Steady overtime free throws lead Kentucky to victory over Louisville

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Kenny Brooks - Mont Dawson, Kentucky Sports Radio

On Saturday, Kentucky Women’s Basketball beat Louisville for the first time in seven years after a wild four quarters and overtime. While the majority of the game was sloppy for the Wildcats, the Kentucky players remained calm and collected in overtime to come out with the 71-61 win.

The ‘Cats were down seven in the third quarter, causing a lot of scrambling and offensive struggles. Kentucky totaled 24 turnovers and the ‘Cards scored 24 points off of those. Plus, Kentucky only shot 4-16 (25%) from the perimeter. Thankfully, Amelia Hassett came up clutch for her team with a pair of free throws to give Kentucky the lead late in the fourth. Like clockwork, however, Louisville’s Merissah Russell tied the game with 30 seconds to go.

Going into overtime, Kentucky’s Teonni Key had four fouls to her name, but the sophomore remained steady. Kenny Brooks‘ five starters, Georgia Amoore, Dazia Lawrence, Key, Hassett, and Clara Strack stayed in for all five minutes extra minutes of play, and they all stayed calm. While Amoore finished the game with the most points, Key led her team in overtime with four. Two of those came from a pair of much-needed free throws with four minutes to go to take a two-point lead.

Then, Strack hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to four. Louisville’s Nyla Harris missed one of her overtime free throws. The Cardinals’ only other points coming from Tajianna Roberts with less than two minutes to go. Hassett made both of her free throws, extending the lead to five. Louisville’s offense became sloppy, giving away ball after ball, unable to get any scoring rhythm going.

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Kentucky took full advantage of the Cardinals’ miscues, finishing the game with a 10-point victory. The Wildcats shot 9-10 from the line in overtime.

“We gave the game away… length or no length,” Louisville head coach Jeff Walz said. “They [Kentucky] made theirs when it mattered.”

Louisville missed a total of six free throws, going 9-15 (60%) from the line. So, it wasn’t just free throws that gave away the game. It was a calm, cool, and collected Kentucky.