Kentucky-South Carolina Postgame Quotes
KENTUCKY BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
KENTUCKY VS. SOUTH CAROLINA
HISTORIC MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
MARCH 1, 2026
KENTUCKY QUOTES
Coach Kenny Brooks
Opening statement…
“I’m very proud of my kids. I think they displayed a lot of heart, especially in the fourth quarter, going down the stretch. I think we grew a little bit. It’s been kind of a crazy season where I feel like we just haven’t been able to get a rhythm. Obviously, we’re probably playing our best basketball in the first part of January, and then you have to reinvent yourself. I can keep talking about it, and it’s not an excuse; it’s just our why, where we are. We’re excited about the next steps, postseason play, and I think we’ve proven we can play with anyone in the country. That’s our fifth top-five game, and I think we handled ourselves pretty well. We’ll continue to learn from it, and I think we will grow well from these experiences.”
On defensive adjustments in the second quarter…
“We had to do a little bit of something different because Clara had two fouls, and we knew we wanted to continue to keep her out there. We went into the game with that game plan, trying to mix it up a little bit. We knew we were going to do some zone, there was a reason for us to go to that particular time. I thought the kids did a good job of adjusting. Today was just about pure heart, determination, with the way that they played. We didn’t play well; we didn’t have a flow pretty much until we were getting the basketball to her. Very proud of her, Clara is who I’m referencing. Thursday night, she did not play well at all, and I challenged her. I challenged her in front of everybody because we’ve invested a lot, but we need a lot from her in regards of how she feels, and she responded on Friday and Saturday. Her intensity was at a different level and carried over today. I think we got a rhythm when we got the basketball to her, but we just have too many wasted possessions. You can’t have a lot of wasted possessions against a team like South Carolina.”
On Asia getting better throughout the game…
“It was welcoming. Your assessment is pretty on; she didn’t play well on Thursday. Then she came out, kind of like a lingering hangover, and then we were relying on her. We needed her, and she snapped out of it. She made some good plays, saw the ball go through the basket. I think that really started to settle her down a little bit. I thought she did a tremendous job of running the team. I was proud of her effort. I think she learned a lot.
#13, Clara Strack
On playing against Madina Okot…
“She’s obviously a great player. She’s big, but I think I got myself in foul trouble early, like coach said, and that’s on me. So I wasn’t able to be as aggressive as I would have liked to down the stretch. I mean, she’s a great player, she’s big, she does a lot for them, she rebounds really well, so she’s a tough player.”
On playing through frustration…
“I think just playing off of it, giving it back and then playing to my strengths too. That’s just how they’re gonna play too. And if I stay unfrustrated and steady, it doesn’t bother me at all.”
