Coming off a nail-biter against Liberty in the First Round, Kenny Brooks and his Kentucky team faced a tall task against the Kansas State Wildcats in Round 2. The game was an absolute battle, eventually going into overtime.

Anyone watching this one was in for a treat. The final score was 80-79, with Kansas State pulling out the win to end Kentucky’s first season under head coach Kenny Brooks.

Here is the final box score:

The game started off with a quick Clara Strack three, and after she stole the ball a couple possessions later she attacked the rim and scored again, giving Kentucky their first five points. The very next offensive possession, Dazia Lawrence nailed a mid-range jumper and Kentucky got off to a fast 7-0 lead. Kansas State’s Serena Sundell finally got them on the board with a three, and then she scored again right after to cut UK’s lead to 2.

Clara Strack continued to dominate, scoring in the low post on back-to-back possessions. After struggling to hit a shot in the first couple minutes, Georgia Amoore knocked down a triple to move UK’s lead to 5. Amelia Hassett got on the board, but Serena Sundell was cooking for Kansas State as well, knocking down back-to-back threes. Hassett responded once more with another three and Kentucky ended the first quarter leading by 5.

Clara Strack scored the first points of the second quarter with a post fadeaway, and then UK forced a turnover on the other end. Strack then scored again on the next possession getting her off to a fast start offensively. The game basically became a 1-on-1 between Kentucky’s Clara Strack and Kansas State’s Serena Sundell, with both players trading baskets and accounting for most of their teams’ points.

Kansas State started taking advantage of a dry spell from Kentucky, cutting into the UK lead and then tying it up at 29. Kansas State then took the lead with a pair of free throws, and then extended it with two more on their next possession. Dazia Lawrence hit a midrange jumper at the end of the quarter, making it a two point game going into the half.

HALFTIME: Kansas State 33, Kentucky 31

Teonni Key, who was super quiet in the first half, knocked down a corner three to open the third quarter and then Dazia Lawrence got a tough bucket to give UK back the lead. After Kansas State got a couple buckets in the paint from Ayoka Lee, Clara Strack got a bucket plus the foul on the other end, putting Kentucky in front again. Clara Strack continued to produce, but Kansas State scored a bucket plus the foul to take the lead back. Dazia Lawrence responded by burying a three but Kansas State hit one of their own right after.

The third quarter was a back and forth war. Kentucky got some momentum going with Dazia Lawrence, Georgia Amoore, and Teonni Key scoring on three consecutive possessions. Regardless, Kansas State seemed to have a response every time, and the game stayed very close. The third quarter ended with Kentucky trailing by 1.

Georgia Amoore nailed a step-back three for the first score of the fourth quarter, but Kansas State’s Temira Poindexter knocked down a triple of her own in response. Dazia Lawrence then gave Kentucky the lead with a tough bucket, forcing Kansas State to call a timeout. After the timeout, Kentucky really struggled to score, missing a handful of layups and jumpers. Kansas State went up by three after feeding Ayoka Lee a couple times and Kenny Brooks was forced to call a timeout. Teonni Key knocked down a long two after the timeout, cutting it to 1. Dazia Lawrence buried a mid range jumper to take the lead and then Amelia Hassett grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it in to extend their lead to 3.

Kentucky then got a stop on defense, leading to a Teonni Key bucket. At this point, Historic Memorial Coliseum was the loudest I’ve heard it all season, and Kentucky got another stop on defense. Kansas State nailed a three on the next possession, cutting the lead to 2, and then Tamira Poindexter hit a three to take the lead for Kansas State. Georgia Amoore responded with a HUGE three, re-gaining the lead for Kentucky, with 32.8 seconds left on the clock. Kansas State’s Serena Sundell then tied the game up with 8.1 seconds left in the game, leading to a Kenny Brooks timeout, The tension in the arena was palpable, with a chance to win the game coming up. Unfortunately, the possession resulted in a missed shot, and we were headed to overtime.

The first score in overtime was a Teonni Key offensive rebound and putback, but Serena Sundell scored on the next possession for K-State to keep it tied. Clara Strack then scored in the low post on the next possession, but Kansas State nailed a three to take the lead back. Georgia Amoore buried a pull-up jumper, then Kentucky got a stop on defense. Amoore found Key for another layup, but then Kansas State hit a three to tie it up. Georgia Amoore was on fire, however, and nailed another pull-up mid-range shot to take the lead once again.

Kentucky really struggled to guard the three in overtime, giving K-State plenty of open looks that they took advantage of. Kansas State took the lead with one of those open threes and then Kentucky turned the ball over on the next possession. The game came down to a last second shot attempt from Georgia Amoore, which sadly did not go in. After an absolute classic game, Kentucky fell in the end, closing the season.

Despite the heartbreaking loss this was a fantastic first season for Kenny Brooks at Kentucky, which the team finished at 23-8 overall.

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