Thursday, Nov. 6 will mark the first ever meeting between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Monmouth Hawks. The Cats will have a clear vertical advantage as Monmouth doesn’t feature a single player listed above 6-foot-1 on its roster, while Kentucky’s starting lineup against Morehead had 4 players alone listed at six foot or above.

Both teams have one win to their name and are looking to add one more, but the Wildcats are in pursuit of more than just their second win.

Much Needed Improvements

Although Kentucky won their last matchup versus Morehead State, head coach Kenny Brooks was not shy after the game about how his team needs to be better despite the 16-point win.

“We need to get better at understanding how to make adjustments in game in order for us to be successful,” said Brooks.

The Cats did grab 21 more rebounds than their opponents, however, that was one of their few bright spots. They only shot 16.7% from three-point territory and turned the ball over 13 times, exceeding the average from last season.

Defensively, the Wildcats recorded 12 blocks, but that did not stop Morehead from penetrating the paint and using back-door cuts to get by Kentucky multiple times.

“I thought it was a lack of communication,” Brooks said. “I think we relied too much on contesting shots as they went to the hole, we did have 12 blocks but we can’t rely on that. We got to be able to move our feet and I thought our defense could have been a lot better.”

It seems that the biggest positive from the Cats’ first game is that the coaching staff now knows what areas need improvement. After two days of practicing and watching film, it’s time to implement those improvements in the second game of the season.

On, Thursday Nov. 6, inside Historic Memorial Coliseum, Kentucky women’s basketball will look to take down Monmouth. The tip is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

The No. 24 Wildcats got their first win of the season out of the way, beating Morehead State 75-59 on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Dating back to 2009, this win now gives Kentucky a 12-0 record against the Eagles in their short history.

Early Struggles

Although the Wildcats won, the final box score was not looking as dominating as coach Kenny Brooks hoped for his team, despite two double-doubles from Clara Strack and Jordan Obi.

“We got a lot of work to do,” Brooks said in his opening statement. “I was not pleased with the way we came out.”

His frustration was not unprompted by any means. The Wildcats first four possessions of the game ended in either a missed jumper or a turnover. In the first, the Cats shot two from eight from three while Morehead shot 50% from three and were getting right by the bigs in the paint. 

By halftime, Kentucky was leading, up 43-27. It still seemed closer than most would have anticipated, especially for a top 25 ranked team hosting an unranked opponent.

“You Can’t Teach Height”

Kentucky had six players touch the floor that were listed at 6-foot-1 or higher, three of those players being between the heights of 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-5. This was a clear advantage on the court, especially since Morehead’s average height ranges to about 5-foot-9.

With that advantage, Strack finished the night with 15 points,15 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals, starting her season off after an impressive sophomore campaign.

“You can’t teach height,” said Morehead head coach Ashton Feldhaus.

As a team, Kentucky grabbed 54 boards, out-rebounding the Eagles by 21. Even Kentucky’s forward Jordan Obi tallied 15 rebounds; an unexpected stat for the graduate student.

Despite the bright spots, Brooks was sure that the team still has improvements to make.

“Right now, I can’t really tell the positives other than we won the game,” Brooks said.

The team will have a chance to create some more positives on Thursday Nov. 6 inside Memorial Coliseum, where the Cats take on Monmouth at 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+. 

It was Halloween night, and in the 81st minute, Kentucky’s Isaiah Chisolm hit a left footer inside the box to give Kentucky a 1-0 lead that would be written in history.

The No. 18 Wildcats (10-2-3, 7-1-0 SBC) took on the Georgia State Panthers (4-6-6, 2-3-3 SBC) in a game that would mark history for the Wildcats and potentially hold the keys to a successful tournament run.

Conference Title Advantages

After the win, it was officially official that the Cats only lost one conference game, giving them the Sun Belt Conference regular season title.

The record will give Kentucky a spot as a host site for the 2025 SBC conference tournament, with games scheduled for next week on Nov. 9. The eight-team bracket will be released just a few days before on Nov. 4.

Because of UK’s play during the season, they can expect a smooth path to start the tournament, likely facing James Madison, who does not have a win in the SBC this season.

Another advantage for Kentucky is that history is on the Cats’ side. The last time Kentucky took the regular season title, they would go on to dominate the tournament and take home the tournament title in 2022. This was the first and only time the Wildcats had either.

How It Happened

The first 45 minutes of the game was relatively stagnant. Only one shot on goal was recorded for both teams. It was Chisolm that sent the shot, but Panthers keeper Loan Marin would be the one between the ball and the back of the net.

Then, in the 80th minute, Kentucky found themselves in the box but not in a position to score.

It was only when Kentucky’s Max Miller and Kevin Larsson, both chasing after the runaway ball, deflected it towards the right of the box.

Thankfully for the Wildcats, midfielder Alex Ruiz ended up with the ball. His pass would split three Panthers defenders and that’s where Chisolm took over.

Chisolm, with his left foot, placed the ball in the far left side of the net and because of his close positioning, Georgia States keeper had no time to react.

The Wildcats will end their regular season on Tuesday Nov. 4 in an away game against Old Dominion. That game can be found on ESPN+ and will kickoff at 7:00 p.m. ET.