Kentucky-LSU Postgame Quotes
KENTUCKY BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
#14 KENTUCKY VS. #7 LSU
HISTORIC MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.
FEBRUARY 23, 2025
Head Coach Kenny Brooks
Opening statement…
“Obviously, disappointed with the outcome, obviously not trying to play for moral victories. We want to get a ‘victory victory,’ but we give LSU credit. I thought they came out in the second half, and they wanted it more than we did, and it kind showed when we played. By the time we rebounded from them, we were in a fight. Going down the stretch, they made plays that they needed to make and we didn’t. We give them credit, and there was a lot of talk about their players. Mikaylah Williams is a load and a great player, she missed 11 shots, but she made the ones she needed to make. Flau’Jae (Johnson) made shots that she needed to make. You look at the stat sheet, and that stat sheet can lie because you can’t put a price or premium on when someone makes a shot because they made big shots when they had to have them and gave them a little bit of separation. All in all, we fought hard and had some lapses, and we allowed them to take advantage and control the basketball.”
On Clara Strack and her growth…
“Very pleased with what she did. We have been harping on her a lot because we need that production from her and I thought she was as tough as she has been all season. Very happy for her because the message is getting through. Her value to our team and what she can bring to us, so this is something we can build on. We have some very important games left for the rest of the season. We have two regular season games left that mean a lot, the SEC tournament that means a lot, and the NCAA tournament which means a lot. This is really good for her and hopefully she can build off of this. We are excited for her because we know her value and what she can do for us, and I am happy for her about her production tonight.”
Getting better in the paint……
“Yeah, I mean, like a lot of times, you know, we must look at what other teams do extremely well, and LSU is probably the best rebounding team in the country. And to say that you want to control them, we did a really good job in the first half. They got loose in the second half. They had a little bit more determination, and we had some mental lapses but that’s what they do. We understand that. And, you know, something that we’ve been talking about, you know, we played in the last two weeks. We played three teams that their identity is that. So, I thought our kids, their mindset, was really good. I thought especially that first half, when we didn’t have our full complement of players, when Tiana got their second foul extremely early in the game, and Claire Strack got a second foul, and we still held our own. So, I was pleased with that first half.”
Playing with more aggression….
“These kids, they’ll fight. And honestly, I’ll be very candid. I’ll be very honest. 14 SEC games that we have, and I’m still trying to figure out what is and what isn’t (regarding fouls). We’re trying to figure it out. You know every game is different and, you know, sometimes it’s like they’re not calling pushes in the back, or anything, and then we barely push it back, and it’s a foul. So, we’re trying to figure it out, you know? And obviously, this is my first year in the SEC. It’s her (Georgia Amoore) first year in the SEC. The amount of grabs and holds that she’s gotten, we are trying to figure it out. We’re 10-4 with two to go, and we’re still in a position where we control our own destiny. I like their fight, and we teach to play the game in a certain way, and maybe we have to figure out the way that it’s played and adapt.”
Player Quotes
#3, Georgia Amoore, G, Gr.
On how today reflected Clara Silva’s growth…
“I mean obviously she’s still a freshman, so I think you know especially being in the SEC, the physicality is different. It’s a different beast. She’s had her ups and downs, but the way that she produced today was good. It was needed. I found especially when I was driving the bigs were over-rotating. [Aneesah] Marrow would come over or [Sa’Myah] Smith would come over, so it led to a lot of opportunities for her to put some sort of baskets for us.”
On what message she would have to little girls that are watching her play and her mental toughness…
“I just try to make lessons out of silver linings and little things, that kind of helps me. It’s an honor that I get the defensive pressure I get. It’s an honor that they scout me the way they scout me. It’s an honor that I get grabbed and face-guarded when they pass the ball in. It’s an honor that I came over here, and I got stuck during COVID because if I didn’t have that, I wouldn’t have the relationships I had. Every single thing that I’ve been through basketball-wise, it has shaped me into the player I am, and I think I hear it all the time. I’m too short, I’m not quick enough, I’m not this, I’m not that. But it’s like, okay, what I’m then because we’re a ranked team, people scout for me. I don’t know if that’s a nobody then. So, I think that for me, I don’t know if it’s just being Australian or the mentality that we grow up having. Never get too high and never get too low. People are always going to talk to people, or people are always going to say something. And there’s going to be days where you feel it, there’s going to be days where you disagree, there’s going to be days where you agree, but I’m this. I’m solid. I’m enjoying what I have. You call it what you know, what’s on the other side, you know, the grass is not always greener. It may look like that, but it’s not. I love what I have, I love the experience I’ve had. I’ve loved the staff, the guidance, the coaching. I’ve squeezed every single ounce of whatever orange juice was in that orange, that has been my college career, I take pride in that, and I just take little wins every single day. So, if that’s what you have to do, then do it, because I’m loving my life right now.”
