Clara Strack’s 33 points lead No. 9 Kentucky past No. 8 Georgia 76-61

GREENVILLE, S.C. (LEX18) — It was a beautiful day in Greenville, South Carolina for some Kentucky basketball.

Day two of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament saw the No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats face the No. 8 Georgia Bulldogs. In the teams’ first meeting back in January, the Wildcats fell just short, losing by five points, making the tournament rematch both a survive-and-advance game and a chance at redemption for Kentucky.

The Wildcats got exactly that. Behind a career-tying 33 points from Clara Strack, Kentucky rolled past Georgia 76-61 in the second round of the tournament.

Georgia got on the board first, but All-SEC first-team selection Clara Strack quickly responded with her signature fadeaway jumper.

Both teams went through a brief scoring drought midway through the first quarter. Kentucky missed five straight shots over a three-minute stretch before Strack converted an and-one to spark the offense again.

Strack continued to show her versatility, knocking down a 3-pointer to stretch the lead and prove she can score from anywhere on the floor. She reached double figures just eight and a half minutes into the game and added another 3-pointer late in the quarter to bring her total to 13 points with one minute remaining.

After a dominant first quarter from Strack, she led all scorers with 13 points and two blocks, shooting 5 of 9 from the field and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.

Georgia began to chip away in the second quarter, but Key reached double-digit scoring within the first two minutes to keep Kentucky in front. The Bulldogs tied the game at 24-24 on a 3-pointer from Dani Carnegie, then took their first lead since the opening basket on a layup by Trinity Turner.

Strack answered with her third 3-pointer of the game to give Kentucky the lead again after the score was tied at 26.

From there, the Wildcats and Bulldogs traded baskets in a tightly contested stretch that featured six lead changes before halftime. Georgia carried a 36-35 lead into the break.

Strack sat the final two minutes of the half, likely due to foul trouble, but still led all scorers with 18 points. Key added 10 points for Kentucky on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting start. Turner paced Georgia with 12 points.

Right after the break, Strack opened the third quarter with another fadeaway and converted the and-one to give the cats a 38-36 lead over Georgia.

The back-and-forth battle continued, but Strack stayed hot. She knocked down her fourth 3-pointer of the game to give Kentucky a 43-40 lead with just over six minutes left in the quarter.

Strack added her fifth triple with under three minutes to play, pushing Kentucky’s lead to 50-44.

Meanwhile, Amelia Hassett and Asia Boone were both held scoreless through three quarters after double-digit performances against Arkansas in the previous round.

Kentucky led 54-49 heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final quarter, the cats began to pull away, once again led by Clara Strack. The Wildcats went on an 8-0 run over 2:41, capped by a Strack fadeaway that tied her career high with 33 points and pushed Kentucky’s lead to 68-56 with 3:39 remaining.

Kentucky held Georgia to just 12 fourth-quarter points to secure a 76-61 victory. The Wildcats shot 50% from the field and won the rebounding battle 35-26.

Strack led Kentucky with a career-tying 33 points and added eight rebounds. Teonni Key recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

With the win, Kentucky advances to the quarterfinals of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament and will face No. 1 South Carolina at 12 p.m.

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