It’s up to fate.’ Inside the final 35 seconds of Kentucky’s season-ending loss to K-State
With approximately 35 seconds to play in the neck-and-neck overtime period of No. 4-seed Kentucky’s 80-79 loss to No. 5 Kansas State, Clara Strack blocked a layup attempt from All-America center Ayoka Lee. It was Strack’s first and only swat of the night, and number 73 (now the UK single-season record) on the year; the block, recovered by junior forward Teonni Key, meant UK had — at least — one more possession, and, therefore, another chance at its first Sweet 16 berth since 2016.
Strack began the game with a smooth 3-point bucket after Kentucky had won the opening tip, and wreaked havoc for Kansas State all afternoon; the SEC Defensive Player of the Year finished with a team-high 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting, plus eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and the aforementioned block. “Obviously, she’s a great player,” Strack said of Lee. “We knew that. We knew they were a great team, so I think it was a fun battle.” Kentucky (23-8) had led for more than 27 minutes in the contest, with its largest lead (seven) arriving midway through the second quarter. Kansas State muscled back before the half, fueled by a pair of made 3-pointers from senior forward Temira Poindexter and continued work from Lee, senior forward Kennedy Taylor and first-team All-Big 12 selection Serena Sundell.
In a game which featured 20 lead changes, Kentucky never allowed its opponent to open things up; Kansas State’s best advantage peaked at four points early in the third quarter.
21 seconds on the clock — Kentucky trails 80-79 With a three-second differential between the game clock and the shot clock, All-America point guard Georgia Amoore fired off a jumper midway between the free-throw line and the top of the key.
Though Amoore’s performance wasn’t as deadly as the one in Friday’s first-round victory over 14-seed Liberty — highlighted by a program-record-tying 34 points — it was still business as usual for the projected first-round pick in this year’s WNBA draft; Amoore posted a stat line of 18 points, three rebounds, six assists, one block and one steal in four seconds shy of a full 45 minutes on the floor. She’d hit big shots all game, including UK’s final bucket of the contest — a two-point jump shot in the paint to give Kentucky a single-possession edge with 71 seconds to go — and two of its five made field goals in overtime. Like a Lee or a Sundell, Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie emphasized how difficult it is to stop someone of Amoore’s caliber, especially when those around her are elevated by her play.
“A player like her, it’s tough,” Mittie said. “It’s tough. She does so much for her team. I thought we did a good job, though. I thought they stuck to the game plan, even when Georgia was able to do some things that I didn’t like. She’s such a good player. … She’ll have a heck of a pro career because she just makes everybody around her better.” Amoore’s shot banged off the rim, bounced off the backboard and landed among a sea of arms belonging to four Kansas State Wildcats, and those of junior forward Amelia Hassett, Key and Strack. The ball, ultimately, didn’t go to anybody, but instead bounced out of bounds, last touched by Lee.
No more shot clock, Kentucky ball.
18.7 seconds
In the moment, ESPN analyst Tamika Catchings said on the call that, if she were Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks, she’d give the final opportunity to UK’s “stars,” who could get it done in a critical moment.
“You wanna have the last shot,” Catchings said. “No matter what. And I’m going to one of my stars. You’re gonna go Georgia Amoore, you’re gonna go Dazia Lawrence, or Clara Strack.” Against Kansas State (28-7), Brooks unsurprisingly leaned heavily on his ironclad starting five — Amoore, Lawrence, Hassett, Key and Strack — just as he had all season; Amoore, Lawrence and Strack each played for at least 42 minutes in the contest, while Hassett clocked approximately 39 and Key, sidelined at points due to foul trouble, played for just over 31 minutes.
As Brooks noted Saturday, March is no time to reinvent the wheel. “At this juncture, you pretty much are who you are,” Brooks said. “And we’re a good basketball team that has strengths. We also have weaknesses, just like K-State, just like anybody that you’re playing against. … That’s what the beauty of March is. You’re not going to go out in one day try to reinvent yourself as a team, but you want to try to make sure you’re playing your best basketball.”
Amoore inbounded the ball to Strack before cutting to the elbow just to get it right back and launch a wide-open 3-pointer. It did not land, but ricocheted to Lawrence, who dribbled it out behind the 3-point line and kicked it back to Amoore.
Lawrence, in her final contest as both a Kentucky Wildcat and a college athlete, finished with 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting, and added five rebounds, one assist and two steals. “That’s why I came here,” Lawrence said. “I knew that I wanted to win and go far in the tournament, and I knew that coming here we was going to make the tournament. This year has been so amazing. I was telling my teammates that this year I’ve had so much fun. It was the most fun I’ve ever had in my years playing college basketball.”
10.3 seconds
Amoore hit Hassett at the top of the key for a strong look beyond the arc.
The 6-foot-3 junior college transfer had shot 50% (2-of-4) in the first half, hitting a pair of 3-pointers to aid in Kentucky’s quest for success beyond the arc. When all was said and done, UK had made eight of its 30 long-range attempts, with Hassett the only player not named Amoore to drain more than one.
She finished with seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and eight points — her highest point total since UK’s tight loss to LSU on Feb. 23, and a closer value to that which Big Blue Nation grew accustomed after averaging a double-double through much of her first Division I campaign. Brooks called out Hassett’s underperformance following the team’s loss at Ole Miss on Feb. 10, and she’d struggled to find her footing in light of illness and a loss of momentum further down the difficult stretch of SEC play.
