On Friday, March 6, the No. 9 seeded Wildcats (23-10, 8-8 SEC), after an incredible first two rounds of the SEC Tournament, fell to the reigning champion No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks (30-2, 15-1 SEC) by a score of 87-64.

The 23-point loss ended Kentucky’s hopeful run in Greenville, South Carolina, now eliminated from the conference tourney.

Kenny Brooks and his squad ended the first quarter down six, a deficit that is very easily surmounted. However, in the second quarter, Tessa Johnson and the Gamecocks would outscore the Cats 22 to 11, forcing the blue and white to try and pull off a comeback, down 17 at halftime.

The South Carolina lead got up to as large as 26 points and their pace remained high for the entire game. At face value, the outscoring and fast-paced play is what killed the Wildcats, but what really sealed the deal was Kentucky’s inability to respond.

Clara Strack and the Cats have proven they can score with the best of the best, but this game, they shot themselves in the foot. They totaled 19 turnovers as a team and could never string together any meaningful scoring runs – the largest being a 6-0 run in the fourth quarter.

Kentucky was down by 23 points entering the final period, and it was just more of the same for the final ten minutes of play.

One of the only bright spots of the game for BBN was Amelia Hassett’s perfect shooting performance: 15 points, five rebounds on 5-5 shooting.

Although the SEC Tournament hopes are over for UK, this season is by no means over.

The March Madness bracket will be released on Sunday, March 15 and the top sixteen seeds will be released on March 14, with the Wildcats likely being a name that could be included.

On Thursday, March 5, the No. 9 seeded Kentucky Wildcats (23-9, 8-8 SEC) defeated the Georgia Bulldogs (22-9. 8-8 SEC) by a score of 76-61 in the second round of the SEC Tournament, earning some revenge when it matters most.

Earlier in the year, having the game moved up a day early due to inclement weather approaching Lexington, the Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats by five points on Saturday, Jan. 24.

Playing without Teonni Key that game, this would feature the first loss of the season inside of Historic Memorial Coliseum for Kenny Brooks’ team.

This time around, after a 30-point win over Arkansas on March 4, Kentucky would come out swinging with its pair down under, as Clara Strack and Teonni Key would score the first eight points of the game through the first TV timeout.

Georgia would hang close as the first quarter came to a close, but Strack would continue her dominance after being called “the worst superstar” that Brooks has ever coached, and would finish the first installment of minutes with 13 points.

At the halfway point of the second quarter, Georgia had cut the lead down to three, but Strack had kept the Wildcats afloat with 18 points.

The Bulldogs, who were 21-0 when leading at halftime this season, led the Wildcats by a single point at the break.

Georgia’s Dani Carnegie was doing everything she could to keep her team in it, but Tonie Morgan began to dime and dish all over the hardwood as the third quarter closed, and as expected, the Wildcats began to run away with it.

As Kentucky took a double-digit lead, Strack would tie her career-high with 33 points as just a couple of minutes remained, while Key and Morgan continued to compliment her.

Although she wouldn’t reach the 34-point mark and set a new record for herself, Strack would end the day with 33 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Key finished with a double-double (14 points, 12 rebounds) while Morgan finished with 14 points and seven assists.

Up next, Kentucky will look for some more revenge against the No. 1 seeded South Carolina Gamecocks (29-2, 15-1 SEC). No modern SEC coach has taken down Dawn Staley and her team, but Brooks certainly came the closest, only losing by four on March 1.

This go around will tip off on Friday, March 6 at 12:00 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.

On Wednesday, March 4, No. 9 seeded Kentucky (22-9, 8-8 SEC) ended the No. 16 seeded Arkansas Razorbacks’ season (12-20, 1-15 SEC), winning 94-64 in the first round of the SEC Tournament.

Fresh off of a close loss to No. 3 South Carolina, the Wildcats headed into this matchup confident under the leadership of Kenny Brooks and as heavy favorites.

Arkansas, on the other hand, needed a miracle to keep its season alive, officially placing last in conference rankings and having to deal with one of the best teams in the league.

To start things out, Asia Boone would get two shots to go from deep, surpassing Kentucky legend Rhyne Howard for the most 3-point field goals in a single season. Shortly followed by an and one by Jordan Obi, the Wildcats jumped out to a 16-4 lead in just five minutes of play.

Amelia Hassett would then spark a couple of threes, spilling the dominant lead into the next quarter. Up 17 with the second installment of 10 minutes halfway over, Boone and Hassett had combined for five threes.

In the final moments before halftime, Arkansas would show some fight, cutting the lead down to nine before the break.

Unlike another basketball team on campus, the Wildcats knew that no lead was safe, and would proceed to go on a 20-5 run in the first six minutes of the third quarter.

Ironically, as the lead increased little by little, Hassett would continue to drain shots from deep and would actually surpass Boone’s record from earlier, becoming the new program record holder for threes just an hour later.

Handling business as expected, Kentucky won by 30 points. Hassett finished with 18 points, all from three-point land, and Clara Strack did her usual, finishing with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

As a team, the Wildcats made nearly half of their shots and held the Razorbacks to just 36% from the field, forcing 12 turnovers.

Up next, the Wildcats will face No. 8 Georgia (22-8, 8-8 SEC) on Thursday, March 5 in the second round of the conference tournament. The Bulldogs defeated Kentucky earlier in the season by five at Historic Memorial Coliseum, but you know what they say, it’s hard to beat a team twice.

Tip off is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. ET and will be streamed live from the SEC Network.