Silva, Strack Lead Cats Past Norse on Thursday
As the 22nd-ranked Kentucky women’s basketball team played Northern Kentucky on Thursday night, the name Clara was prevalent for the Blue and White.
Sophomore Clara Strack had 15 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, a career-high eight assists, four blocked shots and a steal for Kentucky. Meanwhile, freshman center Clara Silva had a career-high 18 points to go with four rebounds, five blocked shots and two assists.
It all added up to a 70-41 UK win over NKU. UK head coach Kenny Brooks was pleased with the win.
“Any time you can beat an in-state opponent, it’s big because we understand the magnitude of the game,” Brooks said. “It was a really good test for us.”
As for “the Claras”, as Brooks called them in the postgame, the UK head coach was impressed with them both.
“She’s got a nose for the basketball, she goes after it,” Brooks said of Strack. “She’s as physical as any player I’ve ever had. She wants to go get the rebounds, but she’s going to have to learn to play without fouling.”
Brooks also praised Silva’s progress.
“I’m tickled with her,” Brooks said. “She comes (to the United States) and we throw her right into the fire. The beauty is, she’s very, very smart. I’m very excited about her potential. She has to get a little more physical and play with a little more urgency, but she has something you can’t teach and that’s height.”
Georgia Amoore had 13 points, eight assists, five rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal for the Cats while Dazia Lawrence was the fourth Cat in double figures, scoring 10 points. Amelia Hassett did not have a great shooting night, but she contributed with a career-high 16 rebounds.
Kentucky (2-0) was cold out of the gate, making just two of its first eight shots from the field. Still, the Cats held a 5-1 lead early before NKU scored four straight to tie the game at 5-5. The game would be tied again at 7-7 before the Cats got a three from Cassidy Rowe and a fast break layup from Teonni Key to make it 12-7. Those were part of a stretch where the Cats made five of six from the floor. However, NKU hit a three as the buzzer sounded, and the UK lead was cut to 18-14 after 10 minutes of play.
In the second quarter, the teams would trade baskets early, with UK maintaining a 22-18 lead. That’s when Silva and Amoore scored consecutive baskets to give the Cats a 26-18 advantage. After a Northern Kentucky basket, UK scored seven in a row, with four from Strack and three from Amoore, to lead 33-20. The Cats would lead 36-23 at the half.
Kentucky scored first in the third period as Dazia Lawrence drove to the basket and scored. After NKU scored three straight, the Cats went on a 7-2 run to lead 45-28. Kentucky would turn to Silva for the rest of the quarter, as she scored six of UK’s final eight points in the period, and the Cats led 53-35 after three quarters.
The Cats would score the first five points of the fourth quarter, part of an 11-2 run, that extended the UK lead to 64-37.
Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday, hosting Wofford inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.
