I don’t think I’ve ever heard Historic Memorial Coliseum as loud as it was today. Third-place South Carolina was in town, with five seniors being honored, Marana Vanhus singing the national anthem and the Red Pandas performing at halftime.
Kentucky started the game well, but they ran into very difficult situations midway through the first quarter and deep into the second quarter.
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Kentucky trailed by 14 points with 3:45 left in the second quarter. After Kenny Brooks’ timeout, the Cats went on an 8-0 run to pull the Cats back into attacking distance, and the team entered halftime with a 33-27 lead.
The Cats were led by Clara Strack (10 points) and Amelia Hassett (6 points). 3 players had 5 rebounds each (Jordan Obi, Tony Morgan and Clara Strike). South Carolina was led by Madina Okot, who had a dominant first half with 11 points and nine points.
Kentucky crowd pushes Cats, but they fail
After halftime, Asha Boone found herself open at the top of the key. Her record in the last game was 0-6, but she performed very well in that game. The lead was back to 3 points. But a turnover allowed the Gamecocks to tie the game to five points.
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The Cats once again tied the game to three, but they again put it back on the board, allowing South Carolina to pull within five. Clara Strack’s fadeaway jumper put HMC back on its feet, but she then committed her third foul. Joyce Edwards only hit one field goal, while Asia Boone added another 3-pointer this time.
Medina Okote was miserable the entire evening, though. She scored. A steal from Strack and an easy layup put the Gamecocks within four points.
Tonie Morgan tied the score at two, but Tessa Johnson’s three-pointer pulled it back to five with 4:46 left.
Teonni Key had an unforgettable night. The upperclassmen missed rabbit after rabbit as Kentucky was within striking distance. She only has 1-9 to 3. Kenny kept calling her number, but she just couldn’t switch. The Gamecocks went on a 9-0 run to kick off the game that had just been tied.
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As they have done all season, turnovers turned the tables. Kentucky scored 6 points in the third quarter alone. South Carolina led 54-41 in the fourth quarter.
Except for the 14-4 score, the game was basically a draw. But when you play a team like South Carolina, they don’t need much.
Clara Strike scored 4 points in a row and had a chance to reduce the score to 5 points, but she missed two free throws. The Cats were stopped again, this time with Teonni Key converting the score.
Another Kentucky stop and another layup by Theone Key had HMC roaring. It was Dawn Staley’s turn to try to stop the bleeding, and she called timeout with a three-point lead with 3:30 left. Tessa Johnson and Clara Strack exchanged baskets and HMC roared in for another run, which they got.
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Kenny Brooks got the shot he wanted after a timeout. He did, but Asha Boone couldn’t convert from deep.
Tessa Johnson looks clean, but she also can’t convert from deep. With 1 minute and 10 seconds left in the game, Kenny Brooks called another timeout and the team restarted.
Jordan Obi drew a foul, but could only score 1 point. The Cats got a steal and had a chance to tie or take the lead. But they cannot transform. A jump ball returned the ball to South Carolina. Dwayne Staley called a timeout and all they had to do was shoot free throws.
The Cats had just one team-wide foul, before they got the bonus, when Medina Okot scored on a layup after two Cats collided. South Carolina won 60-56.
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Kentucky finished the regular season with a record of 21-9 overall and 8-8 in SEC play. They’ll be back in action this week in the SEC Championship Game in Greenville, South Carolina. Date, time and opponent have yet to be determined.
