No. 16 Cats soar past Vanderbilt on the road, 96-78

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — “Kenny Brooks and the Cats are for real.” The final words from one of the broadcasters as No. 16 Kentucky women’s basketball dropped 96 points on the road in a statement win over Vanderbilt, 96-78.

UK moves to 13-1 on the season and 2-0 in conference play.

The Cats came off a historic performance against Mississippi State on Thursday to open SEC play, shooting a school record 18-33 from behind the arc.

Kentucky kept that same energy going in this one, shooting lights out to start. The team shot 18-31 from the field and 8-15 from behind the arc in the first half, going into the locker room up 51-38. Amelia Hassett and Dazia Lawrence each knocked down three triples to start. The Cats 31 points in the first quarter was the most points scored in one quarter for Kentucky this season.

However, there was still plenty of basketball left to play and Vanderbilt came out firing to start the second half. The Commodores knocked down two back-to-back triples to cut their deficit, 51-44. UK head coach Kenny Brooks immediately called a timeout.

UK was up by 20 at one point in the first half, but a different story to start the second half. Vanderbilt continued to trade blows, cutting the deficit to five at one point midway through the third quarter.

Teonni Key knocked down the first three-pointer for Kentucky in the second half, late in the third quarter as the Cats started to take another comfortable lead. UK led 70-57 to start the fourth quarter.

Despite the slow start for the Cats in the second half, there was no looking back down the stretch. UK started to find its groove again as every starter finished in double-figure scoring.

Georgia Amoore led the way with 24 points and nine assists. Amelia Hassett was on fire from behind the arc racking up 20 points (6-10 3PT) to go along with nine rebounds and five assists. Clara Strack was dominant down low, finishing with a double-double (17 points, 15 rebounds).

The team shot 54 percent from the field (33-61) and 48 percent from three (15-31). The Cats also finished with 20 assists.

Kentucky is still on the road this Thursday to face Florida. Game time is set for 5 p.m. on the SEC Network.