FINAL SCORE: KENTUCKY 70 NKU 41
It was a slow start in Lexington, as both the Wildcats and the Norse struggled to see shots fall in the early minutes. It didn’t take long for Kentucky to see the ball go through the net more consistently, but a Northern Kentucky triple at the buzzer pulled the Norse within four going into the second quarter.
The second quarter is when the Cats started to gain momentum. The Clara Strack-Clara Silva duo proved extremely tough to stop. Strack nearly had a double-double at halftime with 9 points and 9 rebounds, along with 5 assists and a steal. Silva added 8 points, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. Multiple of those assists came from feeding each other in the post. A triple by Georgia Amoore towards the end of the quarter also brought her point total to 9 points at the break.
Kentucky opened the second half in a very similar fashion to the start of the game, struggling to see good shots go down. However, they saw two players hit the double-figure mark by the end of the quarter with Clara Silva (14 points) and Georgia Amoore (13 points). Clara Silva and Amelia Hassett both hit the double-digit mark on the boards as well in the third quarter, grabbing 11 each.
The final quarter was all Wildcats as they held the Norse to only six points. Clara Strack finished the game with a double-double, 15 points and 13 rebounds. Strack also added a team-high 8 assists and 4 blocks, along with a steal. Clara Silva was Kentucky’s leading scorer, tallying 18 points on 9-for-14 shooting. Amelia Hassett was the leader on the boards, grabbing 16 rebounds. Georgia Amoore stuffed the stat sheet (13 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 steal). Dazia Lawrence was the fourth and final Cat to score in double figures with 10 points.
Kentucky also got in the record book for blocks, finishing with 16 blocks as a team, the second most in a single game in program history.