No. 4 Kentucky hosted the Conference-USA champions No. 13 Liberty in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats fended off a late comeback attempt and came away with a 79-78 victory.
The Wildcats held a 17-point lead with 9:30 left in the game. Missed shots on offense and fouls on defense allowed Liberty to bring it down to the wire.
“The beauty of this part here is you can say survive and advance. That’s what we did today,” Head Coach Kenny Brooks said. “But thank goodness for Georgia’s Performance.”
Georgia Amoore was a dominant force from tip-off to the final buzzer. She ended the game with 34 points on 12-24 (50%) shooting and had a game-high eight assists. Amoore carried the team throughout the last minute with five points, including three free throws to ice the game.
Amoore is playing in her fifth tournament and that fact was apparent immediately.
“Georgia came out like this was her 29th NCAA first-round tournament (game),” Brooks said.
Amoore completely shouldered the offensive load in the first five minutes of the game as well. She scored the first eight points of the game for Kentucky.
Dazia Lawrence quickly joined with a 3-pointer before hitting both free throws on the next possession, sparking a 5-0 run heading into the media timeout.
Amoore continued the barrage following the timeout, adding seven more points and recording two assists. She scored or assisted on all Kentucky field goals in the first quarter.
The Wildcats finished the first quarter with a 23-14 lead. The defense held Liberty to 5-18 (27.8%) shooting in the first quarter, just 1-7 (14.3%) from beyond the arch. The Wildcats also recorded four blocks and two steals.
The Kentucky offense cooled off halfway through the second quarter. The Wildcats went scoreless for just under three minutes. The defense only allowed five points through this stretch to keep Liberty at a distance.
When the Wildcats’ shots started falling again, they made those five points up in two possessions.
Liberty found some rhythm on offense after a rough first quarter. The Flames shot a much improved 8-14 (57.1%) from the field in the second quarter. Liberty was still outscored by one in the quarter.
Kentucky headed into halftime holding a 44-34 lead. The Cats had some struggles in the second quarter, but managed to hold on to a healthy lead entering the break.
Amoore completely dominated in the first half; she scored 23 points on 9-13 (69.2%) shooting from the field including 5-6 (83%) from three.
