Kentucky women’s basketball up three spots in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Kentucky women’s basketball is up to number 16 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

Last week saw both the Kentucky men’s basketball team and the Kentucky women’s basketball team get huge victories. The men took down the Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday. Then, on Saturday, Kenny Brooks and his squad beat Louisville in overtime.

The Wildcats women’s team played a close game until the extra period, but dominated in overtime to win by ten points. The victory jumped them up three spots in the new USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll to number 16 overall.

Related: Kentucky women’s basketball defeats Purdue Fort Wayne

Kentucky is now the fifth highest ranked team from the SEC in the coaches poll. South Carolina leads the way and the Texas Longhorns are also in the top five. Seven SEC teams are ranked in the top 25, and three more also received votes.

The Wildcats’ next game is on November 26th, when Kentucky takes on Arizona State. They also play 22nd ranked Illinois before the month is over.

Here is the full top 25 in the coaches poll:

 

Rank School (Record) Points First Place Votes
1 South Carolina (4-0) 747 28
2 Connecticut (3-0) 716 1
3 Southern California (4-0) 684 1
4 Texas (3-0) 656
5 Notre Dame (4-0) 630
6 UCLA (4-0) 600
7 LSU (5-0) 556
8 Iowa State (4-0) 535
9 Oklahoma (3-0) 517
10 Kansas State (4-0) 477
11 Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0) 425
12 West Virginia (4-0) 411
13 Maryland (5-0) 401
14 Duke (4-1) 325
15 North Carolina (3-1) 277
16 Kentucky (5-0) 272
17 Baylor (3-1) 251
18 North Carolina State (2-2) 247
19 Nebraska (4-0) 183
20 Ole Miss (3-1) 145
21 Alabama (6-0) 138
22 Louisville (2-2) 113
23 Illinois (4-0) 110
24 TCU (4-0) 92
25 Oregon (24-10) 66

Kentucky WBB dominates the second half to beat Purdue FW

Kentucky women’s basketball beats Purdue-Fort Wayne to advance to 5 – 0 on the season.

Fresh off a big win over the ranked Louisville Cardinals on Saturday, Kentucky women’s basketball was back in action Monday night. This time, they took on Purdue-Fort Wayne, and they’d win, but it wouldn’t come easily.

The Wildcats fell behind early, and trailed by five points at the half. In the second half, however, Kentucky’s talent edge showed, and they outscored Purdue FW by 17 points to come away with a 79 – 67 victory.

Related: Kentucky lands commitment from 2026 guard

Georgia Amoore once again led the Cats in scoring with 23 points. She added 7 assists. Dazia Lawrence also had a big game, adding 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range. Teonni Key had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Kentucky is now 5 – 0 on the season, and are certainly gaining national attention. They’ll get a bit of a break now, with their next game not coming until November 26th against Arizona State. For now, it’s another night of celebration for fans of Kentucky women’s basketball.

The best photos from Kentucky women’s win over Louisville

Here are the best images from Kentucky women’s basketball’s big win over Louisville.

For the first time since 2015, the Kentucky women’s basketball team defeated their cross-state rivals, the Louisville Cardinals. Louisville had won seven in a row before the Wildcats got the 71 – 61 win on Saturday night.

The victory was a big one for a Kentucky women’s program that had struggled in recent seasons. Coach Kenny Brooks was hired this offseason to turn things around, and he has made an instant impact, and has Kentucky at 4 – 0 on the season.

Related: Kentucky women’s basketball lands elite 2025 recruit

Kentucky had multiple players making big contributions in the win. Georgia Amoore led the team in points and assists with 19 and 9. Teonni Key posted 17 points and 9 rebounds, while Clara Strack added 12 points and 9 boards.

The game itself was an exciting one. Louisville led at halftime, but Kentucky sent the game to overtime with a strong fourth quarter. The Cats dominated the extra period, though, and they walked away with the win.

