Kentucky women’s basketball’s dramatic win over Louisville far more than just one game

LEXINGTON — When Kentucky Athletics announced in February 2023 the renovation of Memorial Coliseum — the first refresh since 2008 to a facility that originally was completed in 1950 — nights like Saturday are what those who care so much about the Wildcats (the common fan, the deep-pocketed booster and the coaches and players) likely envisioned.

UK’s women’s basketball team hosted in-state rival Louisville in front of a sold-out crowd. There wasn’t a seat to be had. Had capacity allowed it, Kentucky probably could have sold even more tickets for those eager to watch first-year coach Kenny Brooks and his young charges.

What those in attendance — and those tuning in digitally, as the game streamed on SEC Network+ — witnessed was a high-level contest between two ranked clubs; the No. 18 Cardinals were one spot better than the 19th-ranked Wildcats in this week’s USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

They witnessed nine lead changes. Six ties.

And they saw a UK win.

The hosts held on for a 71-61 victory, in overtime, giving Brooks his fourth win in as many games to begin his tenure.

“When you can win while you learn, that’s a really good thing,” Brooks said.

Winning at this clip, and beating a foe of the Cardinals’ (2-2) caliber, is a sign the Wildcats already are trending upward after the abysmal results of the past two seasons. Those seasons, which doubled as the final two campaigns for former UK coach Kyra Elzy, were two of the worst in program history. Kentucky combined to post a 24-39 record in that stretch, going 6-26 in regular-season SEC contests. And it’s not simply that the 2023-24 Wildcats lost; it’s that they routinely were blown off the floor.

An unfathomable 17 of UK’s 20 losses last season were by 10 or more points, including seven of 25 or more. The low point(s): a pair of lopsided setbacks to national champion South Carolina, one by 62 points (the second-largest margin of defeat in school history) and another by 48.

Brooks was brought in to change that.

So far,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kentucky-womens-basketballs-dramatic-win-012323130.html

Author : The Courier Journal

Publish date : 2024-11-17 01:23:00

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