Strack Celebrates in Style as No. 14 Cats Top No. 19 Illini
On Wednesday, Kentucky sophomore Clara Strack celebrated her birthday. Then, she had a performance worthy of celebration as No. 14 Kentucky beat 19th-ranked Illinois 76-53 in the Music City Classic in Nashville.
Strack made 12 of 18 from the field on her way to a career-high 25 points. The Buffalo, New York, native tied her career high with 15 rebounds. She added four assists, a blocked shot and a steal.
UK got 15 points from Dazia Lawrence, and a double-double from Teonni Key, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Georgia Amoore had eight points and eight assists.
Kentucky got on the board first on a Key layup. After Illinois tied the game, UK got threes from Strack and Lawrence to take an 8-2 lead. The Illini would go on a 9-4 run to get within one, 12-11. After a Strack layup, Illinois scored five in a row, taking a 16-14 lead in the process. The Illini would lead 18-14 after 10 minutes of play.
The Cats tied the game early in the second quarter on an Amoore jumper and a Key layup. After Illinois grabbed a two-point lead, Strack hit consecutive shots to give the Cats a 22-20 lead. Illinois tied the game at 22-22 before Clara Silva made a layup to give the Cats a 24-22 advantage. An Amoore basket gave UK a 26-22 lead before Illinois tied the game at 26-26. The game was tied 28 apiece at the half. Strack led all scorers with 13 points in the first 20 minutes.
In the third quarter, Kentucky came out hot, hitting three of its first four shots to lead 34-29. Altogether, it was an 8-1 run that gave the Cats a 36-29 lead. Illinois would respond by scoring five of the next seven points, cutting the UK lead to 38-34. But Strack scored on consecutive possessions and Key made a layup to make it 44-36 Cats. Kentucky would lead 50-44 after three periods.
The Cats would pull away early in the fourth quarter. A three-point play from Lawrence gave UK a 53-46 lead. After an Illinois basket, UK got an Amoore jumper, a Lawrence three, a Key jumper, a Strack bucket, two layups from Key, another layup from Lawrence and a three from Amelia Hassett to complete an 18-0 run, giving Kentucky a 71-48 lead with 3:42 to play.
Kentucky returns to action on Thursday, visiting North Carolina for the SEC/ACC Challenge. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on ESPN2.
