KENTUCKY BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES

#15/19 KENTUCKY VS. PURDUE FORT WAYNE

HISTORIC MEMORIAL COLISEUM – LEXINGTON, KY.

NOVEMBER 18, 2024

Head Coach Kenny Brooks

Opening statement…

“Hats off to Purdue Fort Wayne. They did exactly what I thought they were gonna do coming in here and be an extreme challenge for us. I don’t want to disrespect the game or the way that they played in saying it was a trap game but we knew coming into this opportunity fresh off an emotional game (Louisville) that it was gonna be tough. We tried to relay that to the kids. We talked about having that different energy with the push-through opportunities like this. I thought we fell a little bit short in doing that. We were a little lethargic out there for most of the game. The only energy I really feel like I got from the group was the two young ladies to my left. I thought both of them did a really good job, you know, just looking at them at timeouts, I could feel the energy coming from their expressions. And, they both played well, you know, Georgia (Amoore) did a really good job of handling pressure, scoring big baskets when we needed to, her defense was really good. Cassidy (Rowe) came up with some really good plays for us on both ends and helped kind of smooth the offense out a little bit so Georgia didn’t have to do too much. But we have to be better, you know. Thought we could be better. Teonni (Key), you know, just challenged her because she’s a very special player. Amelia (Hassett) needs to be better, Clara Strack needs to be better, and they will be. We understand that and need a little more leadership from Dazia Lawrence more consistently. We’ll get that, but it’s always a work in progress with a new basketball team. Very fortunate to get a win tonight. A lot of respect for Maria (Marchesano) and her program and what they are gonna do this year, you know, we were playing grown women tonight. They came out there, I think the first eight or nine kids were seniors or graduates, and we knew that they were gonna be smart and play that way with a lot of energy with a great opportunity right in front of them so, this will go far for us. We’ll learn a lot from this and I’m excited for what it can do for us.”

On the quick turnaround from the game Saturday…

“It was a lot, it really was, and like I said, I don’t want to disrespect Purdue Fort Wayne because they played a heck of a game, and they played hard, they pushed us to our limit. I can see it in our kids. They were tired, very fatigued and I knew that going in. If you would’ve told me that we were gonna win this game by 12 before the game, I would’ve taken it in a heartbeat, rather than to go what I had to go through. I’m gonna have to go, and I don’t even drink bourbon, I’m in Kentucky right, so I’m gonna have to, no, no I won’t. But we knew it was gonna be tough but this is an opportunity and we spun it to these kids and the way this game came about, it was the last game we got on our schedule. We didn’t have anywhere to put it and couldn’t find anybody to play us and the only place we could put it was Monday after a Saturday Louisville game. As soon as I signed it, I was like, you know, I knew it was gonna be a problem, but if you’re gonna play in the NCAA tournament, this is the format. You play on Saturday, you got a day in between then you play the next day. We’re going down to Nashville in a week or so, and we’re gonna play two games in a row, back-to-back. So, you’re gonna need these opportunities to prepare yourself. Not only physically, but mentally so I’m glad we played the game, look forward to

cheering for her group. Hopefully they’re able to make the NCAA tournament. I don’t wanna play them, but hope they make the NCAA tournament.”

On Purdue Fort Wayne imitating his plays…

“It makes you mad. It makes you mad. (jokingly) What is it…imitation is the biggest form of flattery? Or whatever the saying is. If you want to continue on, Louisville ran a play, they called it ‘Hokie,’ and it was our play that we ran last year. So, I guess we have some pretty good stuff. But Maria, she told me that, and it is flattery, but we’ve got to be much better. We saw it, I saw it developing, and it looked very familiar. She does a really good job with that group. They execute. I think I coached against her once when she was at Mount St. Mary’s, and she’s a really good coach, and their teams are very well coached. Their whole staff did a good job, they were calling out our stuff, and you could tell they were very well prepared.”

On coming off an emotional game…

“They were great. They were really good, and I was leaning on them a lot. Cassidy did a lot of things that will not show up in the stats sheet that was really good for us. And she messed up our out-of-bounds plays a couple of times, and we turned it over once, and we didn’t get it executed. But she was playing out of position. So, I look over at the bench, and she says, ‘What do I do?’ She just had the grit, and it really helped Georgia a lot because Georgia didn’t have to do it all the time. Cassidy hit a couple big shots for us. I thought Georgia was really good in the first half; I really did because she didn’t force it. She wasn’t forcing anything. She was really trying to get everybody else going emotionally, getting them into good opportunities, and then she stepped up in the second half when she took over when she had to and hit some really big shots for us. I thought these two were very poised. The others, I love them, I still love them, but I think they’re going to understand what we need from them consistently on a nightly basis.”

Player Quotes

#3, Georgia Amoore, G, Gr. 

On bringing energy in the second half …

“(I was) playing passive in the first half. I was giving up a lot of opportunities. I wasn’t aggressive toward the basket with my shot at all. I was giving up a lot of passes. It got to the point where I needed to switch on and be way more aggressive and however, I get those shots is how I do it, but I’m going to seek my shot first.”

On how the team handled foul trouble …

“I don’t think we took advantage of it. For us, on offense, when they were in foul trouble, we did not take advantage of it. I think there was one play where we handed it off and they tipped the ball and if we had run through it, we would have had free throws. But I don’t think we were embracing the physicality at all tonight and if we had, that’s four, six, eight extra points that we could have stolen. Defensively, they’re going to call some stuff, and we have to adjust, but I don’t think we adjusted as much. We were always behind. We were always very reactive in their sets. We were going through that in walk through and they have options. They’re a smart team, they play together, they have read and reacts and we were just always a step behind. We tried to make up for it by blocking and fouls and reaching. Going into the next game, it’s just being proactive and aware.”

#5, Cassidy Rowe, G, Jr.

On bringing energy to the team…

“I know personally when you hear your number called, you have got to be ready. I felt like before the game I was ready and locked-in. Building off of your teammates too… if we are not all bringing the energy, then we are not in a good spot. So, just doing a better job encouraging the teammates to bring it, if somebody looks down, I say, “Lets bring it back up”, you know?”

On the difference between Cassidy last year vs. Cassidy this year…

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot, even the confidence side of things. Last year was the first time I was getting playing time, I felt like I was still timid. I was playing not to make a mistake, rather than playing to help my team win. This year, the coaching staff has helped me build that confidence and play more physically. I feel like my teammates have helped a lot in that too. It’s just my teammates having trust in me, and I have trust in them. It built my confidence a lot.”

On Cassidy staying at Kentucky…

“It means everything that I am still at Kentucky, it has always been a dream to play here. Even when I heard that Georgia was coming in, that thought never crossed my mind. Georgia is one of the best point guards in the country, and the fact that I get to learn from her and pick her brain it’s truly been a blessing for me even building my own game.”