Strack, Amoore Lead No. 16 Cats Past Toppers
Clara Strack scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the 16th-ranked Kentucky women’s basketball team beat Western Kentucky 88-70 on Saturday night inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
Georgia Amoore also had 21 points for the Cats, and she dished out nine assists. Teonni Key had 15 points and six rebounds, while Saniah Tyler had a season-high 11 points.
Kentucky (11-1) scored the first two points of the game on a Strack basket before WKU tied the game at 2-2-. A Dazia Lawrence jump shot gave UK a 4-2 advantage before the Toppers scored four straight to lead 6-4. An Amoore three allowed Kentucky to take the lead back, and a Teonni Key bucket made it 9-6 and an Amelia Hassett putback stretched the Cats’ lead to 11-6.
WKU would get a pair of free throws to make it 11-8. The Toppers then got a basket and free throw to tie the game at 11-11. A Clara Silva layup gave UK the lead back and a Strack layup made it 15-11 Cats. After a WKU basket, Amoore drove to the hoop for a layup, making it 17-13, which would be the score after the first period.
Western got a pair of free throws early in the second period before Key made consecutive baskets to give UK a 21-15 lead. After WKU scored five in a row to get within one, 21-20, UK got a Hassett basket and another hoop from Key to extend the lead to 25-20.
Key scored again on a nifty up-and-under layup, giving UK a 27-20 lead. After a Western Kentucky basket, UK got layups from Strack and Saniah Tyler to extend the lead to 31-22. The next trip down, Tyler drilled a three and the Cats had a 34-22 lead. A Strack basket completed the 9-0 run and gave the Cats a 36-22 lead. Kentucky would lead 38-27 at the half. Both Key and Strack scored 10 points in the first half.
Kentucky was able to extend its lead early in the third quarter. A Strack layup, followed by two Lawrence free throws and an Amoore three comprised a 7-0 UK run that extended the lead to 45-27. After WKU scored five in a row, Strack scored again and the Cats led 47-32.
WKU would make four consecutive free throws but a Lawrence three-pointer made it 52-36 Kentucky with 5:49 left in the third quarter. The Toppers would get as close as 13 points, 54-41, before Tyler made consecutive threes to stretch the lead to 60-43. An Amoore layup made it 62-43 and the Cats would lead 66-48 after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Kentucky would lead by as many as 23 points before settling for the 18-point victory.
Kentucky returns to action on Thursday, hosting Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference opener. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.
