartbreaking ACL tear ahead of her freshman season at North Carolina, is no stranger to being listed as ‘OUT’ on the availability report.
As soon as she was injured in Kentucky’s Jan. 4 win over Missouri, her mind quickly moved from the pain she felt to the outcome of the matchup – and how the team would fare without her.
“My first initial thought, I was like, ‘Ooh, that’s not supposed to go that way,’” Key said. “When I felt it go out of place, and then I looked at it. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s not good.’ At that point, I wasn’t thinking about much other than like, ‘Dang, we better win this game.’ Once they got it back in and everything, it went smooth from there, that’s when it set in that it was gonna take a few weeks.”
Brooks announced the diagnosis, a dislocated elbow, on his radio show in the days following the injury. Key received an outpouring of support from not just her teammates and coaches, but also the support staff, and other coaches around the SEC.
Key, who shoots with her left hand, benefited from the fact that she’d injured her right elbow. It wouldn’t keep her out for the remainder of the season, or even conference play. If she did want to return as soon as possible, she’d have to commit to the painstakingly slow process. Her pathway to recovery, then, involved a lot of patience.
“Luckily, with not anything broken or torn, it was pretty smooth, honestly,” Key said. “So it was just like, first, a lot of rest. I couldn’t move it past a certain degree for a while. And then, some really basic things, like, I had to, turn my arm one way, turn it the other way, and then just really, slowly start incorporating more movement. And from there, I was able to progress as tolerated. So it really just depends on the person.”
Key worked as hard as she could — within reason, given the circumstances — to maintain her conditioning through biking and Versaclimbing, and remain an active member of the team. For weeks, she said she did her best to “keep her lungs,” and stay ready to play so she could jump back in when she felt comfortable returning to action.
Six games later, it was time for the Wildcats’ much-needed bye. Bruised, battered and exhausted, Brooks spoke of the reprieve the bye would afford them after the team’s third-straight loss — a 72-67 home casualty to the Georgia Bulldogs — in which Kentucky was, as Brooks put it, “a step slow,” for the majority of the game.
“I don’t really know how I feel about our kids right now,” Brooks said. “Other than, I do appreciate their effort. They’re tired. Extremely tired. And we’re one of the last teams (that hasn’t) had a bye yet. And obviously, with Teonni’s injury, it’s forced a lot more minutes on a lot of our kids. And you could just tell.”
The bye week just-so happened to coincide with Key’s graduation from Injured Reserve, and she rejoined her healthy teammates in practice as they prepared for Arkansas.
In her return against the Razorbacks, she wore a brace on her right elbow, something said she’d had reservations about when it was first introduced due to it feeling a bit “strange,” and clocked 32 minutes of playing time.
“I was just super excited to be out there,” Key said. “Honestly, I had been working hard for the past week, doing a lot with the practice players and stuff like that, like individual workouts and whatnot, going against them in scrimmages and whatnot. And being that it was our bye week, I was able to get a full week of practice under my belt.”
Following the win over Arkansas, Brooks made a point to highlight Key’s importance in the lineup, and emphasized how “extremely happy” he was to finally have her back. Despite pulling off an impressive top-5 win over Oklahoma without her on Jan. 11, the Wildcats struggled to find their rhythm and close out wins — both home and away — during her time on the bench.
Though the Razorbacks sit at the bottom of the Southeastern Conference standings without a league win, leaving Fayetteville with a win wasn’t promised. Especially after dropping ‘should-win’ games against unranked teams like Mississippi State and Georgia, or a disappointing narrow loss at rival Tennessee.
Without Key, the team’s typical edge seemed to lose its serration, just as it does when she has an off game. Leading scorer and star center Clara Strack wasn’t as efficient, and the Wildcats weren’t as aggressive on the boards and their turnovers were more plentiful.
And she saw it, too. Key said she gained “a whole new perspective,” while watching the game from the bench.
“This was the first time I really was able to do that for a long period of time,” Key said. “So I think just watching everybody, you know, helping them, giving them what I saw, like, in what ways could I help when I get back. And like, ‘How could I help now? How can I tell them, lead them here. What do people need? What can I do from this position?’ I think it was a great shift in perspective, as well. So when I came back, just applying those things that I saw.”
Key said it’s her priority to “do whatever we need,” to help her teammates perform as best they can, in addition to producing as a starter and leader .
“That’s why I do this,” Key said. “That’s what I love to do, is just be out there and help my teammates.”
After Brooks expressed his joy that Key was healthy and available, he said that he was sure Strack was, too.
Strack and Key, at their best an unbeatable duet in harmony, separate the Wildcats from not only the rest of the conference, but also from much of the country. Playing together, they are constantly in communication, working in tandem to claim ownership of the paint, and to create opportunities for themselves, each other and the other three Wildcats on the floor.
Strack herself was trying to get out of what she described as “a little rough patch,” in her game, as she’d scored just 10 points against Mississippi State, and only 9 points in each of the games against Tennessee and Georgia.
Arkansas didn’t just see a return to form for Key, but one for Strack, as well. The National Player of the Year watchlist selection scored a career-high 33 points, eclipsing 1,000 career points, and posted a double-double with 15 rebounds. Strack and Key combined for 25 rebounds, while the Razorbacks’ entire team grabbed just 24 boards total.
“That’s just Clara,” Key said. “I’m sure she’ll break that again one day. It’s just great to be out there…I think, just the versatility of each of us, regardless of where we’re at. Like, if she’s low, and I’m high, switch around, whatever that may look like. I think it’s a matchup nightmare for anybody, really…just two really tough people doing whatever it takes.”
Eighth in the conference standings, Kentucky’s seven remaining regular-season games feature an SEC-assigned home-and-away with Vanderbilt, two additional teams currently ranked within the top five and another top-25 opponent. Not to mention a date with the Texas A&M Aggies, which upset the Wildcats last season.
The stretch begins with a home game against No. 7 Vanderbilt before a road trip to No. 4 Texas, and Key said the Wildcats are happy to accept the challenge.
“We’re super excited,” Key said. “We’re super lucky to play two top-10 teams back-to-back. So we’re super pumped for that. And just ready to keep winning. So really, the prep is the same for any game. Just gotta lock in on the scout, stay focused on what we need to do, what we can do. Just keep playing competitive basketball.”
The Wildcats tip off in their first matchup with the Commodores at 7 p.m. Thursday . The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
