10 Kentucky WBB storylines 10 games into the season

Kentucky is 9-1 on the year, and a lot has happened since November 4th when the season began. To quickly recap it all (and to look to the future a bit), here are 10 Kentucky women’s basketball storylines 10 games into the season.

1. The Kenny Brooks era is off to a good start!

Above all else, this is probably the biggest-picture thing to take away from the start of the season. Kentucky is 9-1 and ranked as the No. 16 team in the country. Plus, one of those wins came against then No. 18 Louisville in overtime, snapping the seven-game losing streak against the Cardinals. It’s safe to say that Kenny Brooks has this team ahead of schedule.

2. The strength of this team is its overwhelming… defense?

Coming into this season, if you told me that Kentucky was 9-1 at this point, I would have guessed that it would be because they’re scoring 90 points a game or more, but my guess would have been wrong. Instead, Kentucky is holding opponents to 53.7 points per game (17th in the country) and 31.6% from the field overall (4th in the country).

3. Georgia Amoore is struggling from deep, but she’s finding other ways to make an impact offensively.

Part of the reason for Kentucky’s offensive woes this season is because that they’re just not hitting from beyond the arc, and that applies to Georgia Amoore, who is shooting just 25% from three-point range. However, the Preseason All-SEC point guard is still averaging 15.6 points per game. Her consistent mid-range shot and ability to get the hoop are allowing her to still be a major offensive threat.

4. Is Clara Strack the best player on the team?

Given Amoore’s struggles, other players have stepped up to help make up for the lost production, and specifically, sophomore center Clara Strack has been the one to step up. She’s averaging 16.0 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 blocks per game. The comparisons to Elizabeth Kitley are starting to look a bit more justified.

5. Amelia Hassett is emerging as a lethal scoring threat.

Over the last couple of weeks, Amelia Hassett has truly become a lethal threat from the perimeter and in general. She grabbed some big rebounds and knocked down some big free throws to catapult Kentucky to a win over Louisville, and it’s been up ever since then. Against Purdue, Hassett scored 22 points on 5-10 three-point shooting while grabbing nine boards along the way.

6. Dazia Lawrence is one of the best three-point shooters in the country.

Dazia Lawrence is not only one of the best three-point shooters in the SEC, but in all of college basketball. The Charlotte transfer guard shoots 47.9% from beyond the arc, which is good for 13th in the country. Her 13.0 points per game go a long way, especially when she’s cashing in from deep at such an efficient rate.

7. Teonni Key has some serious, serious potential.

Brooks has made it known that he thinks that Teonni Key is one of the more dynamic and talented players that he’s ever coached, and it’s hard to argue against that considering the ridiculous stat lines she can put up on any given night. The former five-star recruit is averaging 11.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocks this season (5th in the country).

8. The rotation is a bit small, to say the least.

We just went over all of those tremendous players, but the only issue is that’s where it stops, really. Cassidy Rowe is seeing an increased role this season, but other than her, it’s really a six-player rotation. Clara Silva averages 14.9 minutes per game, but there have been some games where her minutes are well into the single-digits. It appears that Brooks doesn’t fully trust his bench just yet.

9. Speaking of which, it’s clear that the freshmen have a long ways to go.

Silva gets far and away the most minutes of the three freshmen. Lexi Blue‘s role has increased as of late, averaging 9.1 minutes per contest, but her usage is minimal. The same could be said about Tanah Becker, who averages just 4.0 minutes per game. Clearly, the freshmen are going to need a year to get up to speed with college basketball. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but early on, it seems like that’s just the way it is.

10. A lot of opportunity lies ahead.

Well, storyline No. 10 it is. No matter how you want to spin these first 10 games, what can be said about the future is that there is a lot of opportunity left. Kentucky can go get some really big wins in SEC play, and if the Cats can make some noise heading into March, perhaps another deep tournament run could be on the way for Kenny Brooks in his first year in Lexington.