Strack Sparks UK Women to 76-61 Win over Georgia; Cats Face South Carolina Friday

By Jamie H. Vaught

KySportsStyle.com Magazine

Kentucky star Clara Strack was on fire Thursday in the second round of SEC Women's Tournament, leading the No. 9 seed Wildcats to a 76-61 victory over No. 8 seed Georgia.

The 6-foot-5 Strack gunned in a career-high-tying 33 points while hitting 5 of 7 three-pointers against the same team which previously had beaten the Cats 72-67 in late January. Strack also snatched eight rebounds and blocked three shots.

Clara Strack, shown here during the SEC Tournament in Greenville, S.C., hit 33 points to lead the Wildcats to a second-round victory over Georgia. (UK Athletics Photo by Morgan Simmons)

On her remarkable shooting performance, Strack said, "The first play of the game, I noticed they were really, like, in the paint on me, so I shot it. It went in, and I just kept shooting it. Coach Brooks has a lot of confidence in my three. He told me I was going to make five one day, so he was right."

Her Kentucky teammates -- Tonie Morgan and Teonni Key -- added 14 points each with Morgan getting a game-high seven assists and Key grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.

The win improved UK's record to 23-9, while Georgia's mark dropped to 22-9.

Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks said Georgia "is going to be a team that's going to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament."

The Wildcats now will face powerhouse South Carolina in the third round on Friday. The noon matchup will be shown on ESPN. The past Sunday at Historic Memorial Coliseum saw USC beat UK in a close matchup by a score of 60-56.

In addition to Strack, Key, who didn't play against Georgia in January due to an elbow injury, and Morgan were huge factors, according to UGA coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson.

"She was a difference maker. 12 rebounds, 14 points," said the Georgia coach of Key. "We did a good job on Tonie in the first half. She had zero assists, and then she kind of started to go to work. I think Key was huge. Obviously, Clara is a phenomenal player."

Added Strock, "Teonni is obviously a super important part of our team. She had a double-double, 12 rebounds. That in itself just helps us so much. I think that's something that we really missed without her, obviously. Like I said, she's one of the most important pieces of our team. So, I mean, just having her presence on the court, even if it's not scoring or whatever, whatever she does, it's really important to have her."

Brooks recently criticized Strack on national television, saying she was the worst superstar that he's ever coached.

It was a wake-up call for Strack.

"I played terribly against Auburn. So I think I needed that," said the All-SEC performer. "I've always responded best to harsh criticism, like tough love, anything like that. I think I needed it. I always need something like that to get me going, I think, within this league. It's a long season. You'll have lulls, but I think you have to remember take it game by game. He was just trying to get me ready for the next game. There was no harsh feelings there. Maybe for a few minutes (laughter) until I remembered."

On facing South Carolina for the second time this week, Brooks said, "This is our third game (in the tournament), and they haven't played since we played them on Sunday. So, obviously you're going to have a competitive disadvantage because of that, but nonetheless, we're going to go out here and use it as an opportunity to get better, because we're looking forward to playing a lot of basketball for the rest of the season."

Added Morgan, "We're on a roll right now, so it's been fun. We've been playing with high energy, effort and attitude. So, hopefully we can keep it going tomorrow."

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