Big Blue Preview: No. 16/16 Kentucky Women’s Basketball Set to Play Host to No. 7/8 Vanderbilt on Thursday
The Wildcats enter the game 18-5 overall on the season, including 5-4 in the SEC and 10-1 in Historic Memorial Coliseum.
With the long-awaited return of Teonni Key, Kentucky is coming off a triumph over Arkansas in Bud Walton Arena on Sunday, 93-73. It was the Wildcats’ first win after dropping the last three games. It also marked the second win in two years for Coach Brooks over the Razorbacks.
Dropping 90+ points for the second time in a SEC game so far this season, the Wildcats were led by Clara Strack with 33 points and 15 rebounds. With her 33 points on Sunday, Strack achieved 1,000 career points. With this performance against Arkansas, Strack was named the USBWA National Player of the Week.
Alongside Strack was Key, who played her first game since the Missouri game on Jan. 4, where she left the game with an arm injury. Key’s presence was felt on Sunday, notching 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Tonie Morgan, who is the only player in the nation averaging at least 14.0 points per game and 8.0 assists per game, also received an award of her own this week, being named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Top 10 Midseason List. This award is given to the nation’s top point guard.
She is just 16 assists away from breaking the single-season school record for assists that Georgia Amoore set last season through 31 games in 2024-25 (213).
Thursday’s game will mark the 62nd all-time meeting between Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
The Wildcats trail the Commodores in the all-time meetings, 33-28, in a series that began in 1981. The Cats lead the Dores in Lexington, 15-12.
Kentucky snapped a two-game losing streak over Vanderbilt in their early meeting last season in Nashville, 96-78, on Jan. 5, 2025. The Wildcats knocked down 15 3-pointers in that game, with all five of the Cats’ starters connecting from beyond the arc and hitting double-digit scoring. Kentucky shot 54.1 percent from the field and had 20 assists in that game last season.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