In a rivalry game like this one, there are always a number of big moments captured in photographs. Here are the best pictures from the great Kentucky victory.

Kentucky takes down Louisville for Kenny Brooks’ first big win

Kentucky women’s basketball got a huge win on Saturday over a ranked Louisville team.

Earlier in the week, Big Blue Nation celebrated coach Mark Pope’s first signature win when Kentucky beat the Duke Blue Devils. On Saturday, it was Kenny Brooks’ turn, as Kentucky women’s basketball knocked off the 18th ranked Louisville Cardinals 71 – 61.

It was a close game throughout, and Louisville held a small lead at the half. A strong fourth quarter had the Wildcats in front, but a pair of missed free throws from Dazia Lawrence allowed the Cardinals to tie it in regulation, sending the game to overtime.

Related: Kentucky football halts losing streak

In the extra period, it was all Kentucky. They outscored Louisville 13 – 3, and pulled away to win it, scoring the final seven points of the game.

All-SEC guard Georgia Amoore led the Cats with 19 points. She also added 9 assists. Teonni Key had a big game as well, with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Amelia Hassett had another great game on the boards, adding 13 more to her season total.

Overall, it was a good week for Kentucky basketball. Big Blue Nation is celebrating big wins from both of their new coaches.

Kentucky gets a commitment from a five-star 2026 guard

Kentucky women’s basketball gets a commitment from 2026 guard Maddyn Greenway.

Less than a week ago, Kentucky women’s basketball coach Kenny Brooks secured his first commitment for 2025 in forward Kaelyn Carroll. Now, Brooks has landed his first recruit from the 2026 class. Guard Maddyn Greenway will be a Wildcat.

Greenway is a 5’8″ point guard out of Minnesota, and is the daughter of long-time NFL linebacker Chad Greenway. She is currently ranked 18th overall in the 2026 class in the composite rankings from 247sports, and she’s rated five stars.

Related: Five things we learned from Kentucky’s win over Duke

A number of other very good programs had interest in Greenway, including the Duke Blue Devils, Clemson Tigers, and Iowa Hawkeyes. Her parents went to Iowa, but she told Kentucky Sports Radio that she wanted to go a different way:

I’ve been a Hawkeye fan my whole life, with both my parents having gone there. Obviously, with my dad, I’ve lived in Minnesota my whole life, and I’ve always been under his shadow, so I just wanted to make my own path.

It has been a good week for Brooks and Kentucky women’s basketball recruiting. Fans have reason be excited about the future.

Kentucky women’s basketball lands a five-star 2025 recruit

Kentucky women’s basketball lands 2025 top 30 recruit Kaelyn Carroll.

The Kenny Brooks era of Kentucky women’s basketball is off to a great start, having won their first three games. Off the court, they have begun to make noise too. On Wednesday, they landed their first big recruit in forward Kaelyn Carroll.

Carroll is a 6’2″ forward out of Massachusetts. She is ranked as the number 28 overall player in the 2025 class by 247sports, and is rated five stars. ESPN ranks her at number 15 overall.

Related: Kentucky upsets Duke on Tuesday night

Brooks and the Wildcats won out over some other very good schools. She had offers from North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina among others, but decided on Kentucky.

The Wildcats are still in on several of the top players in the 2025 class who haven’t committed yet. Carroll is a terrific start to the class for Brooks and his staff, though. Fans should be excited about the addition, and the future of the program under the new regime.

Dazia Lawrence leads Kentucky women’s basketball to a dominant win

Kentucky women’s basketball gets a dominating win over Wofford on Tuesday.

Many fans are gearing up for the big matchup between Kentucky basketball and the Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday. However, Kentucky women’s basketball was in action on Tuesday as well, and they looked dominant in a 76 – 42 win over Wofford.

Senior guard Dazia Lawrence led the way for the Wildcats with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting. She was 4-of-6 from three point range, showing off her touch from deep.

