It was Auburn’s senior night, they were doing their Play4Kay game, and Kentucky came in hot to try and spoil the party. It was less than a week ago that Neville Arena played host to a heartbreaking loss for one Kentucky team, as the men fell 75-74. Could the women avoid that fate?
The Lady Cats opened the game much like they did against Vanderbilt on Sunday, on a tear. They opened up tonight on a 14-3 run. The rest of the first half was kind of back and forth between the two teams, with Kentucky heading
to the half up 35-27.
Tonie Morgan led the way in the first half with 8, but it was a balanced Cat attack in the first half. Kaelyn Carroll, Amelia Hassett, and Clara Strack all had 6, with Teonni Key 5, and Jordan Obi 4.
The third quarter opened a little slower for both teams as they combined for just 2 makes in 8 attempts. But after Auburn cut it to 6, Clara Strack made a little baby hook. Then Tonie Morgan made Auburn pay for their full-court pressure with a layup, and another Strack paint shot completed the 6-0 run to get the lead back to twelve.
Tempers flared in the third
With Kentucky up 10, Tonie Morgan and Auburn’s Ja’Mia Harris got tangled up and then had a little something to say to each other. It ended up with a foul on Morgan, but as soon as they inbounded the ball, Harris was called for an offensive foul. Auburn’s 1st year coach, Larry Vickers, was not happy at all and screamed at his senior that she had to be smarter than that, and then took her out.
Amelia Hassett’s 4th 3 of the night sent the Cats to the 4th with a 14-point lead after the little flare-up.
Another Hassett 3 gave Kentucky its largest lead of the night at 19 with just over 6 minutes to go. That was enough to give Kentucky the upset win and set up a showdown with South Carolina on Sunday to close out the regular season.
The Cats were led by Amelia Hassett with 15, Clara Strack had 12, and Teonni Key and Tonie Morgan had 11 each. Auburn wouldn’t go away, though, closing what was once a 19-point lead back down to 11. Auburn then had a chance cut it to 9, but an Aicha Coulibaly layup rolled off the rim. The Tigers still got it down to single digits, but they just ran out of time.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Lady Cats got the win 63-56.
Drew Holbrook has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time, he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion
