No. 7 Kentucky Holds Off Florida on Thursday
Tonie Morgan scored a season-high 26 points and handed out 13 assists as No. 7 Kentucky held off Florida 94-89 on Thursday night inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
For Morgan, it was her fifth double-double of the season and the 20th of her career.
Clara Strack battled foul trouble in the game but still scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds. Asia Boone, Amelia Hassett and Jordan Obi each had 12 points for the Cats.
Kentucky (17-2, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) got on the board first via an Obi layup. Florida tied the game but Boone drove to the basket and scored, then Hassett scored five in a row before a Strack three made it 12-2. A Morgan basket closed out the 12-0 run before Florida scored four in a row to get within eight, 14-6.
Strack hit another three and Morgan scored on a layup to give UK a 13-point lead. After a Florida three, Lexi Blue hit a three and Morgan scored on a steal and score to give the Cats a 24-9 lead. UK would lead 29-14 after 10 minutes of play.
Florida scored the first five points of the second quarter before Obi scored to extend the lead to 31-19. The Gators answered by scoring the next five, but Boone hit a three, giving UK a 34-24 lead. However, Florida scored eight in a row to get within two.
A Morgan reverse layup extended the UK lead to 36-32, but Florida answered with a basket of its own. Morgan then hit a three and two free throws to stretch the lead to 41-34. A Strack baseline jumper gave UK a nine-point advantage but Florida answered with two free throws. Morgan scored again but the Gators hit a late three to cut the UK lead to 45-38 at the half.
Strack scored the first points of the third quarter but Florida scored the next four to get within five. Strack then hit a three, but Florida answered with a three of its own to make it 50-45. Strack would score again, followed by an Obi bucket, to extend the lead to nine. The Gators scored before Morgan made one-of-two at the line to give UK a 55-47 advantage.
Florida then scored 10 in a row to lead for the first time in the game, 57-55. Morgan tied the game with two free throws but the Gators hit a three to lead 60-57. Morgan scored to get the Cats within one, but Florida scored to again lead by three.
A Kaelyn Carroll triple tied the game at 62-62. The Gators hit a three to lead again before Morgan scored to get UK within one. Florida scored the next six points before Morgan made two free throws to get the Cats within five, but the Gators scored just before the end of the quarter and Florida led 73-66 after three quarters.
Kentucky scored the first six points of the fourth quarter on a Morgan free throw, a Hassett three and a Blue layup, to cut the deficit to one, 73-72. Florida scored to lead by three before Obi scored underneath to get UK within one. After a Gators’ bucket, Boone hit a three to tie the game at 77-77. The teams would trade baskets, with Obi scoring again, to tie the game at 79 apiece.
Florida scored four straight before Hassett hit a three to get the Cats within one. A Strack bucket gave UK an 84-83 lead, but Florida regained the lead on the next possession. An Obi layup gave the lead back to the Cats, but the Gators responded to lead 87-86.
Strack made two free throws to give UK the lead back, 88-87, with two minutes remaining. A Boone floater extended the Kentucky lead to three with 36 seconds to play. With 20 seconds remaining, Boone made two free throws to extend the lead to five.
Kentucky returns to action on Sunday, visiting Mississippi State in Starkville. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.
