Kenny Brooks on intensity in OT rivalry win vs. Louisville: 'It's different when it's red vs. blue'

Kenny Brooks is off to a great start to his career at Kentucky, having won the first four games in his inaugural season as women’s basketball coach. Saturday’s win against Louisville is easily his biggest yet.

The Wildcats needed overtime, but handed the Cardinals a 71-61 loss in Lexington to snap a seven-game losing streak in the rivalry. Brooks had plenty of experience facing Louisville from his time as the coach at Virginia Tech, but coaching in the game at Kentucky is clearly a different beast. He spoke postgame about the atmosphere, saying it lived up to the hype.

“We understand the intensity that [Louisville] is going to bring,” Brooks said. “We played them in the ACC Championship game — this crowd rivaled that, or maybe even passed it.

“It’s different when it’s red vs. blue.”

Georgia Amoore led Kentucky with 19 points to go along with nine assists on 3-of-9 shooting from 3-point range. She was one of four Wildcats players to finish in double figures as Teonni Key chipped in 17 to go with nine rebounds.

Kentucky held a 58-56 lead late in the fourth quarter before Merissah Russell made the game-tying layup with 26 seconds remaining. That forced overtime, during which the Wildcats outscored Louisville by a score of 13-3 to pull away for good.

Kenny Brooks takes over at Kentucky after spending the past eight seasons at Virginia Tech. He led the Hokies to NCAA Tournament appearances in each of the past four years, including a Final Four in 2023.

Prior to that, Brooks was the coach at James Madison, where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022. He coached the Dukes for 14 seasons and led them to a 337-122 overall record in that span.

The Wildcats have not made the NCAA Tournament in either of the past two seasons but are hopeful to snap that drought in Brooks’ first season. The win against Louisville only strengthens that belief as UK currently sits at No. 20 in the AP poll.

Kentucky next has a matchup against Purdue-Fort Wayne scheduled for 6 p.m. ET in Lexington. After that, the Wildcats will head to Nashville for the Music City Classic, which begins on Nov. 26 with a game against Arizona State.