No. 6 Cats Hold Off Fifth-Ranked Sooners on Sunday
Tonie Morgan scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists as No. 6 Kentucky topped fifth-ranked Oklahoma 63-57 on Sunday inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
Clara Strack had her ninth double-double of the season and the 25th of her career, scoring 18 points and pulling down 12 rebounds for the Cats. Strack also blocked three shots in the contest. Jordan Obi added 11 points for UK.
Kentucky scored first on a Morgan basket in the lane, but Oklahoma tied the game on the other end. Morgan would score again, but the Sooners would tie the game again at 4-4. A Strack three-point play gave UK the lead, but the Sooners scored the next 10 points to go ahead 15-7.
Obi hit a free throw to stop the run and when Morgan scored on a fast-break layup, the Cats cut the deficit to 14-10. The Sooners scored again and the teams each made one free throw to close the first quarter, which ended with Oklahoma leading 17-11.
Oklahoma scored the first seven points of the second quarter before a Morgan three cut the deficit to 24-14. An Amelia Hassett three got the Cats within seven, but Oklahoma quickly scored on the other end to lead by nine.
A Morgan layup, followed by a Kaelyn Carroll three, made it 26-22 and forced an Oklahoma timeout. The teams would trade baskets twice, with Carroll and Strack scoring for the Cats, making it 30-26. After an Oklahoma bucket, Morgan banked in a three and was fouled. She completed the four-point play to get the Cats within two, 32-30. The Sooners scored again before Obi hit a pair of free throws to get UK within two again. Obi then scored underneath to tie the game at 34-34, and that would be the halftime score. Morgan led all scorers with 15 points in the first half.
Obi scored the first points of the third quarter to give UK a brief lead. However, Oklahoma scored the next four to lead by two. A Strack jumper tied the game before the Sooners took the lead again. A Morgan layup tied the game and a Strack bucket gave UK a 42-40 advantage.
Hassett hit a three to extend the lead to five, but the Sooners scored on a putback to get within three, 45-42. A pair of Strack free throws extended the lead to five, but Oklahoma scored again to make it 47-44. Morgan made two free throws late and UK led 49-44 after three quarters.
Oklahoma scored first in the fourth quarter, but Strack drove to the basket and scored to make it 51-46. The Sooners scored, but Morgan answered and the Cats led 53-48. Oklahoma would hit a three to get within two but Strack hit a pair of free throws to give UK a 55-51 lead. The Sooners scored the next four points to tie the game at 55-55.
Strack scored in the lane to give UK a two-point lead, but Oklahoma tied the game on two free throws. Obi scored four in a row to give the Cats a 61-57 lead with 3:48 remaining. The teams then went scoreless for over three minutes before Morgan made a free throw with 15 seconds remaining. Asia Boone added a free throw with two seconds remaining to provide the final margin of victory.
Kentucky returns to action on Thursday, hosting Florida. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.
