Kentucky falls, 67-49, in Top 10 matchup against No. 3 Texas

For Kentucky’s first top 10 matchup of the season, the ‘Cats hosted the No. 3 Texas Longhorns in Memorial Coliseum in what would be a game for the books. In the first five and a half minutes of play, both teams committed four fouls apiece. Clearly, one thing’s for sure – these teams were physical.

After one, the ‘Cats trailed by two, but thanks to a Georgia Amoore fast break to start the second, Kentucky tied it up. Defense in Thursday’s game was key, which Kentucky absolutely brought, but so did the Longhorns. About two minutes into the second, the ‘Cats took their first lead of the day after a layup from Teonni Key. Unfortunately, both Key and Strack exited the second quarter early due to foul trouble. The forwards marked two fouls apiece with over seven minutes left in the half, and wouldn’t see the floor again until quarter three.

Honestly, Texas was struggling from the field, shooting only 7-22 (32%) from the field midway through the second quarter. However, the Longhorns were absolutely dominating on the boards. Texas was outrebounding the ‘Cats 23-14, and 11 of those were offensive. To win a game like this, Kentucky was going to need to be more physical down low, and that wouldn’t happen without Strack or Key. At the half, Kentucky trailed by eight. By the middle of the third, the ‘Cats trailed by 14.

Kentucky was getting outplayed in every way. Texas was more poised, yet more physical. The ‘Cats cracked under immense pressure, and couldn’t get anything going from the perimeter (besides a pair of threes by Dazia Lawrence). It looked like this game was over before the fourth quarter even began. With little time to correct their mistakes, the Wildcats needed some miracle of an offensive rhythm and lots of rebounds.

Unfortunately, the deficit kept getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger. With a minute and a half to go in the third, the Longhorns went up 21 points, giving Kentucky little to no chance of a comeback. With only 10 minutes to go, the ‘Cats were down 22.

To start the fourth quarter, Strack quickly fouled out. She finished with zero points on 0-1 from the field and three turnovers. Not her best game, that’s for sure. Nonetheless, she added the physical element on defense that Kentucky so desperately needed. Despite that, the ‘Cats went on a fast 10-0 run to force the Longhorns into a timeout. Finally, it looked like Kentucky had life. Plus, it sounded like the roof might blow off Memorial Coliseum.

WILDCATS ON A 10-0 RUN TO START THE FOURTH QUARTER!

(Clara Strack fouled out though.)

No. 8 Kentucky 45 | No. 3 Texas 57 | 8:11 4Q

— Katie Hutchison (@KHutchisonKSR) February 14, 2025

Down just 12 with eight minutes to go, Kentucky still had a chance. After an extremely lackluster performance, somehow the ‘Cats found their way back in the game, and were inching closer and closer to a top 10 win. But just as it felt like Kentucky could come back, Texas scored, and Kentucky didn’t. After a handful of great possessions by the ‘Cats, the game fell apart again. So, it was Texas’s turn to go on a run and ultimately close out the road win. The Longhorns finished outrebounding Kentucky 45-28.

Georgia Amoore led her team from the field, finishing with 14 points on 5-16 shooting and added three assists. Teonni Key added 12 points on 5-12 from the field and 10 rebounds. The only other ‘Cat in double-digits was Dazia Lawrence, with 11 points on 4-9 shooting and 2-6 from three. Just an undeniably poor performance from Kentucky, but thankfully, the ‘Cats play again on Sunday.

Tipoff for Kentucky (19-4, 8-3 SEC) against the Georgia Bulldogs at Memorial Coliseum is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and can be watched on the SEC Network+.