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Kenny Brooks Talks about NBA Legend Kobe Bryant and Preparation For South Carolina

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10 months ago

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Kentucky women's basketball coach Kenny Brooks walking the sideline.
Morgan Simmons | UK Athletics

On Thursday, Feb. 27, Kentucky women’s basketball pulled off a historic night against its rival Tennessee Volunteers. 

Not only did four different Wildcats have double-digit points, but the Cats secured a new program record with 182 team blocks this season and shot 51.5% from the field, scoring over 80 or more points for the 12th time this season. 

Clara Strack broke the single-season block record, dethroning a 15-year record set by Victoria Dunlap in the 2009-10 season. She finished the game with 23 points (11-11 FG), 15 rebounds, three blocks and jogged off of the court with her 13th double-double of the season and a little bit of history for the Wildcats. 

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With emotions high after a dominating 82-58 win after previously losing to No. 7 LSU on Feb. 23, Head Coach Kenny Brooks was asked one final question that instantly changed the vibe of the after-game press conference. 

A reporter asked, “Coach Brooks, after every loss this season, like clockwork you’ve answered back with big wins. With one final giant in South Carolina, how do you keep the team humble but also confident at the same time?”

“Man, you tryna kill my vibe, I was excited to go get a steak tonight,” said Brooks as the whole room laughed. “Telling me I got Dawn Staley and them.” 

Brooks admitted that he knew what he and his team were getting into with South Carolina, alluding to something he learned from an NBA legend.

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”I taught this particular group, I taught the group before that, one of things that I learned was from Kobe Bryant,” said Brooks. “Kobe said that you have to watch the bad games, you know, just like you watch the good games. You can’t just bring popcorn to try to get better because you played well, you learn more from what you do when you don’t do well.”

Brooks went out of his way to reference the phrasing from the question, admitting how focused his team is.

”Like clockwork, win or lose, both of them (Clara Strack and Georgia Amoore) have texted me after the game what time do you want to watch film tomorrow,” said Brooks. “Regardless of whether they play good or bad, they want to try and get better. That’s how you turn the page regardless of what happens, and you get ready for the next opponent, because this league is too good to let anything linger to bring that into the next game.” 

Now, back in the win column, Brooks and his team will face their last regular season opponent, the No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks. The game is set to take place inside of the Colonial Life Arena on March 2. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will air live on ESPN. 

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Top-seeded Kentucky Cruises Through Wofford & No. 8 UCLA for Sweet 16 Appearance

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5 days ago

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December 6, 2025

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Kentucky's Asia Thigpen adding their name to the Sweet 16. Photo by Marissa Gilchrist of UK Athletics.
Marissa Gilchrist | UK Athletics

This past weekend, Kentucky’s volleyball team extended its win streak to 24 straight after a quick sweep against the Wofford Terriers (17-14) and a tough 3-1 battle vs the No. 8 UCLA Bruins (19-13) to punch a ticket to a fourth straight Sweet 16 appearance.

First Round: Wofford
Kentucky’s biggest strength on the court throughout its dominant two-loss season has always been their suffocating offensive prowess, but it was the defense that would end up giving Wofford no chance of survival, emphasized by a rally era record in digs (in a three-set match) with 66.

It took a while to get Big Blue going on the offense, but 14 kills from Wildcats star Brooklyn DeLeye would keep the ball rolling and lead the sweep that volleyball fans expected from the second-ranked team in the bracket (only behind undefeated Nebraska).

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Second Round: No. 8 UCLA

It’s truly impressive that Kentucky won this match 3-1. The No. 8 seeded Bruins kept the Cats on their claws throughout the whole game, including Kentucky’s two longest sets of the season, the second of which would lead to UCLA’s lone set point.

Despite the gutsier match of Kentucky’s two so far, Kentucky head coach Craig Skinner kept high praise for his team’s persistent focus and effort in the post presser.

“(UCLA’s) high end is pretty ridiculous,” said Skinner. “For us to weather the storms in the first set and pull that out and then add pressure after losing the third set, a tight one, I give (Eva Hudson & Brooklyn DeLeye) a lot of credit for carrying the offensive load and bailing us out of some situations, which was huge.”

Coming Up

Kentucky will play in the third round of the NCAA Volleyball tournament against Cal Poly, a team that upset No. 5 BYU in the first round and regional host No. 4 USC in the second round. The day and time have yet to be released.

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No. 17 Kentucky Represents in the ACC/SEC Challenge, Dominates Miami

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1 week ago

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December 4, 2025

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Morgan Simmons | UK Athletics

No. 17 Kentucky women’s basketball (9-1) traveled to Florida and beat the Miami Hurricanes (5-3) 64-48 on Wednesday, Dec. 3.

Entering the game, the Wildcats and the Hurricanes were both 1-1 in the ACC/SEC Challenge, but in the third annual challenge, the Cats got the last laugh.

Monster Third Quarter

It was a three-point game at the end of the first half, however, an explosion of offense during the third quarter created a large gap in the score that wouldn’t get close again.

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The Wildcats outscored Miami 24-15 in the third and it was Tonie Morgan leading the way offensively.

Morgan scored more points in the third quarter (9) than she scored in the whole first half (7), finishing with 20 points and four assists in the win.

The Cats also got it done defensively, finishing with nine steals and four blocks as a team while also scoring 25 points off of Hurricane turnovers.

Kentucky has yet to lose a game when leading at halftime and improve to a 9-1 record with the win.

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Up next for the Wildcats is a home game versus Central Michigan (5-3) on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 12:00 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

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Kentucky Volleyball Earns No. 1 Seed in NCAA Tournament

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1 week ago

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December 1, 2025

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Eddie Justice | UK Athletics

Kentucky volleyball (25-2, 15-0 SEC), who just won a ninth straight SEC championship, have officially been awarded a No. 1 seed (No. 2 overall) in the 2025 NCAA Volleyball Championship.

On Sunday, Nov. 30, the NCAA announced that Kentucky would be the No. 1 overall seed in the Lexington Regional. The squad went a perfect 15-0 in conference play this season and earned an automatic NCAA qualifying spot after winning the SEC Tournament Championship last weekend.

Kentucky is joined by Nebraska, Texas and Pittsburgh, as the top four seeds in the tournament, meaning the four teams can host all the way up to the Final Four if they make it that far.

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The Final Four games and championship games will take place in the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Wildcats enter the NCAA tournament on a 22-game win streak, with their last loss taking place all the way back in September versus what was then No. 7 Pittsburgh.

The opening match in Lexington will be No. 8 UCLA (18-12) vs. Georgia Tech (16-13) in Historic Memorial Coliseum on Thursday Dec. 4 at 4:30 p.m. ET.

After the opening match, Kentucky will play Wofford (17-13) the same day at 7:00 p.m. ET. All first and second round games will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.

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All-session tickets will go on sale to the general public through UKathletics.com and the UK Ticket Office on Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Single-session tickets will go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET.

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