Kentucky women’s basketball takes down West Virginia to advance to Sweet 16
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- Kentucky advances to Sweet 16 for first time since 2016 after 74-73 win.
- Clara Strack and Teonni Key combine for 37 points and 25 rebounds.
- Kentucky outrebounded West Virginia 39-23 and earned 16 second-chance points.
The Kentucky women’s basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.
UK stars Clara Strack and Teonni Key combined for 37 points and 25 rebounds to lead the No. 5 seed Wildcats to a 74-73 win Monday over No. 4 seed West Virginia in Morgantown. Kentucky will face No. 1 seed Texas in a Fort Worth, Texas, regional Saturday.
The win marked the first Sweet 16 appearance for UK under coach Kenny Brooks, who led Wildcats to the second round in his first season as coach last year. UK last advanced to the second weekend of the tournament 10 years ago but did so as the No. 3 seed hosting first weekend games in Lexington. Kentucky has never previously reached the Sweet 16 as worse than a No 4 seed.
“We’re going to be prepared, we’re going to we’re going to be ready for the next opportunity,” Brooks told reporters in Morgantown. “But you got to really embrace it, because I have a group of young women in that locker room that are so much fun to be around. They’re great kids, they’re very smart.
“...So, heck yeah, I’m going to sit back and sit on the roses and really enjoy this. We’ve gotten so much support. That’s one of the reasons why I came here. I wanted to come here to be on this stage. And if it weren’t for the guidance of (athletic director) Mitch Barnhart, I wouldn’t be here. It was like, OK, we want something bigger. We want to be able to compete consistently.”
Kentucky was in control for most of the game Monday but had to withstand multiple West Virginia comebacks to advance.
The Cats led by 11 with 6:39 left in the second quarter, but West Virginia scored 13 of the next 15 points to tie the game.
The game was tied at 36 at halftime, but Kentucky used a 13-2 run to open the third quarter to regain control. UK led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, but West Virginia used the support of a raucous home crowd to open the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run to pull within four points with 7:33 remaining. A Tonie Morgan jumper and Strack layup gave Kentucky some needed breathing room, but West Virginia was not finished.
“In March and in this environment, they’ve got some extra fuel,” Key said. “So I think just us staying composed and staying together was the main focus. I mean, we knew they’d go on runs. We knew we’d go on runs. So just us having each other’s back, talking and just doing what we do, staying focused on that, and not letting other things like sway us, I think that was the most important part.”
Mountaineers guard Jordan Harrison stripped Strack of the ball then converted two free throws after being fouled on the ensuing fast break with 1:20 remaining to pull within one point at 72-71. Morgan answered with a jumper at the free throw line with 55 seconds left.
UK guard Asia Boone, who hit three third-quarter 3s to help Kentucky build its lead, fouled out on the next possession. West Virginia’s Gia Cooke converted both free throws to pull back within one.
Amelia Hassett missed an open 3-pointer on Kentucky’s next possession, giving West Virginia the ball back with 8.3 seconds left. Cooke, who tied for the West Virginia lead with 23 points, missed a possible game-winning elbow jumper with 0.8 seconds left.
“Basketball is such a beautiful sport, crazy sport, if you want to dig deep,” Brooks said. “If you look, last year, we played against Kansas State (in the NCAA Tournament), and we threw the ball inside. We got the ball to our star player, Georgia Amoore, and she took a floater ... that danced around on the rim and fell off, almost identical the way Gia’s shot danced off.
“...The basketball gods have a funny way of just imposing their will, and we were very fortunate that it didn’t (fall).”
Key appeared to secure the UK win by rebounding that shot, but Kentucky was unable to successfully inbound the ball after calling a timeout. West Virginia received one final possession with 0.2 seconds left but was unable to get a shot off at the buzzer.
Key, who missed six games in SEC play with a dislocated right elbow, led UK with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Strack recorded her 16th double-double of the season with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Morgan added 15 points, converting 9 of 10 free throws.
The size of Key and Strack proved essential for Kentucky, which outrebounded the smaller West Virginia squad 39-23 and earned a 16-7 advantage in second-chance points.
“I told both of them one day before practice in the preseason that they had the potential to be the best frontcourt in the country, and tonight they showed why they can be that,” Brooks said. “Both of them are 6-foot-5. They’re they’re mobile. You saw Teonni bringing the ball down the floor, helping break the press. Clara did it a couple times. Then they can man the paint. So, I was very proud of those kids.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 7:18 PM with the headline "Kentucky women’s basketball takes down West Virginia to advance to Sweet 16."