‘Win this one.’ Clara Strack, Kentucky open SEC Tournament with statement win
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Clara Strack posted back-to-back games with at least 20 points.
- Kentucky had its largest SEC Tourney win; three players had double-doubles.
- Cats will face Georgia next after a game with limited starter minutes.
Following Kentucky’s single-digit road win over Auburn last Thursday, Kenny Brooks told starting center Clara Strack that she’s “the worst superstar I’ve ever coached.”
“And when she looked at me, she had tears in her eyes,” Brooks said. “Before we got on the plane, she said, ‘Can we watch film tomorrow?’”
Since then — and with dwindling chances at a top-16 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, which would award the Cats hosting privileges — Strack has posted back-to-back games with at least 20 points, including a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double Wednesday in UK’s 94-64 first-round SEC Tournament win over Arkansas.
“She came out on Sunday (in the team’s four-point loss to South Carolina), and she was unbelievable,” Brooks said. “And she’s had the same look. Because she understands her value, her importance to us. But more importantly, mine and her relationship, I can say that to her. I can’t say it to anyone else, but I can say it to her, and she knows where it’s coming from. She knows I’m challenging her.”
No. 9 seed Kentucky (22-9, 8-8 SEC), which ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme currently projects will earn a top-16 overall seed with at least two wins this week, operates through its National Center of the Year contender.
But against No. 9 seed Arkansas, UK didn’t need to rely upon Strack to achieve its lopsided win, the largest margin of victory at the SEC Tournament in program history.
Three Cats recorded double-doubles in the win for the first time since 2015; besides Strack, reserve guard Jordan Obi delivered 14 points and 10 rebounds, and starting point guard Tonie Morgan scored 14 points and dished 10 assists.
They were joined in double-figure scoring by sharpshooters Amelia Hassett (18 points) and Asia Boone (10 points), as well as senior forward Teonni Key (12 points).
“Very proud of our kids,” Brooks said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to bounce back. Had an emotional game on Sunday. To be able to turn the page and understand what this is about in a relatively quick turnaround, I mean, we played on Sunday and then Monday we were flying down here. We were prepping all the while on the run.”
Kentucky worked its way to a 19-point lead after the first 10 minutes against the Razorbacks.
It was a cushion built through impressive long-range shooting from both Hassett and Boone, the latter of whom surpassed Rhyne Howard’s single-season record for made 3-pointers (84) in the first quarter before she and Boone went back and forth until the final buzzer, when the duo tied for 86 made triples on the season.
Hassett drained three of her six total made 3-pointers in the first quarter, while Boone sank two of her own; Strack was limited to just one point in the first period.
“When they started the game, I think the pressure was really heavy on the inside,” Strack said. “So those quick few 3s and then they just kept it going throughout the whole game. That was super important. They got us going. They got our energy going. They got us into a rhythm, so I think that’s really important.”
In the second quarter, Arkansas’ efficiency improved on both ends of the floor, and the Razorbacks outscored the Cats 23-13 to cut the halftime deficit to nine after trailing by as many as 20. Strack, Boone and Key each found themselves in foul trouble.
“We got fatigued,” Brooks said. “We got fatigued, and we made — we broke down. We had some breakdowns. Give them credit, they took advantage of them. Then we went back in, regrouped after halftime, and we were able to come back out.”
Not only did Kentucky respond and come out hot in the second half, outscoring Arkansas 52-31, but Brooks didn’t need his starters to play significant minutes in order to do so.
Ten separate players logged minutes in the victory, and Strack logged just nine minutes in the second half. Each of her fellow starters only had to play between 11 and 14 minutes, with only Boone clocking 10 in the fourth quarter.
Obi’s 27 minutes off the bench set the tone for Kentucky’s reserves. True freshman Kaelyn Carroll played 22 minutes, sophomore guard Lexi Blue logged six and junior guard Gabby Brooks clocked four.
Western Kentucky transfer and Louisville native Josie Gilvin, who entered Wednesday’s contest averaging just 6.4 minutes per game, recorded four points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 11 minutes of play.
“We put ourselves in this predicament where we have to do five in five,” Brooks said. “And that’s going to be extremely, extremely tough. So we’ve got to be extremely, extremely smart. We’ve got a game plan, packages for tomorrow, for Friday, for Saturday that I probably would never use in the regular season, but you’re gonna have to stress to the kids that fatigue is going to be just as much as understanding the scheme and everything else that’s going on.”
Heralded by fans and media alike as a dangerous No. 9 seed in this year’s SEC Tournament, UK’s league tournament schedule remained up in the air until the conclusion of Sunday’s regular season slate.
Four teams — Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Ole Miss — finished SEC play with a conference record of 8-8.
The Cats lost to Tennessee and Georgia but beat Ole Miss, while Tennessee lost to Ole Miss but beat both Georgia and Kentucky. Georgia split games with Ole Miss, beat Kentucky and lost to Tennessee.
According to the league office “in head-to-head between the four teams, (Tennessee) has a .667 winning percentage, (Georgia) and (Ole Miss) are at .500 and UK is at .333. Therefore, (Tennessee) is (the) 6 seed and UK is (the) 9 seed.”
Complicated? Certainly. And ultimately proved to be the difference in earning the final single bye of this year’s tournament.
Last year, the Cats finished fourth in the league and earned the final double bye. The stakes were different — Kentucky had locked in its spot as a top-16 overall seed — but UK lost to Oklahoma in its first-ever SEC Tournament game under Brooks. Wednesday’s victory was the program’s first in the conference tournament since 2024.
‘We’re just taking it one game at a time, one quarter at a time, one possession at a time,” Strack said. “Not looking too far into the future, because you got to win the one that’s in front of you to make it those consecutive days. So, like I said, we’re focusing on the next game. Obviously we’re going to rest in between as much as we can, but I think it’s really just, like, a mentality, a mindset going into each and every game that you have to win this one in order to even worry about the next one.”
Kentucky will next face No. 8 seed Georgia in the second round of the SEC Tournament Thursday at 11 a.m. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