Related: Staff predictions for Kentucky vs Duke

Center Clara Strack had another good game, posting a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Forward Teonni Key also had a double-double, combining 11 points with 13 boards. Georgia Amoore added 11 points and 7 assists from the point guard position.

Kentucky advances now to 3 – 0 on the season, and have won all three convincingly. Next up is the 18th ranked Louisville Cardinals. That game will take place on Saturday and will be a good test of where the new-look Wildcats squad is at. It will be a fun atmosphere.

Kentucky women’s basketball goes to 2 – 0 with another blowout win

Kentucky women’s basketball blows out Northern Kentucky 70 – 41 on Thursday night.

On Thursday night, coach Kenny Brooks and the Kentucky women’s basketball team played their second game of the new era. After dominating SC Upstate 98 – 43, the Wildcats faced off against Northern Kentucky, and it was another convincing win.

Kentucky started slow, and only led by six points halfway through the second quarter. They pulled ahead by 13 at the half, though, closing things out on a 10 – 3 run, including a Georgia Amoore three-pointer with eight seconds left.

Related: Georgia Amoore named a top 100 player by ESPN

The second half, particularly the fourth quarter, belonged to the Cats. In the final quarter, Kentucky outscored NKU 17 – 6, and the game’s final would be 70 – 41.

Freshman Clara Silva led the Wildcats in scoring with 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Center Clara Strack was also strong once again. She was just short of a triple-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists. Georgia Amoore had 13 points and 8 assists.

The 2 – 0 Wildcats will take on Wofford next. That will take place on November 12th at 6:00 PM ET.

Kentucky women’s basketball is named a dark horse by ESPN’s Holly Rowe

Kentucky women’s basketball was named a dark horse team by ESPN’s Holly Rowe.

Kentucky women’s basketball has suffered through a couple of tough seasons, but went out and hired a top notch new head coach in Kenny Brooks. He came over from Virginia Tech, where he has had quite a bit of success.

When Brooks came over, he brought with him a couple of terrific players in Georgia Amoore and Clara Strack. Amoore, in particular, was a huge addition, bringing experience and a proven record of solid play. Most considered the Wildcats to be a team with a bright future.

Related: Georgia Amoore named a top 100 player

One analyst thinks Kentucky could compete sooner than expected. While on Good Game with Sarah Spain, ESPN’s Holly Rowe had plenty of praise for Brooks and the Wildcats. She had this to say about the new-look Kentucky team:

I don’t know how dark horse this is, but Kentucky. They have a new coach. Kenny [Brooks] is there, he came from Virginia Tech. He got Virginia Tech to the women’s Final Four, and they have a transfer in Georgia Amoore who was one of the key point guards in that run that helped them get to the Final Four.

The season started off with a bang for Kentucky, as they blew out SC Upstate. It’s too early to tell how they’ll do as the season goes on, but fans certainly hope Rowe is right about the Wildcats.

Clara Strack shines as Kentucky women’s basketball opens the season with a win

Kentucky women’s basketball begins their season with a win over SC Upstate 98 – 43.

Mark Pope wasn’t the only new Kentucky coach to make his debut on Monday. Kenny Brooks began his career as the Kentucky women’s basketball coach as well, and his team was equally impressive against SC Upstate, winning 98 – 43.

All eyes were on Georgia Amoore, the All-SEC point guard, and she played as well as expected, with 11 points and 10 assists. She added six rebounds as well, and was the leader on the floor.

Related: Georgia Amoore named a top 100 player by ESPN

The other Virginia Tech transfer, Clara Strack, was the star of the game, however. The Sophomore was 7-of-11 from the floor and scored 22 points to lead the Wildcats. She also had six rebounds.

In all, five of Kentucky’s players scored in double figures. Defensively, they held SC Upstate to just 29% shooting, and no player in double digits in points.

Kentucky will play Northern Kentucky next. That will be on November seventh at 6:00 PM.