I had high hopes for this Kentucky women’s team today, but they were dashed almost immediately.
After the first quarter, Kenny Brooks said Texas was “on another planet,” and they were great. But more worrying, he said, “we are not competing.”
That was the theme all day long as Texas just wanted it more.
And that is the part that you can’t have in a win-or-go-home showdown.
1st quarter was emblematic of the rest of the game
Amelia Hassett buried a 3 to give Kentucky a 3-point lead, and then Texas would go on a 15-0 run that essentially ended the game.
The Cats had multiple bad turnovers and allowed the Longhorns to get going with easy layup after layup.
Tonie Morgan had maybe the worst game of her career
Tonie Morgan has been wonderful for Kentucky this year. She broke the single-season assist record and helped lead the team to its first Sweet 16 in a decade. But today she was terrible.
The senior finished the game with 8 points and 8 turnovers. She couldn’t defend, and she couldn’t get Kentucky into any kind of offense.
A late run got it 15, and Amelia Hassett had a chance to cut it to 12 with 5 to go, but her 3 fell off the rim, and then the turnovers started right back up again.
3 straight turnovers and a 7-0 Texas run was all she wrote.
Kentucky would finish the game with 24 turnovers and 24 made shots. It’s a miracle they only lost by 22.
What’s next?
It was a good season that had a terrible end. Now we have to look towards the Transfer Portal and see how Kentucky can reload. They have a top 10 recruiting class coming in, but replacing Teonni Key, Jordan Obi, Tonie Morgan, Josie Gilvin, and Amelia Hassett won’t be easy.
That is a lot of production leaving. Kaelyn Carroll will need to take a step forward, and the freshman will have to play a key role. But with the portal, you can quickly reload. And Kentucky will get a head start on that.
That’s next season, though. For now, let’s tip our hat to a team that had a remarkable run.
What will you remember most about this team?
