On Thursday night, the 16th-ranked Kentucky women’s basketball team hit a school-record 18 three-pointers in a win over Mississippi State. On Sunday, the hot shooting from outside continued for the Cats.
Kentucky (13-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) beat Vanderbilt 96-78 on Sunday in Nashville, hitting 15 of 31 from behind the arc in the game.
The Cats had five players in double figures in the game, and each of them hit at least one three-pointer. Georgia Amoore led UK with 24 points, hitting three triples in the game. Amoore added nine assists. Amelia Hassett had 20 points, including six threes, to go with nine rebounds and five assists.
Dazia Lawrence hit three triples on her way to 17 points, while Clara Strack hit one three while also scoring 17 points. Strack added 15 rebounds in the game.
Teonni Key had 14 points, hitting a pair of three-pointers, while grabbing seven rebounds.
Kentucky scored the first points of the game on an Amoore layup. After Vandy hit a three, Hassett answered with a three of her own. Amoore would add a three, followed by another triple from Hassett, to cap a 9-0 run that gave UK an 11-3 lead.
After a Vandy basket, Kentucky got a three from Lawrence and an Amoore layup to extend the lead to 16-5. The Commodores would score again, but Key scored at the basket, was fouled and made the subsequent free throw to give the Cats a 19-7 lead. The ‘Dores scored again before Hassett hit another three to give the Cats a 22-9 lead, forcing a Vandy timeout. At that point, Kentucky had made eight of its first nine shots, including five of six from beyond the arc.
Lawrence hit another three to extend the lead to 25-9. After Vandy scored three straight, UK got a free throw from Strack and three from Amoore to lead 29-12. A Vandy three got the ‘Dores within 29-15, but Saniah Tyler hit a pair of free throws, giving the Cats a 31-15 advantage. Vandy got the last basket of the first period, but Kentucky held a 31-17 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Early in the second quarter, the three-pointers continued to rain for the Cats. Key hit one, then Amoore followed suit and the Cats led 37-17. Vanderbilt scored the next five points before a Key layup made it 39-22. After two Commodores’ free throws, Lawrence scored, giving UK a 41-24 advantage. Vandy would hit a three before UK got baskets from Hassett and Clara Silva, giving the Cats a 45-27 lead.
Vandy scored three in a row before a Strack bucket made it 47-30. Vandy would score again, but Strack had the answer and UK took a 49-32 lead. After Vandy scored four in a row, Strack scored again, making it 51-36. Kentucky would lead 51-38 at the half.
The Commodores scored the first six points of the second half to make it 51-44. In fact, the ‘Dores went on an 8-1 run to start the period before Strack scored to make it 54-46. After a Vandy three, Key scored underneath to extend the lead to 56-49. UK got two free throws from Lawrence, then two from Strack, followed by a Key three-pointer, compiling a 9-0 run that gave the Cats a 63-49 lead.
Vanderbilt would continue to try to claw its way back into the game, but the Cats had an answer each time. Kentucky would hold a 70-57 lead after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Vandy scored the first three points before Hassett hit another three, giving the Cats a 73-60 lead. However, the dagger came later in the fourth quarter. With Vanderbilt lurking and threatening to cut the UK lead to single digits, Amoore hit back-to-back threes to extend the lead to 85-67 with 4:08 to play. A Strack three on the next possession took the lead back to over 20 points, 88-67.
Kentucky returns to action on Thursday, visiting Florida for another SEC showdown. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
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