“Having the support behind me definitely helped,” Hassett said after the game. “Just building my confidence off that, I think that was the main thing.” Sunday’s stat line served as a reminder of what Hassett can do, and gave fans another flash of what’s to come. But, with the game on the line, Hassett’s final shot of the season didn’t land, either.
7.2 seconds
Hassett’s shot bounced off the back of the rim, and sailed directly into Key’s hands for the offensive rebound.
The former top-10 prospect and North Carolina Tar Heel tried to pass it out to Hassett as she herself was swarmed by a pair of purple jerseys, but sophomore guard Zyanna Walker intercepted it. Strack and Key flocked to Walker, and Key forced the jump ball, with the possession arrow favoring UK.
Key, a 2021 McDonald’s All-American, had a breakout year after never truly rising to outside expectations at UNC; she sustained a torn ACL in a preseason scrimmage ahead of her freshman campaign and struggled to stand out, or get significant playing time, post-recovery. Against Kansas State, Key recorded Kentucky’s lone double-double, and finished with 13 points, 15 rebounds, two steals and three blocks.
“This whole past year of just coming here, everything was a whirlwind,” Key said. “It feels like it went by super fast. I think it’s just a tremendous blessing, really, to just be able to do it with this group, and the staff included, everyone, and even the fans, it’s all been just super amazing.” For Key’s efforts, UK would get one final opportunity to come out on top with just enough time for another shot.
3.2 seconds
When Brooks was hired by UK director of athletics Mitch Barnhart nearly one year ago, it shook the women’s college basketball landscape. Once it was rumored that Amoore had entered the transfer portal in lieu of joining her fellow WNBA draft hopefuls, it was widely assumed that the point guard would follow her coach to Lexington.
In one season at Kentucky, Amoore broke records, joined two of the sport’s biggest names — Iowa alumna Caitlin Clark and Oregon icon Sabrina Ionescu — in posting at least 2,300 career points and 800 career assists, was named a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award and made the ballot for national player of the year.
But, per Brooks, her greatest contribution came in the form of helping him establish a culture and foundation for the future of Kentucky women’s basketball. Georgia Amoore was a face of Virginia Tech, and, now, she’s become the face of Kentucky, too. And, alongside Lawrence, set an example of true leadership for Strack, Hassett and Key, and everybody else.
“I think in the locker room we were kind of saying that it’s been such a blessing for both of us to bring Kentucky back,” Amoore said. “Obviously, Kentucky is a name brand on the men’s side. I told the girls, ‘It’s up to you, whatever you decide, but hang around because it’s only going to go up from here.’” So, with the season on the line, who better to give the final shot to, than Georgia Amoore?
Amoore inbounded the ball to Strack, who passed it back to the graduate as she cut to the basket, instead of handing it off to Amoore as the play call dictated.
“We ran that play, we’ve run that play all year,” Amoore said. “They kind of bit when I went off the handoff. Usually it is a handoff, so I had to reject it. As soon as I caught it, I realized how open I was, and it’s up to fate at that point.” Amoore sent a floater to the basket with more than enough time before she got her shot off. A hush fell over the crowd at Memorial Coliseum as all in attendance watched the ball bounce on the rim once, then again, before falling the wrong way.
Strack was right there beneath the basket to secure the offensive rebound, but by then it was too late — fate didn’t deem it UK’s day, and Kentucky’s season came to an end on its home court. Amoore finished with 18 points, three rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block, and she held her head high through the handshake line with a smile on her face.
“I’m not going to let one shot affect five years,” Amoore said. “That’s pretty much it.” With the win, Kansas State booked its first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2002. Poindexter led all scorers with 24 points, draining 8 of 15 from beyond the arc. Sundell finished with 19 points, and dished 14 assists for the double-double. Lee added 16 points. Taylor finished with 11 points.
Mittie noted in his opening statement how “it obviously could have gone either way,” and that “these games are like that, especially when you have two really good basketball teams.”
“I think everybody just witnessed one of the great games in the tournament right now,” Mittie said. That was — it’s hard to even go over all the big shots both teams made. You go the last 10 minutes of the game, and there were just huge shots by both teams and different players.” Mittie also took the time to say that “Lexington should be really excited about their team and their coach,” and that the future is “really, really bright” under Brooks.
As Kentucky turns a new page in the wake of Amoore and Lawrence’s graduation, things will look different for Brooks and the Wildcats. The transfer portal, which opens later this week, giveth, and it taketh away. Assistants and staffers may, or may not, move on to new opportunities. Next year’s program will not look the same. The Wildcats are in pursuit of more than a 23-win season and first-weekend hosting privileges in the NCAA Tournament, and, despite Sunday’s disappointments, or whatever changes may lay on the horizon, Brooks and his team will continue to believe.
“The season is going to end the way that somebody wants it for one program in the country,” Brooks said. “Whether it’s today, whether it’s next week, whether it’s yesterday, whatever, you’re going to have this thing. I think, in my maturity as a coach, you take the emotion out of it. You look at the facts, and the facts are I don’t know what people expected us to do this year, but we always believed in ourselves. Even though we had adversity, we stepped up, and the kids reinvented themselves, but they always believed in themselves.”
