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No. 16 Kentucky Women’s Basketball Loses First Game of Season to No. 7 Maryland

Published

2 weeks ago

November 27, 2025

Morgan Simmons | UK Athletics

On Wednesday, Nov. 26, No. 16 Kentucky (7-1) fell for the first time this season, losing to the No. 7 Maryland Terrapins (8-0) by a score of 74-66 in the Puerto Rico Shootout.

The Wildcats, in defense, didn’t suffer a “bad loss” on the road, but featured a good learning experience against a competitor. To that point, the Wildcats turned the ball over 20 times, a season high and had 17 team fouls – still keeping it within eight.

Kentucky was getting to the rack early, driven by two layups by Teonni Key and Tonie Morgan early in the first, but Maryland was too consistent throughout and really didn’t blow its lead.

A Morgan three would bring the Wildcats within six, but the Terrapins again would go on a strong run, taking a 39-28 lead by the half.

Trailing at halftime for the first time this season and struggling with ball control, you could almost assume that this just wasn’t the Cats’ game for the taking. However, the fight wouldn’t stop for Kenny Brooks’ second-year squad.

Multiple players would contribute to the scoreboard via the three after halftime and do their best to spark a comeback, but above all was Morgan, who finished the game with 22 points and eight assists. The transfer guards shot 7-11 from the field and 4-5 from three-point range.

Clara Strack, fresh off of her SEC Player of the Week nod, was held to her worst scoring performance of the season – only notching nine points.

Maryland would continue its dominance, as senior Kaylene Smikle would continue to get to the line and get some freebies. She ended the night with 22 points.

Up next, Kentucky will face off against Morgan St. (1-6) to round out the Puerto Rico Shootout. Tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 28 and will air live on FloSports.

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

Published

5 days ago

December 6, 2025

Kelly Doherty

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).

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

Published

1 week ago

December 4, 2025

AJ Nava

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.

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.

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+.

Other Sports

Kentucky Volleyball Earns No. 1 Seed in NCAA Tournament

Published

1 week ago

December 1, 2025

AJ Nava

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.

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+.

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.